When living in a small space, it can feel cluttered quickly. Any little mess, even an organized mess can make your home feel messy. Being a designer who doesn’t like clutter, I have learned some creative storage solutions to stay organized while living in a small space.
ORGANIZE
After spending many months living at my in-laws last year (read our story here), I had to get creative to stay organized while living in their basement suite. Doing life with a large family, you need a place to put everything so you don’t lose your marbles looking for it every day. I have lived in larger and smaller homes and have enjoyed both for different reasons.
It’s important is to stay organized whether your home is large or small. Everything needs a home so you can feel peaceful in your home. Everything needs its own space when not in use so it doesn’t feel cluttered or messy. And so you can find things:). Check out this post to help you get started.
I am a little crazy about making things pretty, which leaves me getting creative…
DECLUTTER
Declutter your space. Keep only what is absolutely necessary and you use on a regular basis. If you don’t need it, it’s ok to get rid of it. Even if it’s sentimental. Keep one special item from Grandma or mom. Let go of the rest. They may mean more to keep only one or two special pieces as a memory, rather than cluttering up your home with many of your loved one’s things.
Organize your dressers and closets regularly. Have a box ready to bring to bibles for missions or sell in your closet to make it easy for unwanted items to go when you get time.
Make sure every piece of furniture in your home has a purpose and sell or give away any piece that just creates more clutter.
15 Creative solutions to simple organization
- Create a small desk area in an empty area of your room for a mini office or screen plug-in zone
- Find a fun, second-hand unusual cabinet and add a coat of paint to update it. Use it for extra kitchen storage or on an empty wall to store much-needed items.
- Coffee tables and end tables with room for hidden storage such as; end tables with drawers or doors, or an ottoman or a coffee table that opens up
- Hang pretty shelving or decorative storage solutions on the wall.
- Build custom cabinetry in an empty hutch area or to surround your fireplace
- Don’t have a fireplace? Create a focal point with built-in shelving units
- Reshelve your closets to make them more functional
- Remove closet doors if there isn’t a lot of room for the doors and add built-ins or curtains to maximize the storage space
- Build shelves and a mudroom in your garage. I prefer to have my mudroom in the garage anyways to create more room on my main floor for other things.
- Paint an old dresser or find one-second hand and pop your tv on top in your living room, or use it as a buffet for your dining area or as an entryway table
- Place a dresser beside your bed instead of an end table for even more storage and less furniture in a small room
- Hooks on the wall create great storage anywhere. Your bedroom, a bathroom, or add a storage bench with hooks above for backpacks and extra shoes in your entry
- Use bins under the bed to store books, shoes, and seasonal clothing
- Shelving units are a great way to store items. If you do have open shelving, be sure to add some pretty things among the necessities to make it visually appealing
- Place similar dressers, shelves, or cabinets on either side of your fireplace to balance out the fireplace and store extra items
CREATIVE STORAGE
Get creative with your storage! Use a painted dresser for your TV to hide those movies or books. Put a short dresser as your entryway table for extra beach towels or winter scarves. Custom build a china cabinet or find an old one to recover for your dining hutch area for extra dishes, kids coloring, or even extra pantry supplies. Use end tables with room for storage.
If you have larger closets and smaller bedrooms, place a dresser in the closet. You can also replace your bedside table with a small dresser beside your bed. This creates more space in your bedroom while making the most of your storage solutions.
A shelf for your towels, a coffee table or ottoman with storage for extra blankets and movies. The wall in your office could hold a pretty filing system to be organized and take the mess off your desk. Rubbermaid bins to tuck under your beds hold extra books or seasonal clothing will give you more space in your closets.
Pretty storage solutions create a wonder for your space to stay organized and decluttered. Want to see more? Check out this post on how to decorate and declutter your small home.
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