Knowing how to store your items is an essential skill, whether you are moving to a new place, downsizing, or just reorganizing your home. While it might be possible to shove everything into the back of your closet, these tips will help you feel organized and decluttered, while maintaining the aesthetic of your home.
One of the first storage tips is to utilize those “hidden spaces” in your home that provide opportunities for storage like behind the door, above the toilet, and under your bed.
For starters, there are many storage options that can be utilized behind doors including over-the-door hanging shoe organizers for the inside of the closet door. This type of organizer can help expand the space in your closet and keep your shoes extra organized and easy to access. For smaller closets you can also hang mini organizers on the inside of the doors for essential items like keys, sunglasses, or hair ties. Another way to use behind the door storage is to maximize your pantry space by installing a wire organizer on the inside of your pantry door to hold condiments, spreads, snacks, and spices.
Image from: Better Homes & Gardens
A great storage space that many people don’t utilize in their home is the space above the toilet. This space is great for installing half cabinets or floating shelves to hold all of the items that don’t fit in the drawers or under the sink.
Another storage maximizer is a bed with storage underneath and around it, providing extra hidden drawers to store your clothes and trinkets.
Sometimes, you might not have the space for an office and a guest room in your home, so a great solution to this problem is the Murphy bed, which can fold up into the wall and leave the entire room open for any other use when there aren’t any guests over.
Image from: Visual Hunt
Smaller scale storage solutions are possible too, and even just incorporating things like bins baskets and ottomans into your living areas can help declutter a space. Ottomans are a great way to store blankets, books, or other items so that they are easy to access, but still hidden, creating a more open and clean living space. Wicker baskets and bins are also a great way to store blankets without having them take up any closet space. A great idea is to pick baskets that match the style of your room and use it as a decorative piece that doubles as extra storage! Besides blankets, bins and baskets can store art supplies, school supplies, shoes, magazines, or anything that you don’t want cluttering your home.
On the other hand, sometimes people have more storage than they think, and all they need is a little help organizing the chaos. Little trinkets like drawer and desk organizers can help create more space and declutter.
On a bigger scale, you can efficiently design your closets and pantries so that no space is wasted. Make sure shelves are spaced out for optimal storage in your pantry and use organizing stands and containers to create a cleaner looking space. For closets, try adding in a double rodded design so that you can double the space for hanging your clothes. In all, creating more storage space is all about efficiently using what you already have.