3 Unexpected Storage Hacks For Decluttering Your Utility Closet

Utility closets are used to store items, tools, and appliances that are used to clean and maintain the home. They are typically near the kitchen or in a hallway, laundry room, or basement. Brooms, vacuums, gloves, and cleaning products are housed there when they aren't being used, but it can also be a place to store other random items. Because of this, utility closets are hardly organized.

An excellent tip for keeping yours as clutter-free as possible is to treat it as a functional space instead of a place to house just about anything, suggests Access Self Storage. It's easy to use the closet as a catchall for anything, but limiting it to relevant items is a surefire way to stay organized. To get you started, here are unexpected storage hacks for decluttering your utility closet. After implementing these, you could add some style to it. As seen on Grace In My Space, a lovely wallpaper accent can quickly add a nice touch to the space.

1. Group items by use

It's common to throw everything together in the utility closet as long as the door can close, but a great hack for keeping this room organized is to group the items based on their function and type. A cleaning caddy, for example, will optimize your cleaning day because it can hold all the essentials and make it easier to move them around the house.

Most items in the closet might not be used often, so you can store them based on size and how often they will be coming out and then label them. Grace In My Space advises measuring the biggest items to get customized boxes with the correct sizes; small things like nails and screws can go into compartment boxes. Brooms and mops can be kept together, while tools can be stored safely in a box. Seasonal items, manuals, and other rarely used things that don't need to be in immediate reaches, like vacuum accessories and other cleaning supplies.

2. Use the right accessories

Tower storage units, reach-in bins, and plastic storage drawers are some organizers that will keep your utility closet clutter-free because they let you separate items, so they're easy to find. Stacking bins and boxes on top of each other also allow you to use as much overhead space as possible, which saves space. While there are many bin styles, it's best when they are clear, so it's easier to see what's in them. You can also install floating tension rod shelves to make a more sturdy surface for the boxes.

Items with handles like brooms, mops, and dusters can be hung up on the wall. This will use the closet efficiently and preserve your tools' quality. The upper head space allows items like vacuums and buckets to occupy the floor. Brooms and mops should be hung up instead of kept on the floor, so their bristles don't bend. If you don't have enough room for a whole rack in your utility closet, hooks work just as well and are more versatile since they can be installed anywhere, from the wall to the back of the door, via Closet Works.

3. Use a pegboard

Cleaning products and supplies are probably a huge part of what's stored in your utility closet. A great decluttering hack is to bring in a pegboard. A pegboard is hardboard with holes for pegs or hooks to hang up various items. The main benefit of hanging up cleaning supplies in your utility closet is that it makes it easy to find whatever you need. It is also more convenient to grab what you need from the board than from a drawer or box.

One tip for using a pegboard is to keep everything in the same place so that the order becomes familiar to you, via HouseLogic. This helps you determine when things go missing or need to be replaced. If you keep laundry supplies in your utility closet, you can use the pegboard for those if there's enough space. Organization Obsessed shows how a drying rack, ironing board, and even laundry bags can be hung on a pegboard.