No matter how big your home is, it always seems there’s more stuff than your cupboards and cabinets can accommodate. Adding pieces of furniture to store our belongings can easily make a space overcrowded and be detrimental to the flow and energy of the room. Here are some solutions to help you maximise storage space without using extra cupboards or cabinets.
6 practical solutions to maximise storage space
#1. Purge
I know many people want to avoid this step, but I would urge you to start by examining the contents of your cupboards and cabinets and let go of anything that you don’t need, use, or love so you can make space for what you do need, use, and love. Streamlining your belongings is the simplest way to maximise your storage space. Consider engaging the help of a professional if the idea of purging paralyses you. With the right guidance, all of us can learn to build the confidence to declutter and simplify our lives.
Related: Why clearing clutter is good for you
#2. Store less frequently items out of the way
Keep all the items that you unfrequently use in places that are less accessible and reserve prime estate i.e., any storage space within eye level and accessible without the use of a ladder or without having to bend too much to reach items you frequently use. Out-of-season clothes, ski gear, holiday decorations, special occasions tableware, etc., are examples of infrequently used items and should be stored in the storeroom, on the higher shelves in your cupboards and cabinets, or in under-the-bed storage boxes.
Avoid resorting to external self-storage facilities though, except for valuable possessions such as antiques. Otherwise, like many, you might end up paying thousands of dollars in storage fees for stuff that you will quickly forget about and won’t be interested in keeping when you’ll get a chance to see it in a few months or years’ time.
#3. Use the vertical surfaces
Using a wall, a room door, a cabinet door, or a fridge door is a great way to maximise storage space when the cupboards are full.
- Add shelves that can be mounted on the wall. If you rent your home and you don’t want to drill a hole in the wall, opt for a free-standing or suction option.
- Spices can be stored in magnetic jars that will attach to a flat metal surface, including a refrigerator door.
- Plastic carriers can be contained in a hanging organiser on the back of a kitchen’s cabinet door.
- Over the doors hangers can be added over your bedroom’s door to store your bags’ collection.
- Pocket organisers can be placed at the back of a door to store small items, such as kids’ toys or even shoes.
#4. Make use of the entire heights of your cabinets and cupboards
If you’re not utilising the whole height of a cabinet or cupboard, here’s what you can do so you can maximise that storage space.
- Add a second rod under the main rod in your wardrobe to double the hanging capacity. This works well if you don’t have a lot of long dresses, but more separate tops and bottoms.
- And a shelf on the whole width of your cabinet or cupboard. You don’t even have to drill a hole if you don’t want to.
- Alternatively, add a rack.
- Use under the shelf basket.
- Use multi-tier lazy Susans.
- Use stackable organising products. It will certainly maximise storage space, but without a front opening, it will increase the number of steps to access the contents.
- Baskets that can slide out will make things more easily accessible.
Related: 7 basic rules of kitchen organisation
#5. Containerise
Keeping items in containers, boxes or baskets will keep items, particularly small ones, from spreading and taking more space on a countertop, in a drawer or on a shelf. It will also make your space look tidier and easier to clean.
- In the bathroom, cups can be used to keep toothbrushes and toothpaste, comb and hairbrush, make-up brushes and mascara, etc.
- Magazine holders can be used to keep long items vertical. For example, pasta boxes, kitchen paper, etc.
#6. Use slimmer items
- A lot of people like wooden hangers in their wardrobes. Indeed, they look beautiful and sturdy, but they also take up space. Consider using thinner hangers if you have a lot of clothes. Avoid metal hangers at all costs as they get easily entangled.
- You can also use multi-tier hangers, but the reality is that people often end up using the item at the top of the hangers and forget about the others.
- A vacuum bag will save a lot of space. Use it for items you don’t use frequently.
Want to makeover your entire wardrobe and create a wardrobe you love? Check out my on-demand Wardrobe Bliss course.
The list above doesn’t pretend to be comprehensive, but I hope it will help you identify spaces currently underutilised in your home and maximise storage space. Also, some of these options might not be aesthetically pleasing to you so it’s for you to decide the right balance between functionality and aesthetics.
Overwhelmed by all the options available and unsure of what would work in your home? Reach out! I can help you to figure out storage options through an onsite consultation.
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