How To Organize Small Living Spaces
Do you sometimes wish your magical power was to make things disappear? Maybe you wish your house wasn’t so old so your closet could fit more than a few outfits inside without having the hanger bent at an angle? Do you ever think, “How in the world am I ever supposed to find a place to fit all my coffee mugs?” If you said yes to any of those questions, then this blog is for you. Today we have created a scavenger hunt throughout your house to demonstrate how to fit your things into a small space.
GO VERTICAL
“Sooo organizers…” you think. “How can you possibly make more space out of my tiny space?” For starters, look up. No, I’m not talking about praying for more space, I mean think vertically. Vertical space is often overlooked as a storage solution. One way to do this is to install shelving on the wall.
DOORS
Next, check the inside panel of any door. Maybe it’s your pantry door, clothes closet door, linen closet door. Now imagine adding space (again vertical) to the inside panel of that door. Make sure you have enough depth inside the door to fit whatever you’re adding. We love installing hanging shoe pocket organizers and using them for many purposes because they’re cheap and have a minimal footprint – perhaps you could store outdoor gear in each pocket if this closet is close to an exit, maybe laundry supplies if you’re by the washer/dryer. If you have a very narrow closet door you can cut off an entire column of the shoe pocket organizer to custom fit it to your door without losing the functionality. You can also just add a couple hooks for things like belts or scarves that just don’t make the cut on the rod.
LIVING ROOM
Add some hidden storage or multi-purpose furniture. We like to call this “smart furniture” that maximizes the function and space. Think of an ottoman with a lid to provide storage for games, blankets, DVDs, etc and surface to sit on or prop up your feet….SMART! We like all of our furniture to be able to serve at least 2 functions, preferably 3 but that’s a bit of a challenge.
BATHROOM
Ugh. It would be so nice to have a bathroom the size of a bedroom. Snap back to reality! Similarly to the behind the door storage, check under your sinks. If you have cabinets there, then you can try fitting a hanging basket on the inside of that door to corral categories of items i.e. hair styling supplies. Installing Simple Human Pull-Out Cabinet Organizers will also make it easier to bring items deep in the cabinet to you, instead of having everything fall over while you reach for a bottle of lotion.
KITCHEN
How are those kitchens on the Food Network always so organized!? Curse you Rachael Ray! Just kidding, she’s one of my favorites. Like the bathroom, try making your life simpler by adding gliding racks in your cabinets. Whether it’s under the sink or for your pots and pans, these gliding racks can help maximize space by allowing you to store as much as possible without having to reach all the way to the back of the cabinet, knocking everything over in your path. Make your things come to you, you’re already working hard enough.
Add hooks under a shelf for mugs, use a magnetic spice rack to not only add something cool to look at, but something that is also practical. Consider purchasing shelf dividers/risers that allow you to stack things neatly on top of each other in order to maximize shelf height.
Like with all organizing, it’s important to go through your things and purge first before purchasing products. You may realize that you don’t need as many pots and pans or hair curlers as you have. Once you’ve purged the space you can better see what needs to be accounted for and figure out the smartest way to organize it.
