Simple solutions to storage and clutter

Less is more is the adage of our times. Driven by busy lifestyles and record stress, the way we view our possessions has shifted, with social research revealing what we already know too well: a cluttered home can hamper our life. Tapping into this darker side of the home, advertisers hold up images of minimalistic interiors for us to aspire to, while an army of decluttering gurus have built empires out of teaching us how to purge, fold, store and otherwise deal with the glut of our belongings.

Adding to the issue, while we have more stuff than in the past, the average size of our homes has been shrinking in recent years. Australian Bureau of Statistics figures show many of us are living in declining space thanks to rising property costs, increased urbanisation and medium-density and apartment living.

While it’s easy to dismiss clutter as just another laughable First World problem, our pain is real. Ikea’s 2017 global Life at Home Report found having too much stuff is the single biggest cause of stress at home. Conflict over clutter was the main source of domestic arguments for half those surveyed. Given the subjectivity, when does clutter become clutter?

Clutter defined

Researchers define