As lifestyle changes and houses become more expensive, young couples are starting to focus on small urban apartments. These homes are not only chique, but they are usually in trendy areas of the city. Alas, although they will solve several practical issues, they will make you yearning for more space.
Finding enough storage space, in particular, can be a hard work, especially if you’re planning kids. As we’re well aware of this issue, we’ve decided to share a few tricks that will help you stash more items without interfering with interior design.
1. Start by Decluttering
Most storage issues don’t have anything to do with the homes’ size. People put themselves in a bad spot because they’re lazy and don’t want to clean after themselves. Not only does this cause a negative impact on your well-being and increase stress levels, but it’s also impractical.
So, the best way to increase available space in your home is by doing a big spring cleaning. Just by folding your clothes and arranging them can increase the utility of your closets. Similarly, we suggest you pack things based on application so you don’t have to make a mess later on.
2. Use Storage Racks
Getting storage racks and, in particular, affordable ceiling storage racks is the best way to increase usable space in your apartment. You can place them in your closets, garage, and laundry room, as well as other spots that don’t necessarily depend on décor. If you’re starving that much for space, you can even place them in your bedroom, away from the prying eyes of your guests.
3. Get Multifunction Furniture
Even if you live in a large house, it always makes sense to buy multifunction furniture. The best examples of this are tables with extra shelves or drawers, a bed with a large linen compartment beneath, ottomans that open on the top, or folding chairs. Similarly, you should get more items that are compact and can fit these compartments.
4. Consider External Storage
While external storage isn’t the best option, especially if there aren’t storage units nearby, it can work in specific cases. For example, using external units is ideal if you have lots of rarely used items. They’re especially great for collectibles of all sorts, and you might also get a good value for specific art pieces (if the unit has good environmental protection).
5. Hang Things Up
We can get a lot of utility from the upper areas of our home. Besides the previously mentioned storage racks, you should definitely consider using various hooks and bars to store your kitchen utensils, pots, and pans. They can also be a hip, modern solution for wardrobe items, such as sneakers and shoes.
The good thing about these hooks is that they provide enormous leeway for creativity. Although you’ll know their primary purpose, your guests will think that this is just a fancy interior detail.
6. Store Under Stairs
If your house has two floors, you should use the area below the staircase as an additional storage compartment. You can use it for just about anything, from spare pillows to toys, wardrobe, and even tools. If you want to get some extra utility, you can even hire a handyman to create retractable shelves for specific items.
7. Mix Things Up
Another reason why we often lack space is because we’re too afraid to experiment. We usually stick to our preconceptions of the interior, placing specific items in certain rooms. By simply breaking away from this mindset, you will have much more flexibility in organizing your personal space.
The best example of this is having a cupboard in your living room with cutlery, glasses, and mugs. The combination makes sense as it would help you entertain your guests during visits. Similarly, you can keep specific tools in unique drawers in your kitchen or toys in the garage. That way, you can maximize space in every room.
8. Use Boxes for Everything
We’ve previously mentioned that boxes are your friend and you need to use them as often as possible. Not only do they help you get organized, but they allow you to squeeze more items in a same space.
Let’s take makeup boxes, for example. If you arrange everything neatly into one of these compartments, squeezing products side by side, it will save much more space than if you were to simply put them in a cupboard.
9. Throw Away Expired Items
Besides storing a bunch of old junk, people have a tendency to keep expired items. We rarely do this by design; we leave these products in our homes, not even knowing they’re no longer usable. So, we recommend that you check the labels every once in a while for your food, makeup, and other expiring items.
Conclusion
Most people don’t have the luxury of living in large rural households. We need to adapt to this newfound situation by arranging our space in a more meaningful way.
We always recommend that you start by arranging items and decluttering. After that, we urge you to think about your free apartment space as a blank canvas; be creative and find ways to rearrange your cherished possessions around.
