7 Tips to Add Extra Storage to Your Home
Rarely will you hear anyone say they have too much space. But too little space, on the other hand, is a common complaint in many households. Despite the size of your home or how much stuff you have, there are still ways to get around this problem and create some space. Here are 7 top tips on how to go about it.
1. Decluttering means removing anything you do not need or use from your house. Everyone has items they never use but are still stored up in their homes. It’s not uncommon to find things still in their unopened packaging or even expired medicines or unfinished drugs. This contributes to clutter, takes up space in your house and makes it harder for you to clean your home thoroughly.
To declutter, go room by room. Have a donation box and a toss box. Every item that goes into the donation box is stuff you can give away, and each item in the toss box will go into the trash. Do this inch by inch in every room, and everywhere you have stored away items.
When doing this, it is important to be objective rather than emotional about it. For clothing, the rule of thumb is to do away with any item you have not worn within the last three months.
2. Storage Sheds
Sometimes, you lack space, not because of clutter, but because you have too much stuff and most of it is stuff you need and use from time to time. Still, you need more room inside your house to be able to clean and store what you use more often. If you have a bit of space outside your house, having a shed put up would solve the problem entirely.
One, your items are out of the house but still within reach. And two, unlike a storage space in the town center, a storage shed is well within your compound, and you can access it anytime day or night. You can look at different designs, styles and building material at http://shedquotes.com.au/.
These sheds also come in the size and colors you want to adequately fit the items you want to store away while still complementing the design and color of your house.
3. Multifunctional Furniture
Moving into a larger home is not always an option. And at times you can move into a larger home and still run out of space. So, creating storage has to be something you think about creatively and figure out how to use the space you have effectively.
One of the ways of doing this is by buying furniture that can double up as storage space. This is a smart space saver because you get to use your furniture as storage as well. Most pieces with this feature are couches, tables, ottomans, lamp stands, and beds.
If you already have your furniture in and do not want to change it, you can find a local carpenter that can add in some drawers on your existing furniture. But before making any drastic decisions, think about what to consider when choosing a carpenter, as you’ll want to find a professional who can cater to your needs exactly.
4. Go Up High
While it’s always unappealing to have storage you cannot easily reach, a lot of the higher areas in most homes are left empty. This can be converted into storage space as well, albeit the little inconvenience in reaching for the stored items.
For these spaces, store away the items you do not use on a daily or even a weekly basis. Say winter clothes when in summer and the other way around. These items can get out of your way for weeks at a time, and open up the lower spaces to things you need to grab quickly and easily severally during the week.
5. Insert Hooks
These come in handy, especially in the kitchen and the bathroom, when you run out of drawer space. Hooks are cheap and easy to attach. They also come in different strength levels, from those for light things to sturdier ones, and they are attachable almost everywhere. You can have hooks for your kitchen towels and hand towels in the bathroom. You can have some behind doors (another unexplored storage space option), and so on.
6. Trunk Things Up
Gone are the days when trunks used to be chunky and unsightly. Today, there is a wide variety of trunk designs, and it’s rare to be unable to find one that agrees with the overall décor of your home.
If you have younger kids with books, toys, and so on, trunks are a perfect storage space. Your kids are also able to store and access their stuff easily, so they do not have to call you to do it for them.
The best part is that you can push trunks off to an unused area of your living room or the less used areas of the hallways. If you have countertops, a trunk can be tucked under them neatly making that space twice as functional.
7. The Stairs
Stairs take up quite some room in your house. And guess what? They are hollow spaces and have a lot of space underneath as well. For the steps, it’s possible to cleverly have some pull-out drawers, which will give you as many storage spaces as the number of stairs you have.
Additionally, the space under the stairs is where the bulk of the space is. Here, you can install cabinets to tuck items in. Depending on what you store and if you have small kids who will continuously pull the items down, you can have doors on them as well.
The great thing about doors is you can use those that agree with the décor of your home as well as elegant, tasteful door knobs that are aesthetically pleasing.
Conclusion
Borrow some (or all) of these tips to give yourself more storage or to free up more space in your house. When you store things away, finding them and getting around your house also becomes much easier. In addition, your house looks neater and better organized.