How to Create Storage in Small Spaces

Organization is good for your health. No, really: Studies confirm that a messy, cluttered home can increase your levels of stress and anxiety. The simple act of organizing your belongings may be one of the best things you could do for your mental health.

Getting organized can often be easier said than done, however. There are various reasons for that, but one of them is that some spaces just don’t lend themselves well to organization. What if you live in a particularly small space, or have some cramped rooms? How do you find room to store your belongings in these limited spaces?

Making the Most of Your Limited Space

It’s more than possible—but it will require some creative thinking and potentially some redecorating. Consider some of these potential solutions:

Have a custom wall bed installed. Murphy beds are increasingly fashionable—and that’s good news for those who have limited space: A wall bed allows you to use a room for storage but to shift some things around to create a full bedroom as needed—a great way to make efficient use of your available space.

Invest in other foldable furniture. Along the same lines, why not consider multiple pieces of furniture that you can use as needed, but also fold up and store elsewhere when you have family over or need a little more free space in your home? Folding desks, chairs, tables—all of these things are easily obtainable.

Look for hollow spaces. Something else you can do to create storage possibilities is to look for multi-purpose pieces—something like a hollow ottoman in which you can store some of your belongings, or a trunk that doubles as a chic coffee table.

Get creative with your shelving. If built-in shelving is an option for you, take full advantage of it; it’ll obviously eat up much less room than bulkier bookshelves. Also, make sure you think vertically with your shelving—storing some of your less frequently used items higher along the wall.

Use corners. Finally, don’t let a perfectly good corner go to waste! Corner shelving can be ideal for storing stuff, and you can also invest in corner chairs and corner tables that allow you to seat people in places you wouldn’t be able to otherwise. When you’re dealing with a small space, every square inch of real estate matters!

There are plenty of creative solutions for your storage problem—plenty of ways to make the most of whatever space you’ve got. The important concepts are to not let any space go to waste, and to think creatively but also practically. Follow these steps to eliminate the storage problems in your home!