In the last ten years, the size of a room in a new apartment has been reduced by 8 percent. Unfortunately, just because our homes are getting smaller doesn’t mean that our things are, and for many people, downsizing to fit the needs of a place you’ll only call home for a few years doesn’t make much sense either. However, in the following article you will see 30 storage ideas that are great at home and that will make you see that you really have more space than you thought.
Storage ideas that will free up space
Smart storage, and a little ingenuity, can go a long way to make your space appear bigger, cleaner, and better organized. Review the ways you can save space and take advantage of it at the same time by accommodating those things that you had left in view because you thought you had no more space to put them.
Use a board to store on the wall
Do you want to make a little more space in your small space? Put a board on your wall. This inexpensive addition to your room has a low profile, but it’s an easy way to keep everything from purses to scarves from cluttering up your coat rack or worse, ending up on the floor.
Opt for a mattress drawer with drawers
If the clutter in your room has reached unsustainable levels, try swapping out the existing box for one with drawers. Doing so will help you clear clutter while maintaining precious storage space under your bed.
Use a magnetic shelf to hold kitchen utensils
Even if you’re living in a massive home, kitchen counter space always seems to be at a premium. An easy solution is to take those utensils that would otherwise clutter your counter or drawers and hang them from a magnetic shelf attached to your wall.
Store your shoes in transparent boxes
Do you want your wardrobe to be easier to manage in an instant? Instead of using a bulky shelf or shoe organizer that’s not attractive to the door, store your shoes in clear boxes. This will keep your shoes neatly organized and make it easy to find your favorite pair quickly.
Create a storage bench using organizing cubes
Kill two birds with one stone by making a storage space and a comfortable place to take off your shoes with organizer cubes. Place a cushion on top and use the drawers below to keep your hats, gloves, and other outdoor accessories.
Create a cork jewelry board
Ditch the jewelry box that has been cluttering your closet shelf in favor of a cork board. This low-profile storage solution can help you keep all those earrings in one place, those untangled necklaces, and it actually looks pretty cute with a painted frame around it.
Hang your laundry bin behind the door
Considering that your average basket also takes up as much space as a side table, it is worth finding alternative solutions to your laundry problems. Instead of cluttering your room, try hanging the basket bags from a hook on the back of your closet door and you’ll instantly have additional usable space.
Trash cans under kitchen cabinets
There are few things less attractive than an oversized trash can that takes up space in your kitchen. To hide it effectively, mount some rails inside a kitchen cabinet and opt for a roll container.
Hang fruits and vegetables in baskets
Clean up some space on your shelf or refrigerator by installing a hanging basket in your kitchen. Not only will this give you plenty of room for better use, but you can also keep some of your fruits and vegetables that don’t hold up as well in the fridge, for example:
- The bananas.
- The avocados.
- Citric fruits.
- Potato.
- Onions.
- Garlic.
- Apples.
Hang towel bars to organize scarves and belts
If you’re constantly digging through the same tangle of belts and scarves, you’re not alone. The good news? Using an inexpensive towel rack can help you keep those accessories organized while clearing out plenty of space in your closet or drawer.
Mason Jars to store your sewing kit
You can quickly make room by storing your sewing essentials in a mason jar, and as a plus, place a pin cushion on top.
Mount a mail drawer on your wall
We all have that one piece of furniture in our house that ends up being a receptacle for all those unimportant pieces of mail that we want to shred. To keep your mail collection more organized, place a mail drawer on your wall and you’ll instantly have the top of that table or ottoman available for its original purpose again.
Organize your toiletries with a spice rack
If your toiletries clutter every inch of countertop space in your bathroom, there is a simple solution. Repurpose a vertical spice rack and attach it to your bathroom wall for plenty of extra space.
Hang your cups on hooks
It happens in even the best families: You start with a mug and all of a sudden, your collection overshoots any balanced amount, taking up huge amounts of much-needed cabinet space. To reclaim the room your mugs occupied, add some hooks under your cabinets and you’ll have a lot more space in no time.
Store towels on a hanging shoe rack
Those unwieldy towels in your clothes closet will probably take up a lot more space than you want. The solution? Use a hanging shoe rack and roll up your towels arranging them in each compartment.
Place shelves over your door frame
One of the least used spaces in a home is the area between the door frame and the ceiling. Add some storage shelves to this part of your rooms and you’ll instantly enjoy less clutter and more space overall.
Hang double pipes in your closet
Make your closet work twice as much by increasing the number of tubes you use. Mount one high for items you only wear occasionally, and mount the other at waist height for clothes you wear regularly.
Use S-hooks to hang certain accessories
If you have cabinets with metal shelving, make the most of it and clear out some shelves or drawers by hanging the S-hooks from their bars. These inexpensive additions to your shelves are perfect for hanging belts, ties, scarves, and purses without cluttering up your space.
Hide remotes in an ottoman storage cabinet
That series of remote controls that fill your coffee table takes up a surprising amount of space. To eliminate this clutter, invest in a storage ottoman, where you can hide them, and anything else that might clutter up your living room surfaces.
Use floating shelves to store
Shelves are a useful design feature, but they also take up a significant amount of space – a major concern for anyone dealing with a small space. The good news? Floating shelves can provide an elegant solution to your space problem, leaving your books without taking up precious floor space.
Hang shelves at the bottom of the rafters
If your basement is messy from top to bottom, make use of your beams to create more storage space. Attaching storage, whether in the form of baskets or racks to the bottom of your rafters, can help clear tons of space in no time.
Use magazine holders to store your cutting boards
That pile of cutting boards cluttering your cabinet can be organized in a snap with just one item: a magazine holder. Just store your cutting boards in one and they will be much easier to find and less likely to fall on you when you open your cabinet.
Hang your bike on the wall to free up space
Riding a bike is a great way to exercise, but there’s no denying that bikes take up a surprising amount of space in your average home or apartment. Instead, use a wall-mounted rack and you instantly get a significant amount of additional floor space.
Maximize storage space under your sofa
One of the most useful storage spaces in the home is also one of the most often overlooked: the space under the sofa. If your sofa has legs, you can probably fit some storage boxes for items you don’t use often, like electronic manuals, extra cables, or tools, and better yet, you’ll eliminate a ton of visible space in the process.
Use a magnetic spice rack
You probably use spices for just about every meal, but many of us ineffectively store them in a cupboard, where they take up a lot of space and are hard to find. Instead, use a wall-mounted magnetic rack and all your favorite spices will be easy to spot without cluttering up your otherwise usable space.
Organize your cables with zip ties
That jumble of electronic cables on your desk is as space inefficient as it is disgusting. To effectively keep them organized and out of sight, use zip ties to group them and attach them with cable clips to the side of your desk so they don’t take up precious space.
Save space in your cabinets with a hanging shelf
While essential for any home cook, pots and pans tend to take up a great deal of space in the kitchen. To get back some of those drawers and cabinets, install a top rack instead. Not only will this clear up a great deal of space, but it will also make it easier to find your preferred pot or pan when you’re ready to cook.
Elevate your bed to make room for storage drawers
Create tons of storage space in your bedroom in an instant with a simple trick: lift your bed. While you can always use bed risers to do this, you can also place higher legs on the bed drawer to achieve the same result. Put some storage drawers under the bed and you’re done.
