BEHIND THE DOOR

Elfa_Utility-Door-and-Wall-rack_laundry-room

One of the most valuable, but often overlooked storage spaces in our homes is behind the door. Utilising this vertical space will give you extra storage right where you need it!

The space behind doors can be an excellent place to stash things out of the way. Behind the door can be used because the space is hidden when the door is open, OR you can use the back of the door so that the space is accessible when the door is closed. It can be both, or either, discreet or convenient.

Yamazaki Mounted 5 Hook Adjustable Rack. Available in Silver or Black

How to use Behind the Door

There are many ways to use the space behind your door, using both temporary and permanent measures.

If you can’t drill into or stick onto your doors, you still have options in the form of “over door” hangers and hooks. These slide over the top of the door and can be single hooks, multiple hooks or even racks.

You could also think outside the square and even try an over-the door shower caddy, depending on your needs!

The Humble Hook

Either way, hooks are the most commonly used storage solutions for behind doors. You can store your umbrellas on the back of the back door, or your bathrobes on the back of your bedroom door. Your extension cord on the back of the laundry door or a couple of coats on the back of the front door. One or two hooks, screwed or stuck on with adhesive, make for a quick and convenient place to hang just about anything hang-able!

You can also store storage itself on those hooks. A hook on the back of your WIR might be a great place to hang your scarf or jewellery organiser. The back of a kid’s bedroom door might be a great place for a shoe hanger holding Barbie dolls. Use a jewellery organiser on the back of your office door, it might be perfect for keeping your small devices and cords and cables organised, labelled and (most importantly!) untangled.

Howards Bamboo Wall Mounted 5 Hook Rack

Yamazaki 6 Hook Chain Hat & Handbag Holder

Maximise your Vertical Space

There are some over-the-door storage solutions that are custom-made for a particular purpose. I’m thinking mainly of clothes airers and other racks that fold flat but you can open them out when you need them (just don’t open the door too far when they’re unfolded!). You can also get custom clothes hangers that are made to securely hold a hanger – perfect for the room you do your ironing in, or your bedroom for getting your outfit laid out for the day.

iDesign Brezio Over the Door Airer

iDesign Brezio Wall Mount Clothes Hanger

Another option – and this is where you get to let your creativity run loose – is to install tracking on the back of your doors that you can then fit a custom design onto using the Elfa system. By installing the tracks and peg boards you can design your own particular storage system, and change it around in the future as your needs evolve.

A few ideas of how to use this:

For a craft room, on the back of the door you could have a pegboard for hanging tools, and some baskets for holding tools, pencils, paintbrushes or crafting materials.
On the back of your laundry door you might hang a bag of pegs, your dustpan and brush on a hook, a basket that holds some bottles of cleaning liquid, and some cloths on hooks or rails
In your child’s room you might have a couple of hooks for their clothes, hat and their library bag, and a basket or two for their shoes, socks and accessories, making a great “launching pad” for stress-free school mornings
Inside your pantry door you might hang your apron on a hook, have a basket for your shopping list and pen, and some baskets for your spices. You could even have a basket for your chopping boards!
In your office you could create a “going to work” zone, where everything you need to take to work with you the next day could live, ready to pack. Your backpack, the notes you need to take back with you, your water bottle, your headphones, a phone charger, your lunchbox. You’ll have all you need to pack your bag within the same zone so you never forget a thing.

elfa Utility Over the Door gift Wrapping Solution

Elfa Utility, ask in-store for a FREE Design Session

Behind the cupboard

Not only are the doors between rooms useful, but even the backs of the doors to our cupboards can also be really handy. Add a small hook on the inside of your bathroom vanity to hold your shower squeegee, or your spare loofah. A small rail could hold a face washer or a narrow basket could hold all of your nightly face creams.

SEVILLE OVER THE DOOR MESH BASKETS ORGANISER

Seville Over Cabinet Door Mesh basket Organiser

Howards Stainless Steel Over the Door Caddy

EvoVac Suction Hooks

Inside the door under your kitchen sink, you could attach a bin or baskets (make sure they aren’t too big and hit the sink pipes when you close the doors!) to hold your washing-up gloves, sponges and brushes. A little hook will ensure that those tiny brushes for reusable straws won’t get lost, too.

Brabantia built in behind the cupboard bin 10L

brabantia Built In Bin 10 Litre Rectangle Black

Utilise behind the cupboard door

10 Year Guarantee

The options seem to be endless – so the next time you walk in a room, put on your creative cap and think about the back of the doors and how you might utilise that space that’s going begging.

Rebecca Mezzino

Declutter Coach

Adelaide-based Rebecca Mezzino is one of Australia’s most experienced Declutter Coaches, working primarily with people who have complex needs to help them take control of their spaces.

www.rebeccamezzino.com.au

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