Creative storage solutions for tiny homes and apartments

 

Not everyone has the luxury of living out in the countryside where land is cheap and larger homes are the norm. The tradeoff for living in or close to the city where all the excitement happens is that you’re forced to rent or purchase a home with a lot less square footage than what you could get with the same money elsewhere. But just because circumstances force you into smaller quarters, it doesn’t mean you have to rent a storage unit for your stuff. There are all sorts of creative ways to incorporate storage into your existing space in a way that doesn’t look cluttered. Here are a few tips.

Get rid of stuff you don’t need

If you don’t have enough space for your belongings and you don’t want to deal with the hassle of getting a storage unit, then the first order of business is reducing what you have. Even if you aren’t in cramped quarters it’s a good idea to go through your belongings every six months or so to get rid of things you no longer need or want. This can be an overwhelming task so make things easy on yourself by just doing one room or closet per day. Have three piles: one for things you want to keep, one for junk that needs to go to the trash, and one for items that someone else might find value in that you can donate or sell.

Make use of the internet

Lack of storage space is a very common problem so there’s no shortage of creative solutions online. Many solutions won’t work for you but chances are you’ll find several that will. There are all kinds of nooks and crannies that you never thought to store things. You might also come across advice to store things in rooms you wouldn’t normally think to store them in. Create a folder on your computer to store pictures of ideas you come across.

Select furniture wisely

You should always take great care in selecting furniture but especially when working within a small space. Since these are the largest pieces and they’ll take up the most space in your home, they should all serve double duty. All beds should have under-bed storage with large deep drawers. Bunk beds for children are naturally good space-savers. Your shoe bench in your entry way should open to reveal storage space for shoes and your ottoman should be hollow as well. Choose end tables with drawers and a coffee table with storage space as well.

Utilize vertical space

Most wasted space in homes and apartments is up high. This makes sense since these are out-of-reach but if you want to maximize space, you need to find ways to use vertical space as well. Go with taller, narrower bookshelves and dressers instead of shorter, squatter ones. Hang floating shelves in rooms throughout your home for additional storage.

Display things out in the open

Usually you want to store things out of sight to avoid a cluttered look but there are ways of keeping a few carefully chosen things out in the open in a way that looks nice in order to free up space in other places. For example, a small pile of books on an end table or a row of books or movies between bookends on the top of a baseboard radiator cover display things in an attractive way.

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