It’s extremely easy to clutter up a small room with stuff. But you need to put your belongings somewhere and it can be difficult if your space is limited. This is a catch-22 that needs resolving in a way that doesn’t make your place feel like you are crammed to the ceiling. Now is the time to get clever and find unique ways of adding storage that’s also functional.
Double-duty is the way to go when adding in storage pieces or items to a small room, but declutter first. You don’t want to wind up organizing a bunch of stuff that you don’t really need. Start by getting rid of anything you simply don’t use, want or need anymore. It’s amazing how many items people hang on to for absolutely no reason. Slowly start putting items together that need to go. Then SELL IT, DONATE IT, RECYCLE IT or CHUCK IT!
Storage pieces look good and give you more surface area in which to put things temporarily along with space to stash stuff for the long term. The following are some organization ideas to help you keep your space neat and attractive.
Turn Unused Space Into Drawers
Empty shelving offers the perfect opportunity to decorate and store at the same time. Chances are good that you’ve got some kind of shelving unit hanging around that’s underused. Head to the craft or discount home furnishings store for baskets. Buy multiple baskets of the same style, or mix and match for visual interest. Make sure the baskets work well for your purpose in terms of size and shape, as some are meant purely for decoration.
Put It Under the Bed
Although putting stuff under the bed isn’t decorating in the strictest sense of the word, it does get stuff out of the way, letting you decorate the newly vacated space. This is known as using dead space. Dead space is space that sees no activity and that isn’t accessed or that has no practical use otherwise. Pick up boxes that are made to go under the bed and make liberal use of them. Add a bed skirt to cover up the boxes and add to the style of the room, or completely replace the bed frame with a stylish new frame that has drawers underneath to add functionality and contribute to the design of the room.
Use Furniture Designed for Storage
End tables and storage ottomans are practical pieces of furniture that let you stash stuff out of the way while keeping things looking good. Get rid of the folding table in favor of an end table that has a door on the side. You gain plenty of storage space in the table itself while retaining a surface to place remote controls, glasses, lamps, and sundry.
Storage ottomans are another practical item that’s also decorative. Their padded tops invite you to put your feet up, but their bodies are hollow and the lids are hinged so that you can lift them up and put stuff inside. Plus, the added weight of the contents means that it won’t slide around easily.
Look around, and you’ll find that you have lots of surface areas and dead space that are begging for a shelving unit or a hanging chest of drawers to hold your worldly goods. Using your space wisely can definitely improve your quality of life and put an end to tripping over items that you really need to be rid of.
