The key to ordered living is to have enough of the right kind of storage. Some sort of order is absolutely essential if you are not going to be in trouble because you can’t find the electricity bill, your child’s half-term dates, the skirt you want to wear for an important meeting or the car keys. You may brighten and enliven a space as much as you like, but if you haven’t got the storage to keep all your belongings where you can find them and where you can easily get at them, you will live in a state of constant chaos and anxiety.

        Different kinds of objects require different kinds of storage. Books should be kept upright, where the titles can be seen, not to tightly packed together and on shelves which are deep enough so that they don’t sit on the edge but not so deep that they keep being pushed to the back. Some clothes must have hanging space and shoes should have their own shelves or pockets. Letters and papers need some sort of filing system, even if it is just a row of shoeboxes, and toys should be kept in drawers or boxes where they can be divided into type and size so they don’t get hidden or crushed under larger objects. Even pictures (for which storage and display are the same thing) need a wall, and decorative objects should have some sort of cabinet or cabinet or shelf where they can be focal point. Above all, everything should have its own place and not have to be stuffed into a communal cupboard where it may get lost or damaged.

        You should not have to climb or stoop to get at things you need frequently, but things you only use once a year can be tucked away under the bed or in high places. The first thing is to make a list of the different kinds of objects you own, and then to decide what sort of storage would be most suitable for each and where you can provide it.

OPEN SHELVING
        In most homes, some form of open shelving is going to play a large part. Open shelving provides flexible storage space and allows items to be recognized and reached quickly. It also gives a greater feeling of space than closed cupboards, which reduce the dimensions of a room. There are many different forms of open shelving, from basic metal uprights and individual brackets, whose height can be adjusted at will, to simple shelves on brackets or free-standing shelves, which have the advantage that they are easy to take with you if you ever want to move home.

        When you are putting up shelves, consider the heights and depths of the various things you want to put on them and try to see that similar-sized items go on the same shelf. If the shelving is compact and well organized, space is not wasted by putting an enormously tall atlas next to the crime paperbacks.
        There are various makes of upright-and-bracket systems available in white or bright primary colors which can be made part of the decor. These were adapted originally from office storage systems but are now available in most household stores. They are sturdy and robust; the brackets vary in size from those that will take narrow shelves for spice jars to very long ones which will take a shelf deep enough to act as a desk. A strip of wood along the edge will give a more solid appearance, as though the shelf were made of solid wood.

        The shelves must be thick enough and the uprights close enough to support the weight of whatever you wish to put on them. Open shelves in a narrow kitchen can make it seem much more spacious than if they were boxed off by cupboard doors, but they are nearly always more satisfactory if they have sides. These may be an integral part of a shelving system, or may be provided by the walls of an alcove, or even fixed to the shelves when they are in place. An upright-and-bracket system can be made to look built in if it is finished off top and bottom with architraving.
        Olive green or grey metal office shelving is often available secondhand. Although it may not look very beautiful at first, it can be painted with lacquer in some bright, cheerful color and by the time it is covered with objects quite attractive in the right environment particularly in a modern ‘high-tech’ home or in the office of somebody who works at home. This sort of shelving will also suit an older child who wants to store models and model-making equipment, computer equipment and a whole lot of other untidy paraphernalia. It may not look elegant but it can at least look cheerful and businesslike. If the door opens too close to the wall to leave room for shelves, perhaps you could fit in a narrow set; a surprising number of books can be stored in a narrow, columnar bookcase.

        Shelves do not have to be custom-built or tailor-made or wall-to-wall. Antique shops and pine shops often sell small one-off units which can provide storage for books and objects, with the advantage of acting as small wall sculptures at the same time.
        Sets of small shelves can be the perfect place to display items which would otherwise get lost amongst the plethora of belongings in most homes. Free-standing shelves and folding shelves are available in pine shops, do-it-yourself shops and superstores. They are often designed so that they stack, providing a very flexible answer to miscellaneous storage needs. They are usually fairly unassuming and will merge satisfactorily into the background and so go with a number of furnishing styles. They can be slotted in between other pieces of furniture, will hold a multitude of games, books, boxes, toys or box files, and can be easily folded up or dismantled so that you can take them with you if you move or swop them around when your storage needs a change. They are particularly convenient for furnished apartments.

BOXES
        Divided shelving is more decorative and possibly more practical than simple shelves. One way to achieve it is a series of boxes, fixed to the wall by brackets, which frame the objects inside them. Because there are no doors, their presence will not diminish the size of the room since you can see through them to the wall at the back. This sort of storage needs careful planning, but when well worked out it can be arranged to house decorative objects, books, games, writing equipment, the home office, in fact most things used in day-to-day living. It is particularly suitable for people who collect things and have a great many objects they wish to display.
    The boxes can be different in height and width, but look most co-ordinated if they are all the same depth, otherwise the effect can become a bit of a jumble.