For this October, IKEA Malaysia is hosting Sorted Lah!, an invitation to discover how much more the homes we already have can do. Under the theme of “A place for everything and everyone”, Sorted Lah! invites Malaysians to making room for the things that matter and for everyone who shares the home, from grandparents to the youngest in the family, without needing a bigger house.
It is an idea supported by the first IKEA Home Organisation Index1, a new survey of 506 Malaysians released today. The results show that most people don’t need larger homes, but rather assistance in organizing their current space, with only 1 in 10 indicating they truly need more room. Many homes lack designated storage, leading to familiar issues: time wasted searching for keys and chargers, clutter hidden away before visitors arrive, and cherished items stored in the back of cupboards.
“Home means something different to every Malaysian family, but what we heard is clear: people want their homes to work better for everyone in them, and many simply need a little support to get there,” said Takeshi Murai, Country Retail Director of IKEA Malaysia.
“That is what ‘A place for everything and everyone’ is all about. As home furnishing experts, we know storage inside out, and good storage has nothing to do with how big your home is. We believe in space, not size, and in creating a better everyday life for the many people, which is why our range has storage to fit every home, whatever its size, and every room within it. Nobody needs to give up the things they love, and getting started doesn’t have to cost much, with more than 1,000 products now permanently priced under RM10. We just want to help people find a starting point, one drawer, one corner and one room at a time.”
Our things tell our story
The hardest items to organize are often those we cherish most, like old photos, kids’ art, and family heirlooms. According to a survey, 40% of Malaysians say sentimental keepsakes are the toughest to manage. IKEA believes in keeping these items and providing a space for them to be displayed and appreciated.
“The hardest things to find a place for are usually the ones we love most. Old photos, our children’s drawings, the things passed down in the family,” said Takeshi. “Nobody should feel they have to let those go. They just deserve a better spot than the back of a cupboard, somewhere you can actually see them and enjoy them.”
Room for everyone
A home is rarely organized by just one person. With grandparents, parents, and children, each household deals with different routines and habits, and 1 in 3 Malaysians say this makes organization harder. The best system is one that suits everyone, so keeping the home in order becomes a shared task for the whole family.
“Every home is shared by people with different needs and different routines,” Takeshi adds. “A good system works for all of them. That might mean hooks at a child’s height, a shelf grandma can reach without a stool, or one spot by the door where the keys always go. Small changes like these help the whole household keep things in order, so tidying up doesn’t fall on just one person.”
A place for everything, room by room
Guiding every one of these solutions is Democratic Design, IKEA’s belief that good design should look good, work well, offer quality that stands up to everyday use and be made with sustainability in mind, at a price that as many people as possible can afford. In the year ahead, it comes to life in the rooms where everyday life happens:
- Kitchen – From preparing and cooking to eating and cleaning up, clever storage keeps ingredients in view and tools within reach, making space for everything meaningful in life at home to start.
- Bedroom – From well-organised socks to well-kept secrets, wardrobe systems, drawer organisers and under-bed storage bring peace of mind to the whole family, with a little space for everyone’s own things.
- Living room – Shelving, cabinets and display storage keep everyday clutter out of sight while putting the things that tell your story on show, so the whole household feels at home.
- Storage across the home – From the entrance to the laundry corner, every nook and cranny can work harder, with boxes and shelving for the seasonal and festive items that are only needed once in a while.
Get Sorted Lah! in store
To help Malaysians get started, IKEA Damansara, Cheras, Tebrau, and Batu Kawan will hold the Sorted Lah! Open House every weekend from 10 October to 1 November 2026. Families and friends can join The Sorting Escape, a fun storage challenge that can be booked online. Teams will see their scores on a live scoreboard, and the best teams will return on the last weekend to compete for the title of King of Storage. Visitors can also enjoy activities like picking a record at The Listening Lounge, finding ideas for tricky spaces at The Design Table, joining The Great Book Club, or letting kids have fun at Say Hej! and Little Designers.
The Sorting Escape
The hero experience of the Open House. Visitors race the clock through four hands-on challenges inspired by everyday life at home: Find It (track down the things that always go missing, then give them a proper home), Sort It (organise kitchen essentials around how they’re actually used), Pack It (make a fixed storage space hold more, without making things impossible to find) and Solve It (make a shared space work for everyone in the household).
