Spare room - junk room - solutions

[DizzyBlondeMum2]

It's a whiel since I've been on here - but this is the only place where teh shared brain will have a solution for me.

Our spare room is my office, my sewing room and a general dumping ground. I'm trying to get it in shape. I know that whatever I do clutter will accumulate on the bed. Presents in the run up to Christmas, online orders waiting to be returned, Vinted and ebay waiting to be posted.

Two questions: Does anyone have a solution that will keep it off the bed? If the bed is going to be a storage spot - how can I at least make it look aesthetic? I'mthinking lidded boxes on the bed?

All suggestions most welcome!

Please help!

Don't buy 'storage'. Use large cardboard boxes for presents and things that don't need to be out in the open.
Deal wth items that are to be returned immediately, or they will be forgotten about.
Stack the boxes, not on the bed. Use the bed only for top priority items.
Once the boxes are empty, get rid.

As PP said you need to deal with things now not later. As soon as I make a sale on ebay the package is wrapped, postage label printed and it goes by the front door ready for next day collection (or I will go out to post it). Returns are treated the same - by the front door for collection etc. If other people dump stuff you put it in their room - if it doesn't have a home then it gets sold or taken to the charity shop. You have to be ruthless.

I live in a clutter free home where everything has a place and things not used regularly are 'let go'! It's really good for mental health not to tolerate clutter. On the flip side I'm about to start clearing a house which has 45 years of clutter in every room and paperwork which goes back even further. I'm slightly overwhelmed by it but it has to be done so I will just roll up my sleeves and get stuck in.

I'm a hoarder and things in boxes stop existing.

I do have storage boxes but they contain things that do not need anything to be done with them. (e.g. clothes that spark joy but I don't wear)

Do you have room for an open shelving unit? Perhaps something like this www.ikea.com/gb/en/p/kallax-shelving-unit-white-80275887/

If so you could get one and have boxes within it. Label the boxes so everything has its own place. Some boxes for sewing kit, some for spare linen and empty ones for seasonal things like Christmas stuff/holiday packing etc.

You could even have an 'in tray' in one shelf so that you bung stuff in there and then once a week or so sort it into the right boxes.

I keep the spare room bed a sacred space. It looks beautiful with white bedding an expensive throw and gorgeous cushions on it. Lovely bed side tables with matching table lamps either side. A beautiful chair. A large cot in there too for when family stay over - and all these items are out of bounds for putting things on!

I store things under the bed, and in the wardrobe, and sometimes up one side of the bed, and in a couple of the drawers ect ect 😂

The point is though, i like that at first glance it just looks like a beautifully kept bedroom. You only find the 'stuff' if you spend a bit more time ...