Try as we might, putting our homes in order doesn’t come all too easy for some of us. Sometimes, it can be the small living space to blame, and other times it can be having too many items to take care of and store away. While a little decluttering could help, it’s still no guarantee that the interior would look neat.
Luckily, there’s one piece of furniture created to assist with all our organising troubles – and it’s none other than a chest of drawers. Although it was primarily thought of as an element suitable for the bedroom, mainly to put away anything that you wouldn’t hide away in the closet, it’s just as fit for other rooms where organisation may be lacking.
The versatile furniture piece it is today, ranging from gorgeous contemporary chest of drawers made from solid oak and teak to ornate and vintage models, it’s easily incorporated into any layout, design scheme, and style. That is, as long as you do your homework with the measurements before buying it.
What Can You Use a Chest of Drawers For?
As storage has been its main purpose since it was created a few centuries ago, this is the goal with this essential home detail. Wherever you choose to add it to boost the order in, it could be the hallway, the living room, and even the study, keep in mind it’s meant for putting away all your items and accessories that you don’t like on display 24/7.
Once it has served its main purpose, a contemporary chest of drawers, for example, or any of the other designs for that matter, can be used for injecting the room with some more character and stylishness. After all, it’s a beautiful piece of furniture that can draw attention with its lines, materials, and finish, as well as smaller details like hardware.
How to Organise a Chest of Drawers?
Whichever the room you’re buying it for may be, it’s important to remember this type of furniture won’t work magic for your messiness. Trust me, before long, it could easily turn into yet another unorganised space that contributes to more of your moodiness, lack of energy, and procrastination. So, the key to making the most of this addition to your home is to envision how you’d like it to solve your mess.
Selecting the right one for the area measurement-wise isn’t enough – you also have to keep organisation in mind. This is the time when it’s advisable to do a bit of cleaning with the belongings, and get rid (e.g. donate, sell, throw out) of everything that no longer serves you, to get to the basic items to be stored in the modern chest of drawers you end up with.
When you know what you’re going to store, then you can resort to using some organising solutions such as dividers, compartments, and boxes to get those drawers in order. Start storing things by:
Deciding What Each Drawer Is For
This is a crucial step that would help you out with keeping everything neat in the long run. In the case with the bedroom, you could select drawers for briefs, bras, socks, as well as clothing items separated by season. Then, you could choose drawers for accessories too, separating sunnies, jewellery, scarves, headwear, gloves, plus makeup.
In the living room, having a drawer for magazines, remotes, batteries, lights, or even snacks for your theatre nights with your loved ones would truly make a difference in your daily life. In the hallway, drawers for keys, change, shoes, cleaning essentials like wipes and towels, or umbrellas and raincoats would be more than handy.
In the study, you could use the designer chest of drawers to store away paperwork, stationery items, books, and gadgets like tablets and chargers. Knowing where each of the items is can make a world of difference as you won’t have to waste precious time on retrieving any when you most need it. That’s the organising goal – to have everything within easy reach.
Arranging the Organisers
Getting all the dividers, compartments, and boxes isn’t the only step in tackling the clutter – you also have to be careful with arranging these organisers. To avoid cramming things and ensure everything is as neat as you imagine it, keep the idea of what each drawer is for, and then you can choose which organiser would go where it would best be useful.
For example, for undies and socks, it’s ideal to get compartments where you can arrange them one next to the other. With clothes, dividers would be most helpful when separating them by season. With knick-knacks, it would be best to use the magic of boxes, as they do come in all sizes you could think of and need them in. Another piece of advice here is to avoid stacking them on top of each other to ensure you have everything within easy reach.
Minding Your Storing Practice
If you’re used to folding clothes and putting them one over the other, then it’s recommended to change this practice and opt for mindful rolling and standing instead. This is where the organisers would assist you, especially when using a drawer for items of several family members. Sort alike items to know where each of them is right away, even if you get boxes with lids, and remember to get in the habit of placing them back in their designated spots after you use them to maintain the order.