Players work together using IKEA storage and organisation solutions, collect a key for every challenge they complete, and finish with the final unlock to get the whole house sorted.
| When | Every Saturday and Sunday, 12PM – 6PM |
| Where | All IKEA stores**Pre-registration required to book your slots @ https://sorting-escape-dev.web.app |
The Listening Lounge
A cosy corner for one of life’s simple pleasures: putting on a record and taking the time to enjoy it. Visitors browse a selection of vinyl, pick a record and settle into an IKEA living room setting for a listen, from familiar favourites to something new.
Record storage, comfortable seating and warm lighting show how even a small corner at home can make room for something you love.
| When | Every Saturday and Sunday, 10AM – 10PM |
| Where | All IKEA stores |
Sound Check
Intimate live sets from local artists, played up close in an IKEA living room setting. Pull up a seat, discover new sounds and enjoy the simple pleasure of listening together.
| When | Saturday, 17 October 2026, from 6PM | Saturday, 31 October 2026, from 6PM | ||
| Featuring | Bunga CLAUDIA Zynakal lucidrari | IKEA Tebrau IKEA Batu Kawan IKEA Cheras IKEA Damansara | Najwa Latiff FUGŌ Midnight Fusic ALYPH | IKEA Tebrau IKEA Batu Kawan IKEA Cheras IKEA Damansara |
| Where | All IKEA stores, schedule as above | |||
The Design Table
Got a corner at home you can’t quite figure out? Visitors bring a photo of it and sit down with local interior designers and IKEA interior design experts for practical ideas, from smarter storage to better use of space.
The designers bring a fresh creative eye; IKEA’s experts bring space-planning know-how and IKEA solutions. Everyone leaves with simple changes they can take home.
– Shin Chang, Architect and Co-Founder of REXKL
– Safuraa Razak (Aaput), Architect and Interior Designer
– Adrien Kent, Interior Designer and Co-Founder of Studio KANTA
– Kashfi Emir, Founder of Studio Three
| When | Sunday, 11 October 2026, 2PM – 3PM | Sunday, 25 October 2026, 2PM – 3PM | ||
| Featuring | Adrien Kent Aaput Shin Chang Kashfi Emir | IKEA Damansara IKEA Cheras IKEA Batu Kawan IKEA Tebrau | Kashfi Emir Adrien Kent Aaput Shin Chang | IKEA Damansara IKEA Cheras IKEA Batu Kawan IKEA Tebrau |
| Where | All IKEA stores, schedule as above | |||
The Great Book Club
A reading room created with local book clubs and reading communities. Each brings its own shelf of picks around one simple prompt: books that feel like home.
Pick up something that catches your eye, find a comfortable corner and stay for a chapter or two. Come for the books, stay for the company. There’s always room for one more.
| When | Saturday, 24 October and Saturday, 31 October 2026, 12PM – 2PM |
| Featuring | Areca Books, Kelab Buku Sepetang and The Book & Bru Club[Store allocation will be updated at a later date] |
| Where | All IKEA stores |
Little Designers
A creative corner where kids draw, colour and create a room of their own, filled with the things, colours and ideas they love most. There’s no right or wrong way to make a room feel like yours.
| When | Every Saturday and Sunday, 10AM – 10PM |
| Where | All IKEA stores |
Say Hej!
A family-friendly meet and greet with IKEA friends. Stop by for a hug, strike a pose and snap a photo together to remember the visit.
| When | Every Saturday and Sunday, sessions at 12PM, 2PM, 6PM and 8PM |
| Where | All IKEA stores |
Weekend calendar
Running every Saturday and Sunday at all stores: The Sorting Escape (12PM – 6PM), The Listening Lounge (10AM – 10PM), Little Designers (10AM – 10PM) and Say Hej! (12PM, 2PM, 6PM and 8PM). On selected days, there’s a little more:
| Weekend | Saturday | Sunday |
|---|---|---|
| Weekend 1 | 10 October– | 11 October The Design Table, 2PM – 3PM |
| Weekend 2 | 17 October Sound Check, from 6PM | 18 October– |
| Weekend 3 | 24 October The Great Book Club, 12PM – 2PM | 25 October The Design Table, 2PM – 3PM |
| Weekend 4 | 31 October The Great Book Club, 12PM – 2PM Sound Check, from 6PM | 1 November– |
Head over to any IKEA store in Malaysia from 10 October to 1 November 2026 to get inspired, get sorted, or simply enjoy a fun weekend out. Sorting Escape slots can be booked from 8 October 2026 at https://sorting-escape-prod.web.app. For more information, visit IKEA.my or follow IKEA Malaysia on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok for the latest updates..