Cramped quarters can become spacious too.

Architect and interior designer Vivek Rathore gives tips on how to stow your possessions away in cramped city living spaces.

Storage space is at a premium for nearly everyone these days. The good news is that every home, no matter its size, has potential storage space that goes unnoticed. Some simple but creative solutions can help you gain extra storage in unexpected places.

For optimal use of space, storage should be seen as a sequence of sorting, protecting and stacking.

SORTING

The first step of the process is to consider the number of items you have. Make a list of what may need storage and assess how much space you have. Generally, anything you have not taken out of the cupboard or used in the past three years, you are not likely to use at all and is best disposed of. The items you are finally going to keep should be segregated according to their types —

Food items: They have specific storage needs i.e. wet or dry storage.

Clothing and furnishings: Winter and summer clothes need to be graded and stored during off-season. Some furnishings too may need to be stored. Some of these storage units then need to be accessed only three or four times a year. Regular-use linens and furnishings might be accessed once a week.

Hardware, stationery, gift items, medicines, valuables and documents: These should be kept neatly so you don’t have to rummage through the entire pile to find one thing. Important documents and their copies should be sorted out and unnecessary envelopes discarded.

Fragile items: Glassware, crockery and crystal collections should be stored or displayed delicately.

Bulky items:Items like big trunks and drums are best discarded if you are living in an apartment.

PROTECTING

Different items need to be protected from a diverse range of elements.

Protection from moisture:

Food items and medicines should be kept in air-tight jars and bags.

Silica gel is a must for electronic and other plastic items.

Important documents and other delicate items can also be stored in air-tight packets to stop discolouration.

Protection from insects, germs:

Naphthalene balls give good protection against insects.

Other organic solutions like dried neem leaves and flowers and dried garlic cloves also provide protection against common insects. Place them in small muslin pouches and put them in the cabinet. Dried cloves wrapped in paper keep clothes smelling fresh.

Protection from rough handling and fire:

Delicate items need to be cushioned before stacking.

Hard cases can protect fragile objects from breakage.

Corrugated sheets, hard boards or thermocol can be used as a buffer.

STACKING

The final step of storage involves two aspects — where to stack and how to stack. You will know where you should store an item by answering these questions:

How frequently will you need it?

What is the nature and size of the item?

How deep are your storage units?

How can you best utilise the space at hand?

Box alcoves, box storage beds and negative spaces below the staircases where head height is poor are storage opportunities.

Lofts can also be created in toilets and corridors using particle board or timber planks. In short corridors where movement is easy, you can align four or five-inch deep stack units.

Space breakers or partitions which are three-inch deep can be designed to act as storage units for small items. Many people opt for a raised floor in some parts of their home for vastu correction or design reasons. This can be designed as a one-foot deep storage area.

Furniture pieces can incorporate one-and-a-half-foot deep storage space without becoming bulky.

Lots of lightweight items like magazines and CDs can be stored in soft linen or polymer wall runners.

SAFE STORES

For accident-free operation of storage units, every house should have:

Lightweight retractable ladder or stool, or ladder on guides with independent stability.

Flexible lighting or torch to reach corners. Poker to move goods.


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