Do you ever have this problem: there’s just so much extra room in your closets and storage spaces that you just don’t know what to do with it all? Your clothes are swinging freely on their rods, one lonely sweater or hat on a shelf, the basement shelving looking just so bare... No, I didn’t think so.

More likely than not you are either fighting the battle of trying with all your might to pry your clothes apart so you can wedge in one more shirt or you’ve conceded the loss and have taken to merely piling clothes up on any surface you can find – including the side of the bed you’re not sleeping on. And, as for storage, there may be so many boxes on the floor that you wouldn’t even be able to reach the shelves, let alone put something on or take something off, without using some type of trapeze or pole-vaulting device. Is this sounding more familiar?

A walk-in closet that you can actually walk in may seem like a luxury too grand to imagine. Nevertheless, dreams of grandeur aside, wouldn’t it be great if you could have just a few more inches of space in your closet? Maybe even, dare I say – eight to twelve? Or perhaps storage space that you can stroll right up to and grab your party supply box in one fell swoop.

Well this may actually be the case…right now…in your home…really.

Yesterday I went through my bedroom closet pulling out clothes that I didn’t wear this past year and that are no longer suited to my wardrobe repertoire. Certainly, plenty of room was made simply by this seasonal culling activity. Yet, naturally, that space was immediately filled with the spring and summer clothes that I had ready, on standby awaiting there return to active duty. So no real extra space found there. But wait! Before walking away, I shuffled through one more time and decided to remove any empty hangers. One, two…6, 12, 19! Hmmm …between the clothes I had purged and other hangers that had been hiding between clothing, I hadn’t realized how many empties there were. As I was trying to manage the unruly mass of wire and plastic, I thought about the physical space that had actually been taken up by these hangers. So, I decided to measure it to find out exactly just how much space we’re talking about here: ten inches. Ten inches of space being taken up by…nothing! This found space in my closet is much like the found space that I come across when working with clients. How many other “empties” are we holding on to?

For instance: boxes. We keep empty boxes for all sorts of reasons: saving each new shipping box that arrives with a shipment because there is an occasional need to ship something and “why pay for a box?” Also, the boxes from home decor or appliances for fear that they may be needed to return the item or re-pack it when you someday move. Shoe boxes – everyone needs shoe boxes!

Sure it’s great to have a box around when you need one, but how many do you have? Take a look. Actually go around and count all the empties. How many are there? Do you really need the box from a set of glasses that are already in use? Are the empties you’re holding onto for returns long past the return date? Some are for items that we no longer even own! The same goes for bags; grocery bags, gift bags, department store shopping bags. All these empties take up space.

I am not suggesting that you keep nothing. Rather, I merely suggest that you take an honest – measured – look at what you have. Here are three questions to get you started:

1. How many do I reallyneed to keep?

For this I suggest you underestimate. Hangers, boxes and bags are usually the types of items that continue to enter our homes regularly. Trust that you won’t run out. If you do, it’s easy to get more – for free. Ask at any local store when you need a shipping box, there are always empties.

2. How much space are these empties taking up?

Measure it. Know exactly what you are forfeiting to store…well, nothing. Then decide if you’re willing to give up that much premium real estate.

3. Can what I have be stored more compactly?

If you like to keep extra grocery bags on hand for garbage pail liners and such, keep them all together in one place, in one bag or container and vow not to outgrow that spot. Limit shipping boxes and then store one inside the other.

Look around your own home and start counting. Decide to let go of your empties and give yourself the gift of newfound space. You may have more “home” than you thought!

* Annette Reyman is a member of the National Association of Professional Organizers and its Philadelphia Chapter View her Web site at www.allrightorganizing.com. To contact Annette for organizing work or speaking engagements in the Greater Philadelphia area call (908) 361-7105 or email her at annettereyman@gmail.com.