In our first post of 2013, we made some New Year’s resolutions with a log home theme. We certainly hope that everyone has used the past year to connect with family, eat better, exercise more and be happy. But what about the resolution to be more organized? Most of us could use some help in keeping that resolution satisfied, as clutter seems to build at every opportunity. Luckily, there are several design details that can make organizing much easier. Here are some tips to help you keep the log home organized now and for all the years to come.
Closets
Closets are the natural place to store items and have several uses throughout the home. First of all, make sure that wherever you commonly enter the home a closet is nearby. It is very useful to be able to store coats and items like umbrellas and scarves so that they are easily accessible when entering and exiting the home. Since shoes tend to accumulate near outside doors, a shoe organizing system in these closets is also a good idea. Make sure that there is plenty of space to hang the coats that your family wears throughout the year, as well as space for guests’ items.
For interior closets, one often overlooked consideration is having sufficient tall storage space. Usually, a closet with a single bar has enough clearance to hang items like pants and long dresses. More elaborate closets, however, can have two or even three bars for hangers. Make sure that enough space is set aside to hang your tall items.
Pantry
Although not every home has a pantry, it is a very useful space for organizing kitchen supplies. To maximize its usefulness, design the pantry with shallow, long shelves. A deep shelf will allow items to get lost in the back, so design a pantry that will only be one item deep. Items that come in boxes, like cereal or pasta, will store neatly in the pantry. For items like sugar or flour that come in soft bags, consider using hard-sided containers for easy storage. Since less used items like spices can lose potency or expire before being used up, the New Year is a great time to sort through the pantry and discard old items.
Workspaces
Although a dedicated workspace itself helps to reduce clutter, managing your workspace is also important. Consider adding pegboard behind work tables so you can hang tools for easy access. Extension cords can also cause a great deal of tangled clutter, but a spool or other cable management system can eliminate this problem. While you can’t always expect your work space to be perfectly organized and have every tool imaginable at your fingertips, this Real Log Home project in Plainfield, VT (shown at left) makes us want to get everything sorted out and ready for all the great projects planned for 2014.
Built-in storage
In any room of the house, built-in storage can aid organization while using little of the log home’s footprint. One place that built-in storage looks great is flanking the fireplace in a living room or great room. You can also use built-in storage under beds or in furniture items like ottomans, turning otherwise wasted space into a way to keep organized.
Are you ready for a more organized log home in 2014? Call Real Log Homes today or fill out the form below for more information on building your own log home or addition an addition to your current log home.
