How to get organized in small spaces

I can’t believe it’s march already! The sunshine outside is making me want to spring clean. How about you?

My oldest just moved into a new space again and of course, these young adults live in very small spaces to be able to afford life. House prices are crazy high and growing higher by the day here on the West Coast. My daughter and her roommate were having trouble figuring out how to place everything in their cluttered little space, so they reached out to me to help them get organized. Cute little farmhouses are always full of character. I just love them so much. It felt difficult to enjoy with how cluttered it was, but a few minor adjustments and this home was hard to leave.

This is how we set up this small home to be functional and decluttered

Normally I would recommend a wider walking space for a good flow of traffic throughout the home, but this home is exceptionally small with little room for a sofa. And it definitely did not allow room for a dining table or walking space. So we got creative. The young adults don’t mind squishy walkways either. So we focused more on storage for their things to cut down on clutter as much as possible. When things have a home to put things away, it really cuts down on the overwhelming feeling in a tight space.

1. Good storage solutions

With storage limited, we needed to create some. Spending a lot of money on shelving was not what the girls wanted as they are on a tight budget. I recommended not to spend too much money on storage pieces. What if they didn’t have room for it in the next house? We managed to find a few shelves for cheap second-hand from our local marketplace. Though they did invest in one new cabinet from Ikea they knew was worth the investment and wanted to keep for their future home.

This cute grey cabinet was a good find at Ikea. It was the one piece they wanted to invest in as it had many possibilities for future homes. It gave them loads of storage for more kitchen items and a great place to make a much-needed coffee bar.

We popped this shelving unit on an empty wall by the front door to allow for a place to pop their keys and give them space for even more items. We found a home for everything, we even had extra shelving!

So, if storage and space are an issue, cheap shelving along your walls does a lot to help to stay organized! Cabinets with doors or baskets to hide all the things also help to cut down on the cluttered feels.

2. Seating

Seating in a small space is sometimes difficult to accommodate for visiting and lounging. This was definitely an issue in this tiny living room with no room for dining even! So we found a cute little accent chair that’s easy to move around in the as-is pile at Ikea. This allows for extra seating in their tiny living room along with their sofa. The 2 bar chairs at the island they found on Market place for cheap (I find it so funny because we actually had this dining set years ago but sold it when we changed up our style for our dining room! I wonder if these are the same ones…;)). We placed them on either side of the island to create a mini “dining table”.

**This cute little chair in the “as-is” section at Ikea was a perfect find! It even matches their sofa perfectly with the blue matching the accent blue in the sofa.**

By wrapping the barstools around the island, it made more room for walkway to the living room. It also creates a feeling of a dining table, easier for hanging out while eating dinner. The ladder to the attic bedroom does tuck away into the ceiling.

3. Bedroom storage

Without a closet in my daughter’s bedroom, we had to get creative with storage for her clothes and a very large book collection. So we found a clothing rack to hang all the things and a used shelf with bins for all her extras. By pushing her bed against the wall, we created a cozy day bed to hang out on. The lacy Ikea curtains cover up the rough ceiling along with the area rug to cover up the floor making it feel dreamy. All we need is some twinkle lights and to hang the art on the walls and this room is ready!

**A work in progress, but this bedroom has all the fun attic hipster style feels**

All the organized cozy living room feels in this small home

All we need now is some art on the walls and an area rug to make this living room feel even cozier. What are some of your favorite storage solutions friend?

This was the living room after. I love how intimate it feels and still allows room for hanging out with friends

Want some more ideas on small space solutions? Check out my post here! Like what you are reading? Pop your email below for more inspiration right to your inbox!

Angela

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How to get organized in small spaces