We all have stuff, and stuff can easily turn into clutter. Who likes clutter? It not only makes your home look less appealing, but it makes it harder to find your things when you need them, adding unnecessary stress to your life.
To live comfortably in a home, regardless of its size, you need it to be well organised. Of course, this is especially important in a small space.
Not all of us have massive closets or built-in cabinets. Luckily, you don’t need them. What you need is to learn a few tricks and make a plan. You also don’t want to fill your home with all sorts of baskets, bins and containers that will end up adding to the clutter.
If you’re tired of living in a messy home where you can never find anything, here are a few easy and budget-friendly ideas that will help you tackle messy trouble areas.
Install Shelves along the Perimeter of Your Walls
The 12 inches of wall right below your ceiling is prime real estate for creative storage. By installing shelves along the perimeter, you’ll have somewhere to put items you don’t use that often without having to sacrifice floor space or space in your closet or cabinets. The best part is that this trick works for almost any room.
In the kitchen, you probably already have cabinets installed up to that height, so it wouldn’t make sense to add shelves. Instead, you can buy ribbons online and decorate baskets that you place on top of the cabinets. It’s ideal for items like cookie cutters and other tools that you may not use very often but still want to be able to get to easily. Don’t forget to put a tea towel on top to keep dust from getting on them.
In the bathroom, you could also add a shelf above the door to store things like towels and toilet paper.
Cover Shelves with Sliding Mirrors
You don’t have a big closet to store all your clothes and linen? This idea might be the perfect solution for you. You could install shelves on one of your bedroom walls and cover them with sliding mirrors.
Sure, you might lose floor space, but the mirror will make the room look bigger and brighter. Plus, you’ll gain a ton of storage space.
Add a Window Seat to Your Bedroom
Another great way to add storage to your bedroom is through a window seat. You’ll have somewhere to keep your linen and a place where you can relax, read a book or use your laptop.
It will also make your bedroom look more stylish and cosy.
Mount a Pegboard Organizer on Your Wall
Pegboards are a common sight in workshops and tools sheds, but you can also use them to create more storage in your kitchen, closet or bathroom.
Nowadays, you can find them in very stylish colours, and there are rods, hooks and baskets to help you store pretty much anything from toiletries, make-up, accessories or spices.
Use Drawer Organisers
If you don’t already use drawer organisers, you should. There’s nothing worse than having drawers full of small items where you can’t find anything.
They’re inexpensive, and you can also make your own. The internet is full of video tutorials, and you’ll see that it’s super easy.
Keep Small Toys in a Shoe Organizer
If you have kids, you know how much they lose stuffed animals. It doesn’t take long for them to reach an impressive collection. Sometimes you’ll find it hard to say no when your little angels ask so nicely, and they’ll also receive many of them from relatives or family friends. As cute as these toys are, they take up a lot of space.
A good way to store is by hanging a shoe organiser over their bedroom door and putting them there. They’ll be easy to find, and your child will find it more comforting to see their fluffy friends “hanging out” with them in their room instead of tucked away in drawers and baskets.
Mount Tension Rods underneath Sinks
Most people like to keep their cleaning products underneath the sink and out of sight. But there are so many cleaning products for different purposes that it quickly gets cluttered.
A simple and cheap way to reduce the clutter is to mount tension rods and hang the spray bottles on them. This allows you to save some of the space on the bottom of the cabinet for other items like gloves and sponges.
Sliding Pantry
You know that skinny space between your fridge and the wall? Don’t let it go to waste! It can also be turned into prime real estate for storage.
You can either buy a slide-out storage tower made specifically for this purpose or make your own. Once again, the internet is full of tutorials. You’ll see that it’s not complicated. It’s basically a skinny shelf with wheels on the bottom.
This is a great place to store spices, cereal boxes and other similar items.
Storage under the Bed
It’s certainly not a secret that you can keep some of your stuff under the bed, but there are different options depending on the level of difficulty.
Option number one is to use canvas totes. You can put clothes or linen in them and slide them under the bed. If your bed is too low, use bed risers to give it a boost and create a little extra storage space.
The second option is to make some drawers from plywood. You can also buy wood boxes or recycle shelves and add wheels to them as long as they are the right height.
The third option goes one step further. You make your own platform for the bed. This does require some skills and a bit of work.
The fourth option kicks things up a notch with a loft bed that will leave you enough room underneath to place a desk, a chair and office supplies. And to save even more space, you can install a desk that folds against the wall.
You can make the loft bed and fold-down desk by yourself, but only if you really know what you’re doing. If not, it’s better to either hire a professional, buy the set ready-made or enlist the help of a more experienced friend.