Maybe you have a big family. Maybe you have a small home. Maybe you have a lot of stuff. Or maybe you’re just disorganized (honestly, who isn’t?). Whatever the reason, it seems like there’s never enough room.
Before you start comparison-shopping storage units or tearfully heaving your cherished possessions (or beloved family members) into the nearest dumpster, give some of these space-saving household hacks a try:
Make use of the space under your bed
Don’t worry, the monster who lives under there won’t mind. And if he does, well it’s about time he started paying some rent. Seriously, though, it might seem like there’s not enough room beneath your bed to really make it useful as a storage space, but elevating your entire bed frame with risers or the addition of longer posts will turn the domain of the dust-bunnies into an ideal spot for some clear plastic bins.
Add a second rod to every closet
The closet is the first place most of us look to for storage, and the first place to run out of room. One simple hack can double your real estate though: simply add a second rod. Keep one up high, at eye-level or just above, and one down-low, around waist height. Your tops will fit perfectly, while long dresses and pants can easily be folded in half right on the hanger with little danger of unsightly creasing.
Shoe organizers aren’t just for shoes
Whether in the form of metal racks or pocket-lined curtains, shoe organizers are the greatest gift to home storage in the history of the world. You can hang one from the inside of literally every door in your house and put it to good use. In the foyer? Fill the compartments with sunglasses, ponchos, and umbrellas. In the bathroom? Now you have a place for all those shampoo bottles, nail clippers, and hairbrushes. In the pantry? Store spices, paper towels, garbage bags, utensils. The possibilities are endless.
Turn basement joists into shelves
This one takes a little home improvement know-how, so rev up that Home Depot coupon generator and try not to smash your thumbs. You know the joists in your basement (those vertical-hanging boards running lengthwise across the ceiling)? With a few wooden planks and some well-placed nails, they can easily be made into an overhead chessboard of convenient cubby holes. Checkmate!
Hang cluttered kitchenware on hooks
No matter how many shelves you have in your kitchen cabinets, there’s always going to be some unused real estate right up top (to say nothing of the empty area above your sink). A handful of screw-in hooks will change all that. You’ll be surprised how much room you free up by hanging pots, pans, and coffee mugs. Just make sure those hooks are firmly in place.
Don’t be afraid to reach for the sky
Or rather, the ceiling. One source of untapped potential in just about every home is the empty space above our heads. While it’s not easy to climb all the way up there every time you need a nail file, that doesn’t mean it’s not an ideal storage spot for more rarely used items (or knick-knacks for that matter). Adding shelves to the top of every door frame is a clever way of maximizing your space, and they can be doubly helpful if you have both rambunctious children and some extra-fragile possessions.
