Everybody wishes they had more space at home at some time or other. Whether it’s during celebrations when you want more room for family, or just for everyday living when the kids are home, and everyone seems on top of each other.
Organising possessions, storage and even decor can change the mood and feeling of space in the home, so here are some tips to help you get the best from your personal space.
Keep Things Simple
Or to put it another way, minimise where possible. That doesn’t mean you need to go the whole route of minimal living. In this instance it’s more about clearing your surfaces, having designated spots for different items, and being fussy about which items you put on display, and where.
If you need to thin down possessions, tackle this first. If you have lots of cluttersome items, it’s less stressful to do a bit at a time rather than trying to blitz the whole house at once. You could go room by room, or work in categories.
If categories seem a bit confusing, an example might be books. Maybe they’re all over the house, in every room, but would make a better, more stylish display if they were all together. Go round and collect them all up. Stack them in a big pile in the middle of the room if necessary. Then decide which ones to keep for display and which to pack away for safe keeping.
Alternatively, maybe you have different categories of books, such as children’s literature or a collection of work-related textbooks. Create individual units or shelves to display just those categories.
You can apply a similar concept to all kinds of household possessions, from linens to DIY tools or even clothes and toys. When you find items you want to keep but not use or display, consider renting a self storage room. This gives the best of both worlds as you get to keep possessions you love, but also free up space at home.
Make Use of Storage Furnishings
All over the house, storage furnishings help cut down on surface clutter, keeping small items together and neat.
- In living rooms, go for coffee tables with lifting tops, end tables with shelves or drawers, and decorative chests, trunks, or footstools with storage.
- In bedrooms, consider swapping frame beds for divans or ottoman styles. The added storage under the mattress is handy for all kinds of things, from kids toys and sports gear to spare towels and bed linens.
When your closet is bursting at the seams, try installing a second hanging rail under the first. This is especially useful if most of your garments are short. If short items share space with longer clothes such as dresses or full-length coats, separate them into lengths so all the short things are together. Pop one of those cheap drawer towers underneath the smaller items and use it for shoes, folded items, or accessories. There are more closet organising ideas here.
Shelving can also be classified as storage furnishings and is useful all over the house. The vertical space is often overlooked, but there is lots of storage space on walls.
Some ideas include:
- A shelf over a doorway. When there’s no wall space, popping a shelf over the door is unobtrusive but handy for displaying precious items. In the bathroom, use it to store beauty products in pretty baskets.
- Attach a narrow shelf or two to the end of the kitchen cabinets. It’s a handy alternative for spice bottles and,if you fix a rail in front, it can also be used for recipe books.• Run a long shelf at picture rail height around the perimeter of a room. Great for books, lighting, or delicate items you want to keep out of pets’ or kids’ reach.
Storage Through the Seasons
Often, we end up with nowhere to put things because everywhere is filled with stuff not being used. This is true for cupboards and cabinets, but also for garden sheds and garages.
A solution that’s gained in popularity over recent years is to adopt a storage unit to store items on a rotational basis through the seasons.
You store everything you don’t use in winter during summer, and swap things out as the seasons change, putting away all the summer stuff you won’t use again for a few months. This system basically halves the possessions you have at home, creating a load of space for what’s left.
You can find things easier, keep tabs on belongings, prevent damage from overcrowding, and give the family plenty of breathing space to enjoy home life more.
Extend the concept to clothing, large DIY tools such as ladders, garden machinery or furniture and outdoor play items, as well as Christmas trees and decorations and you can imagine the extra space to be gained.
With self storage rooms you also have easy access to your things, so it’s no hassle to fetch something home if you need it.
If you ever find you can’t get anything done because of all the stuff surrounding you, it’s time for a rethink and re-organise. It takes a bit of effort, but it’s well worth the trouble for the sense of freedom and well-being you get just from creating more space at home.
*Ad/sponsored post by Big Yellow Self Storage company. Photos used in this post have been credited respectively.
Manny.Wandering | The Wandering Mother Blog 
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