Making the Most Out of Small Spaces

Small spaces require constant management and organization to keep a homeowner from losing their mind. Although, you don’t have to be crafty to find new and innovative ways to utilize the space available to you, you may have to take a step back and look at your home with a fresh set of eyes. The following are simple ways to utilize your small space.

Attics

Attics are often an area of the house where items go to be forgotten about. However, with a bit of pre-planning, this area of the home can serve as a very useful storage space or area of retreat. Organizing your attic so that you know how to find items when it comes time to look for them will save you a headache in the long run.

Labeling boxes and putting items back where you retrieved them from is a jumping off point. The attic is a great place to store items such as heavy winter items during the summer months or holiday decorations that are only used for a short time out of every year. If you can keep yourself organized, holiday decorating can be much more fun without wasting half of your day rummaging through piles of long-forgotten items.

If your home is lacking places of refuge, converting your attic into a place of retreat may be beneficial to you. It can serve as a quiet and offset area for your children to do arts and crafts or as a pleasurable reading nook. Additionally, if you invest the time and money into finishing your attic, you can also increase the value of your home.

Van Life

Many people, particularly millennials, are chasing the appealing craze of what is being referred to as “van life.” For many recent college graduates, the idea of purchasing a home is daunting and unattainable. As a result, many are opting to live in RVs or vans converted into livable spaces. At a fraction of the price of a permanent structure, a home on wheels has its benefits — space is not one of them.

Many of those who have ventured out in seek of van life have become very creative with the ways they utilize their space. You will quickly find that living in close quarters with others in an RV will require you to be very organized, especially if you have children. However, it can also serve as good practice for your child to clean up after themselves as a result of the minimal available space.

Taking advantage of every square inch is not only needed, but vital to success. Redesigning your wardrobe to fit the minimalist lifestyle you are forced to adopt as a result of your living quarters is a must. Install collapsible shelves that can be put away while in transit. Equip closets and cabinets with locking doors so that your belongings do not shift when the unit is in motion. Magnets can be very useful for hanging items from the ceiling of a metal van roof or by sticking them to the inside of metal doors.

Storage Tactics

Every area of the home can benefit from further attention to how items are being stored — the bathroom always needs a place to hide the toilet paper supply, the kitchen tupperware drawer needs to be saved from an epic explosion, or your jewelry could use something more effective so it stops knotting up and getting scratched or ruined. The following can be applied to nearly any room in your home:

• Shelving: Installing shelving is an inexpensive and easy way to utilize wall space for storage. If you love your wall art, take some time to do some rearranging to better utilize your wall space without having to part with your beloved art pieces. A combination of decor and shelving will help your space to feel less cramped and more comfortable.
• Vertical Storage: Stackable storage bins and narrow bookcases are a great way to start storing items moving towards the ceiling. Too often we attempt to utilize the undersides of our furniture and the bottoms of our closets for storage. Don’t make that mistake too often and instead start looking up for additional space.
• Uncommon Spaces: When you feel that you have completely run out of room in your small spaces, that is when it is time to get creative by installing hidden storage areas in unsuspecting places. The space underneath your stairs is hollow and empty. Convert your stairs into drawers that can pull out to store your shoes, books or whatever else you are struggling to find a home for.

If you find that you are feeling overwhelmed by the amount of things you have in your home, it may not be a result of having a small space but instead that you simply have too much stuff. Take an opportunity to purge your home of any unneeded items and see if that makes a difference in your home. Your home is meant to be your refuge — have fun finding new ways to make your small space work for you.