If you’ve been in your home for a while, chances are, your home has begun to feel too small, regardless of how large it felt when you moved in. Whether you suddenly have needed extra desks for virtual schooling, or whether it’s the added games, toys, or hobbies in the space, you need a plan to add more space to your home! You might be wondering how to add more storage space and make your home more organized and easier to live within. Here are a few tips to help you make the most of the space you have in your home.
Add More Cabinets
Outdated or old-fashioned cabinetry often has underutilized space inside of it—dark corners where unused jars and canisters collect dust until you move. Worse, many do not reach the ceiling, leaving valuable storage spaces unlocked. Both adding new cabinetry and revamping existing cabinetry can help this issue. Likewise, If you need more storage space in your kitchen area, you can use non-standard items as cabinetry—whether industrial metal shelving, pot hanging organizers, or even a chest of drawers. Drawer and cabinet insert or rolling pull-out containers are excellent for utilizing those dark corners. Begone, useless canisters!
Think About Furniture Storage
One of the most beautiful options for storage available involves furniture with built-in storage. So many options are available! There are ottoman/sofa collections where the cushion sections hinge upwards from the base, giving pillow, blanket, or game storage within. Bed frames with hinged tops give access to the full space underneath for blanket and out-of-season clothing storage.
Build a Shed
If your mess includes multiple outdoor items which need a place to live, a shed can be a great option. You want a home for your lawnmower, bicycles, tools, camping equipment, and other items needed seasonally and in the outdoors, especially. Sheds can also be excellent places for designated hobby space. Such unattached spaces which are larger than a shed are called modular garages in the industry and are increasingly popular. A modular garage can protect your belongings against damage from the elements.
Use Your Attic
Utilizing your attic can be complex because it’s tempting to just open the hatch and shove things in with no order or pattern! This can lead to a confused jumble, which you, of course, would like to avoid. You need to have the easiest options available to access your attic and make sure your storage there is maximized. Insulation and flooring are fairly inexpensive basics that can protect your storage items. Use heavy-duty totes whenever possible. Likewise, if you have a larger unfinished attic, even if there is only a small area where you can stand within it, finishing it out to be a game space, peaceful reading nook, or movie zone are great options to add space to your home.
Contain Like Items
It’s important to corral like items into containers. The temptation can be to buy cheap containers to do this, but ugly containers get less use, and cheap plastics can fall apart and need to be replaced often. You might be surprised when you gather together similar items and realize what you have! If common spaces, like linen cabinets, are filled with sheets and blankets and two extra old vacuums, it becomes easy to see where your extra storage lies. Minimize what your family needs, including how many blankets, coats, cords, and dongles! They become easier to corral and make it possible to see the storage you have.
Toss, Toss Toss
Ok. If you’re not going to build extra rooms or storage, which many cannot, you still need to have as much space as possible available in your home. A lot of things are involved with life in general, especially when you are staying home frequently. When you’ve gathered similar items to corral them, chances are that you’ve discovered a lot of extra things to donate. Likewise, if your rooms are feeling clogged with too large, or too much furniture, too many books, etc, you are not alone! Practice getting rid of what you do not use or love. It will be ok! More things will flow your way. The more you go through things, the easier it will be to find things to toss.
Shelf It Up
Wall shelving does not need to be inefficient or unattractive! There are beautiful options both to display what you love and store what you need, in all rooms of your home. Look for storage that is strong and sturdy enough that you can store any heavy items necessary upon it. You want to have shelving that suits your space, and ideally, things that fit your style and décor. If you own your home and can build in, those options are available as well, of course.
Look Up and Down
Finally, look for the small spaces which can help you with non-traditional storage options. Do your closets have a tall, inaccessible shelf at the top? Find ways to maximize that. If you have high ceilings, a décor shelf above a doorway might be lovely not only for display storage, but for items like toilet paper, towels, or baskets of other small items which can be carefully kept there. Look for those spaces which might be underutilized in your home. Chances are, some engineers have made a solution!
There are so many options to make your home larger and use the space you already have more efficiently! Don’t get discouraged by needing to do layers of things bit by bit. It’s normal after you live in a home for a while to have a domino effect: you need this item out of the bedroom, but it needs to go in the garage, which needs organizing first. Allow yourself to tackle things one bit at a time, and keep going. Use your creativity to maximize your space and toss what is no longer needed. Your home will look and feel bigger in no time!
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