We recently came across this metal storage shelf in a client home. Somewhere along the way she picked up this shelving unit to get things off the floor, but it was driving her crazy.
Metal storage shelf pros:
- Affordable
- Easy to get home
- Easy to assemble
- Sturdy
- Gets things off the floor
Metal storage shelf cons:
- Less attractive than some other household furniture
- Allows things to fall off the sides and back
This is what she saw when she walked into her art studio. In fact, this is what she saw when she walked into her living room, since the view went straight through to the art room. While she gets an A for getting things up off the floor, her face said it all when I asked her what she didn’t like about it.
“It just looks so cluttered!,” she said.
There’s one minor tweak that brings a HUGE change in how we feel about what we see in just about any part of our homes…and that change is bringing symmetry and consistency to the view. We were at the end of our appointment, so I asked her permission to make a 10-minute mini-project out of this shelf.
Don’t blink. You might miss this organizing project!
Everything that was there is still there, but it’s just a tad bit more organized now, and even labeled!
With one big swap, we totally changed up this necessary but not attractive shelf. We re-used a set of fabric storage boxes that she already owned, and put them out for display, swapping them out for the also useful but mismatched cardboard and plastic boxes that were sitting on the shelf. 
If I had 10 more minutes, I would have removed all the plastic bags and the one last plastic bin from the mix, as well. But, even so, her utilitarian shelf was now filled with pretty things, and she could find everything easily.
The pretty boxes that she already owned use up all the shelf space, so there is no horizontal space left to clutter, and things are captured so they won’t fall off the back and sides.
The organizing moral of the story is this: You already have everything you need to get organized, at least that’s the case 90% of the time.
Can we help you with organizing projects like this? Call today for your in-person or virtual organizing appointment.
