Functional Storage Solutions & Tips For Small Spaces

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How cool would it be to have the stair risers lift for access to built-in storage? All that space under the stairways is going to waste! If you are looking for Functional Storage Solutions & Tips For Small Spaces read on.

Think of how much stuff can be stored in this underutilized area of our homes! I have 2 inside staircases with 13 steps each! I have to find a carpenter to make this dream come true!

Small Home

My small home suited me well - until I decided to make and sell art for a living from home. Then things started to get crowded. I saw where this was going, work spaces were taking over living spaces one bedroom at a time.

Home and work life

I started working from home about 30 years ago when this option was not as popular, certainly less talked about, than remote work is today. Even with limited space it was my dream come true. As a lifelong artist, my whole life is based on creative pursuits and I didn't mind work creeping into my home space... until I did.

Many of today's remote workers require a home office consisting of little more than a laptop, a lot more manageable than setting up a well-ventilated hot shop to melt glass. What to do? I had a tiny home with little extra space.

Business was good, and the location of my home was great so I hired a contractor and built an addition. Now I have a home that is a little bigger and still doesn't have enough storage. I recognize not everyone can do this.

So what are some other things we can do when we have too much stuff and live in a small space?

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First step

Getting rid of excess stuff is even more important to do for those of us living and possibly working in small quarters. Let's face it little homes can have very little storage space. I always leaned toward a minimalist style so not keeping a lot of stuff around is my preference.

Storage containers and shelving

I notice when I help others declutter and organize one of the first things folks do is buy containers and shelves - to contain clutter. This is not my approach to decluttering.

Before buying any storage containers it is important to get rid of as many things as you possibly can. If you put all your clutter in boxes what have you achieved except storing your clutter?

Buying storage things is the last step to take after you have gone through your belongings and curated what items will remain in your home. It is almost a certainty storage containers, shelving, and baskets become a catch-all and magnet for collecting clutter.

Here are some ideas on how to manage excess clothing...

20/20 rule

The 20/20 rule is even more important for smaller homes. The 20/20 rule says you should consider letting go of an object if you can either replace it for less than 20$ or in less than 20 minutes.

Then there is the 80/20 Pareto rule which suggests we use roughly 20% of what we own around 80% of the time. Example: deviled egg serving dishes.

What to keep, donate, sell, or discard

When I help others bail out from clutter the first thing I do is open 3 separate big, black, heavy mil contractor bags to sort items into. One bag each for donations, another bag for stuff to sell, and one bag for trash use. Then one item at a time a decision is made about what bag the item will go into.

Photo byMarj Bates

Clean at last

Now that you have discarded all of the extra stuff and have a beautiful space ready to make your own put some thought into this next step. What is most important to you?

If cooking is your thing start in the kitchen. I have a teeny kitchen which suits me fine because I don't like to cook, but I do enjoy eating from time to time so I have to cook,

Because my kitchen is small and I spent a ridiculous amount of money on a quartz countertop I keep my countertop almost bare. I can't imagine how hard it would be to do the simplest meal prep in a kitchen with a cluttered countertop.

Another plus to having a clutter-free kitchen countertop is the kitchen always looks clean when countertops aren't jammed with stuff.

I wrote an article Tips & Tricks for Clutter-Free Kitchen Countertops that has a free Ultimate Declutter Dashboard.

Efficient and well-organized

A clean and efficient kitchen is the most important aspect of a kitchen to me. I do not want to see stuff on what little counter space I have because I do not want to waste a moment moving stuff to cook and clean. What is important to you? This is the thing you need to incorporate first in your space.

Even a small kitchen can have creative storage solutions. Consider a 4 or 5-foot built-in seating bench with a plush fabric cushion on top and deep storage underneath to house all the overflow and less-used cooking tools.

A strip of magnet attached to a wall will securely hold all your sharp knives.

A slender pull-out spice drawer will serve you well in a space too little to hold other things.

