14 DIY Storage Solutions That Are Making Your Space Look Cluttered

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DIY storage hacks are a go to when it comes to tidying up. They’re inexpensive, provide a boost of accomplishment, and can lend a bit of charm to any space. However, sometimes these homemade solutions make more of a mess than they do a solution. The idea of organizing something can quickly become a cluttered mess, turning your peaceful haven into a space of mishaps in functionality and aesthetics.

Let’s dig into the DIY storage solutions that might be doing more harm than good and making your space feel more overwhelming than organized.

DIY Floating Shelves Without a Plan

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Floating shelves are a great way to display art, photos, and decorative pieces, but too many without a plan can make your shelves look overstuffed. Floating shelves placed randomly throughout a room disrupt the flow of a room, especially if they’re filled with small objects. Instead of filling a wall with shelves, pick a few things to display on a small handful of shelves.

Re-purposed Vintage Items

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Old ladders, trunks or suitcases can look amazing on Pinterest, but they can sometimes dominate a room. Vintage items are bulky and weirdly shaped and it’s difficult to store things neatly and ingeniously in them. If you use vintage items sparingly, you won’t look cluttered and too eclectic.

Basket Storage for Everything

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Often we are told to store anything and everything in baskets, but too many baskets can lead to a ‘basket explosion.’ If you use baskets to line the whole front of your house, they can make the room look busy. Each basket becomes a little junk drawer, and it’s easy to drop things in and not remember what’s in there. Sometimes it’s better to reduce your stuff than to stuff it into a thousand baskets.

Crates on the Wall

Crates Mounted On Wall
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If you hang far too many wooden crates on walls, it’ll look more cluttered than chic. If the crates are full to the brim then they take up wall space and rooms feel smaller and more closed in. This works better for cafes or boutique shops where displays are meant to be busy, but not in a home, where the aim is calm and simple.

Glass Jars Everywhere

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The trend of using glass jars to organize everything from pantry staples to stationery is popular, but too many can give the space a crowded look. They easily accumulate, they eat up valuable countertop or cabinet space, and they need to be tidied constantly to keep looking uniform. If you’re a jar person, group them in certain spots rather than just throwing them all over the place.

DIY Drawer Dividers for Every Little Thing

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Drawer dividers are good, but you don’t want to go overboard with DIY dividers and end up with drawers that feel cramped. If each tiny item has its own compartment, drawers fill up fast and there won’t be room for anything else. Do not use dividers unless absolutely necessary, as you will end up with each drawer being a puzzle piece setup.

Over-the-Door Organizers

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The perfect solution for unused space over doors are over-the-door organizers, but they can make rooms feel chaotic. In highly visible rooms, these organizers are usually full of all kinds of things, from cleaning products to shoes, and they often look messy. The door also takes a heavy load, creaks, and then sags, so you get a racket with each passage.

Open Shelving Overload

Assorted Labeled Bottle on Brown Shelf
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Open shelving is pretty, but overdoing it can make a room as cluttered as a home decor display case. All the items are out in the open, knick knacks to appliances, with nowhere to rest the eye. Open shelves are also a temptation to keep adding to, but before you know it you’ll feel like you are living in a flea market instead of a relaxing home.

Pegboards in Every Room

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Using pegboards in every room of the home can leave it feeling cluttered, even though they can be incredibly useful for kitchen organization of tools and gadgets . Pegboards are meant to show items, and can become visually overwhelming if the board isn’t kept in order. It works best in garages or craft rooms, not in living rooms or bedrooms.

Too Many Hanging Baskets

Hanging Wicker Baskets with Woven Macrame on Wooden Wall
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Hanging baskets work really well as planters for plants or small items in small numbers, but if you have too many hanging baskets, it can make a room feel like a storage closet. Pulling the eye upwards they can be visually cluttering in small spaces. Keep them minimal, if they’re for plants or a few lightweight items, to avoid your room from feeling crowded.

Entryway Organizers That Are Overloaded

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An entryway is supposed to be welcoming, but DIY organizer are often overfilled with keys, mail, coats and shoes. No matter how the organizer is planned, even when they have a defined place for everything, the amount of items put in such a small space can sometimes result in an overflowing feeling. Remove the clutter by removing the excesses, not cramming every item into this space.

Magazine Holders on the Wall

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Wall mounted magazine holders sound like a great space saver, but they tend to become catch alls for mail, random papers and everything in between. Things just start to pile up and start overflowing, making a space seem untidy. Don’t make them holders for everything, limit them to a few files you use frequently, and don’t put them in obvious places.

DIY Closet Dividers

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Helpful as DIY closet dividers, too many of them can actually make your closet seem smaller. You can also get a headache overdiving trying to find what you’re looking for if the dividers don’t slide easily. Then, sort out clothes by a few major categories and divide with minimum attempt.

Desk Storage in Repurposed Jars and Bottles

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Jars and bottles are great for office supplies, but they can really start piling up. Mismatched shapes and sizes can make it look odd, and glass jars filled with pens and paper clips and random ends of other stuff can get messy fast. A few well chosen containers are better than an assortment of mismatched jars.

Disclaimer: This list is solely the author’s opinion based on research and publicly available information.

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