Who has all the storage they need? You do. OK stop right there. This post is not for you. Right. For the rest of us who say, I always need more storage space.
Many of you have said you would love to get organized but you don’t have enough storage space. You are just like most of us in that you don’t have the luxury of loads of extra space and have ask about adding storage space where there is none.
I want you to know you are not alone. My husband and at one time planned to live in a 750 square foot property that we owned. I had a rule if it wasn’t useful then it couldn’t have a place in the house. I didn’t have a basement or an attic. What space I did have we made the most of.
I want to share a few thoughts about what worked for us.
- Pull down shelves – are perfect for making upper shelves easy to access;
- Lazy Susan turntables are amazing – Use them in corners and fill the lost dead space.
- Go vertical – Use your wall space. Add a pot rack to the ceiling. I have one above my kitchen sink.
- Don’t forget under the bed storage;
- Under cabinet drawers if you have a kick plate under your cabinets. You a can add storage in that area.
Photo from The Family Handyman - Add shelves over your doors. That is a great place to store extra towels in the bathroom and the laundry is a good place to store extra paper products;
- Wire under shelf storage baskets double up your usable space;
- Storage ottoman’s can hold shoes and provide a place to take sit down – everything needs to do double duty and can provide storage;
- Raise the floor. Build a platform and you can add storage;
- Squeeze out more by adding shallow storage between the studs in your interior walls. Most walls are built on 16-inch centers and are 4 inches deep. That space is perfect for lots of things. You can add a message center, medicine cabinet, and spice storage or jewelry cabinet just to mention a few.
Also, you don’t have to use furniture as intended. I had antique theater seats that folded up and didn’t use much floor space when not in use but were perfect dining chairs when needed. You can find bar stools that stack. I have used a dresser in my kitchen and another dresser as a sofa table. Every thing in my house has drawers or storage.
Think outside the box and you will find there are so many options. I would love to hear what you did to add storage to your home.
Pamela
#storage #organized #family #momslife #tinyhouse #reallife
I had a six inch space between the kitchen window and the cabinets to either side..so I added two shelves per side and then a huge shelf that is above the window and connects the cabs to each other. This gave me room for my cookbooks and recipe box, my coffee cups, glasses tea pots and chachkes.I also enclosed the area above the refrigerator with a wood panel and a small curtain. this gave me all kinds of hidden storage for appliances we use rarely. In the bathroom I took a four ft wide bookshelf and placed a two ft wide tall bookshelf on top of it. That gave me shelving for towels and bath supplies as well as a space for medicines, brushes, curlers etc. I built two standing shelf units in the living room and added a coat rack behind the front door. instant closet spaces.
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Suze ~ Excellent use of space! Thanks for sharing.
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it’s all your fault you know..I had piles of stuff before I got jealous of your organization skills! lol
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Fine. I’ll take the blame. You are welcome. LOL.
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You have such great tips! Thanks for sharing!
Ena (Pretty, Plus and Proud)
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Thank you so much!
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🙂 I fully agree with everything you say.
I have storage over the doors and under the beds and in every imaginable cabinet.
However, I do not use my basement. Firstly, because it can get wet if it rains heavily (that’s what the land lord said), secondly because whatever is stored down there, will never be used again (my experience), because I forget.
Another idea I once saw in a magazine is a “home made” storage place between the room’s wall and the headboard of the bed (I hope I’m expressing myself clearly). This space can be used i.e. for storing pillows and blankets and the bed can be used i.e. as a day bed or a couch.
Have a very HAPPY week 🙂
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that is a great one. Thanks you have a happy week.
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🙂
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Morning Pamela!
A thought struck me as I looked at your header photo and then all the things in the room around me…do we really NEED everything we have? Over the years I have paired down everytime I have moved. Not because I have moved to smaller houses but because once it comes to packing it all into boxes I realise the amount of extra stuff I have and how much I don’t actually need anymore.
I am reminded of the scene in Eat, Pray, Love where she is looking at the small storage unit she has packed up her life into and realises how little she actually wanted to keep and how that represented her life. What do we have that really means something and what is just accumulated and rarely used extras?
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That is so true. I am a firm believer that the most important things are not things.
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Great storage ideas! My main problem is paperwork. I end up with so much paperwork because of mail, and I have this unsightly basket on my coffee table full of paperwork. I try to bring it down some by hole-punching each piece and putting it in a binder, but it seems a never-ending task. What kind of paperwork would you recommend be kept and what can I throw out pronto?
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I’m going to do an entire post on paperwork. I’ll post it tomorrow.
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I have a new post on financial papers that might be helpful to you.
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