Photo byMarj Bates

Curating pieces

In small spaces, it is extremely important to use the eye of a museum curator when deciding what to keep and what to discard.

Multifunctional Furniture and Storage Solutions

I have 2 Murphy beds in my home in 2 of the small bedrooms that are perfect for the occasional guest. One of these rooms is used as my fiber studio almost daily. For the few times a year a guest stays, there is very comfortable mattress and bed already made tucked into the wall. Just pull down and guests are very happy.

Murphy beds are cool and come in various sizes, with all kinds of built-in storage compartments. Also for sale are tables that function dually and there is a type of fold-up table known as either a gate leg or drop leaf table which functions as a great space saver!

10 Tips and small space storage ideas

Wet vs dry

I have almost nothing stored. It is either useful or so incredibly beautiful I cannot part with it. I prefer the look of space to clutter. A very important lesson I learned while living in a flood zone is dry trash is easier to haul to the town dump than wet trash!

Labels

There are organized people who like to label everything. Labels are widely available or you can make your own. Etsy has many labels to choose from.

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Collections

If you enjoy displaying your collections of things the more aesthetically pleasing way to do so, and the design world's rule number one, is to show the things in groups of odd numbers such as 3, 5, 7.

Kitchen

Kitchen drawers and cabinet space can be organized with the use of organizers, dividers, and containers. Check out this bamboo, a sustainable material, adjustable kitchen drawer organizer.

This is a pretty cool and inexpensive under-the-sink double sliding organizer. This would clean up the sink nicely indeed.

Garage

Garages are an awesome addition to have to your home. If I had a garage you can be sure I would park my car in it! I would also have a garage tool hanging system like this! Garages don't have to be a messy catch-all place. There are space-saving systems for everything in your garage, from garden rakes to nuts and bolts and bicycles!

Hang tools

In my glass studio, I use a pegboard to hang tools. I also use a piece of sheet metal I attached to the wall with mastic. It looked like a utility truck had just lost this in transport because this new sheet of metal was in the middle of the road!

I instantly knew I would add a bunch of magnets to this and my metal tools would cling nicely and always be readily available to me.

Think outside the box!

Don't be afraid to try creative solutions, they are often the best and always the ideas your friends will want to borrow. I cut up pieces of lightweight pvc to store my glass by color.

Photo byMarj Bates

2-minute rule

No matter what task I am involved in I always take a minute or two to tidy up and organize. By doing so my spaces are ready for me the next time. This helps me maintain a clean and organized home and workspaces.

Benefits to health

Many studies have reported the benefits of living in a clean and organized environment.

Door storage

Here is a nice set of heavy duty over the door hooks with rubber to prevent scratches for easily accessible easy storage.

Other storage ideas include:

• Storage ottomans are handsome and well made today and a great way to store extra blankets in a small living room or den, there are captain beds with built-in drawers underneath the whole bed.
• Adding storage baskets to shelves and cubbies is popular.
• Storage cubes can provide extra seating or using a storage bench as a coffee or side table is a great storage idea.

Some folks use special-sized transparent covered totes for hidden storage under beds, some have rollers attached. Another solution is to install floating shelves in corners.

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Donations

Donating new and gently used goods to people in need is a Win-win!

Help yourself to the free Resource Guide I put together about how to donate most things easily and usually at no extra cost to you.

Make your smaller space a comfy nest and uniquely yours. I find there is plenty of space in smaller homes for the most-used items and cozier than homes with high ceilings and a lot of space. Small homes are certainly much more efficient to operate which is good for our planet and wallets.

Also, a small home is much easier to organize and maintain because there simply is less stuff to deal with. Less really can be more!

Photo byMarj Bates

Marj Bates is a life long ridiculously organized declutterer and artist. Less is more are words Marj lives by in everything she does except collecting dogs. "Dogs are like potato chips! Can’t have just one.” says Marj. Marj wonders if growing up with a fanatically clean Jewish mom means her decluttering and organizational skills are in her blood.

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