78Onlinea place for everything: a guide to storage at home

An independent guide to storage and organising space at home. We do not sell furniture or carry out work, and we are not connected with the previous website on this domain. Leave complex installation to a professional.

Where to start

A practical guide for beginners

If clutter has long been the backdrop to your life, tackling everything at once is pointless — your energy lasts a day and then it all comes back. This guide suggests starting small and moving gradually, so that the new order becomes a habit rather than one heroic weekend.

A small drawer sorted completely is more useful than a big room sorted halfway.

— Food for thought

Why not to start with a big spring clean

A big clear-out in a single weekend is exhausting. By evening, decisions are made at random, some things simply move from one pile to another, and the fatigue kills any wish to carry on for a long time.

Short sessions work better: a little time on one area, then a break. Every finished area gives a sense of achievement and shows that order is within reach.

First steps

  1. Choose the most annoying area

    It might be the hallway cabinet, the kitchen junk drawer or a bathroom shelf. What matters is that you see the result every day.

  2. Set up a place for decisions

    Get some bags or boxes: keep, give away, mend, throw out. A separate 'maybe' box saves you agonising over every item.

  3. Clear the area completely

    Take everything out, wipe the surface and only then put things back. That way you see the real volume.

  4. Put back only what you need

    Group similar things, put frequently used ones closer and rarely used ones further away. Label containers if you cannot see what is inside.

  5. Get the excess out of the house at once

    Take out the rubbish, drop off donations, take things for repair. Bags left by the door have a way of returning to the wardrobe.

  6. Pick the next area

    Write down what you will tackle next time. A short list of areas helps you keep going without rushing.

Areas that give quick results

  • Hallway: hooks for everyday coats, a spot for keys, only the shoes you are wearing now.
  • Kitchen worktop: only what you use every day.
  • Junk drawer: throw out what you do not need and sort the rest with dividers.
  • Bathroom shelf: anything out of date goes in the bin, spare supplies go into a closed cabinet.
  • Bedside table: a book, a lamp and the essentials; everything else back where it belongs.

How to keep things tidy

Order is kept by short daily actions: putting something back straight after using it, emptying your bag in the evening, not leaving shopping in carrier bags. It takes minutes but saves hours.

Agree with your household where things go, and label boxes and drawers. Pictures on toy baskets help children. Once a season, go round the house with a quick clear-out so clutter does not build up again.

What we rely on

  • Furniture and fixings manufacturers' instructions
  • 78Online editorial materials

Our advice is kept general and is based on furniture and fixings manufacturers' instructions and on common household safety rules. Always check the fixing method, permitted load and the right wall plug for your wall in the instructions for the specific product, and leave complex installation to a professional.