233 - Living In Small Spaces

Just because you live in a small home doesn't mean your storage space has to be limited. Over the years, I've received A LOT of emails on the subject of maximizing storage space in small living spaces such as studio apartments, condos, and tiny houses.

In fact, I received this email from an Organize 365 fan named Amy just the other day and wanted to share it with you:

"Since having a baby, it's been so hard to keep on top of things at home, but listening to your podcasts in the afternoons usually gives me a little push. Do you have experience with organizing small homes and apartments? Our apartment constantly feels cluttered, but in reality, there are very few things we can get rid of, it's just a small space. Any advice for those of us who don't have basements, garages, spare rooms or even a hall closet and also don't have a lot of money for complex storage systems that fancy tiny homes all seem to utilize?"

Amy is in a situation that I know many of you can relate to. Living in a small space with a baby usually means that there is going to be a lot of "stuff" – it's just the way it is.

The issue lies with the fact that you genuinely NEED all of that extra baby stuff because you never know when you'll need it again, especially if you're planning on expanding your family in the future.

The Baby Issue

I'm not saying that having a baby in a small space is an "issue," but it's important to realize that children come with a lot of clutter. Expecting to add more kids to your family without expanding the amount of space taken up in the home is an unrealistic expectation.

Now that I've given you that little reality check, we can dive into the good stuff!

If you're fortunate enough to have a nursery in your home, it's a good idea to try and keep most of the baby related items in there as much as possible. And if you want to maximize your space WITHOUT decluttering, I have four space-saving suggestions for you!

1. Create More Space

Before you say anything – Yes, I understand that you can't just click your fingers together and magically increase the size of your home to create more space. That's not what I'm saying, but it is essential to start looking at your house with "new eyes."

Try and see your home's potential. It may be difficult at first, but trust me – there's always a way to create more space!

A great tip I have for you is to use shoe holders over every door in your house. You can avoid using hooks (which can damage the door frame) by using 3M Command Hooks instead.

With Command Hooks, you can just pop the shoe holder over the top and it'll hold the rack in place without causing any damage to the door – phew!

So, what can you store inside these fantastic shoe organizers?

I'm glad you asked!

You can literally store all of the little things in your house inside the shoe holders. For example, on the back of the bathroom door, you can put your shampoo, soaps, and items that you would typically put in your medicine cabinet, etc. On the back of the nursery door, you can store cute little baby things like hair accessories, tiny socks, diaper rash cream. and baby wipes, etc.

2. Increase Storage Space With Bed Risers & Space Saver Bags

A bed riser is cheap. You can pick one up from somewhere like Walmart for just $10. Bed risers can lift your bed a few inches or even a few feet above the floor, giving you additional storage space.

I'm a huge fan of bed risers. Our master bed has not one, but TWO bed risers underneath it because… well, I couldn't see the TV screen over the bed frame!

We also ended up putting our dog's bed underneath our bed. So, every night our dog Hunter sleeps underneath our bed. If you have a dog and he's a part of the family like ours is, then this news probably won't surprise you in the slightest. It's definitely a unique storage solution to store your dog's bed (and your dog!).

You can use one bed riser or double it up for even more storage space. Another great way to maximize space in the home is to use a Space Saver Bag. You can put your big fluffy blankets in there over the summer and other out-of-season clothes to help save yourself more space.

Use a vacuum to suck all the air out of the bag and watch in awe as the fluffy blanket that kept you warm all winter gets flattened into a very thin pancake. Store the bag underneath your bed and don't think about it until next winter!

3. Go 'Vertical'

If you really want to make the most out of the small space that you DO have, you've got to start thinking vertically.

Take a trip to Ikea and get yourself one of those cube storage units and stack them on top of each other against the wall. Build it all the way up to the ceiling if you can and store different items in each cube so you can have less clutter around the house – sorted!

4. Use An Outside Storage Facility

I understand that not everyone can afford to invest in an outdoor storage facility, but if you can save up just a little bit of money each month, you can have enough to rent a small storage unit to help declutter your home.

Choose a size that's right for you and use it to store all the extra things in your house that you won't need for a while such as holiday decorations, memorabilia, and baby equipment that your child no longer needs but you may come back to in the future for the next little one.

There's ALWAYS storage solutions if you're willing to think outside the box. Don't let yourself be limited by the physical amount of space that you do have and try to look at it from a new perspective and, who knows, you might even come up with a few of your own creative storage ideas along the way!

My entire company is run from my small home office in my bedroom. A small space forces you to constantly prioritize your space and your to-do's. Check out the NEW Friday Workboxes and get your homeschool, teaching, direct sales and entrepreneur businesses organized in a box. :)

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