Keeping Your Family Beautifully Organized

By: Cynthia Soda of Soda Pop Design Inc.

Daily mail, magazines, toys, clothing, utensils, bits and bobs that you don't use but can't seem to part with – they all need a home. Whether you live in 3000+ square feet or 500 square feet, the one thing you can never have enough of is storage space. With the increase in home prices, we've seen condominium buildings go up left and right. Meanwhile, more and more, young adults end up living in their parents' home for lengthier stretches than initially planned in order to save up enough money to move out. The need for storage is evident everywhere, but squeezing more residential space out of land can lead to smaller spaces, and smaller spaces generally have a less storage space. 

It's not what you have, but how you use it that's the difference-maker. There are many ways to incorporate storage into your space – and perhaps bring forth a new love for the space you already have.  Here are some of my ideas to address the top two heavily-used spaces in our homes.

The Kitchen

A great way to get more cubic footage out of your drawer space is to incorporate a double-decker style cutlery drawer, as seen in one of our more recent designs.  With the flick of a finger, the first tray pops open to reveal another equally useable cutlery tray underneath. 

If you have a small kitchen, you may be familiar with blind corners.  Heaven forbid you stored something you actually needed in that back corner: you'll never be able to find it! With storage items like the Lemans corner pull-out (a neater and more effective version of the corner lazy Susan) or similar versions, you'll be able to actually use that corner cabinet to its fullest. If you don't have drawers in your space, seek out the companies that can retrofit drawers into your cabinets, which would double if not triple your storage capacity in some cases. 

If you have a busy family, remembering schedules and events may be daunting, but if you have some way of keeping your family organized – like a blackboard or calendar message system – then you can be sure to have everything ready when you need it (or at least be reminded before you head out!)

The Bathroom

Consider incorporating a spot for your dirty laundry within your bathroom space.  We designed a pull-out drawer to house a hamper in this bathroom, allowing you to keep the dirty clothes out of sight until laundry day. 

Another tip consistent with the ideas for the kitchen is to try to integrate drawers or some sort of shelving for your bathroom vanity, or consider some sort of "tower" idea to store your everyday items so you don't have to go digging under the sink.

In the shower, a simple glass shelf could keep your shampoos from sitting in soapy water on the shower floor.  However, if you have the space or budget for a mini-renovation, or are in the middle of a bathroom remodel, carving out a niche in the wall for your showering essentials would really do the trick.

Being an Interior Design professional, we face the challenge of effectively integrating storage solutions into spaces everywhere.  By simply (and creatively!) incorporating even a few of our tips, we can have a place for everything and everything in its place. 

The content of this post first appeared in the 2018 Spring Issue of Beautiful Design Made Simple magazine.

Cynthia Soda is the Principal Designer of Soda Pop Design Inc.

Soda Pop Design Inc. is a multi-disciplinary interior design firm providing complete custom renovation and design services for residential and commercial clients throughout the GTA. Soda Pop Design focuses on merging the client's lifestyle, personality and architecture to create customized livable luxury. @csodapop