Five storage ideas for a small home
Living in a tiny house has its advantages—taxes are cheaper, cleaning is easier, and the temptation to buy things is often shrouded in the fact that we simply don’t have the room.
This brings me to one of the house’s smaller drawbacks, and one I’ve struggled with since we moved in: a lack of storage.
Our house has a few small closets, plus one slightly larger but more likely cedar closet crowded in the attic. When we moved into the house, my closet was big enough to take up every single one of those closets without leaving room behind. We also don’t have a pantry, a 3-by-3-foot foyer, and an unfinished basement—in other words, storage is prime real estate in our home.
It challenged me to come up with ways to stay organized. And while it’s a constant struggle, I do have a few strategies in place that I can’t live without in our humble abode.
From buy-ins to best practices, here are my tips for maximizing storage and staying organized in a small space.
Furnish with storage in mind
Let’s start with perhaps the most obvious, if somewhat counterintuitive, strategy — you can always buy more storage in the form of furniture.
You might decide to purchase an item solely for the purpose of storage — say, a dresser or dresser — which is perfectly acceptable but comes with the added problem of knowing where to put said piece of furniture.
Alternatively (or in addition to that), think ahead when buying furniture and look for something that comes with storage. The tables have them, the stools have them, the ottomans have them, heck, even the beds have them, and every little drawer counts.
Get creative with containers
When you’re running low on furniture space, life will feel less stressful if you store your things neatly in something decorative. My favorite baskets will forever be — I have at least a dozen scattered around the house, holding blankets, dog toys, kids’ toys, and the like.
Saving baskets are usually the way to go, but I’d take pride in getting a new one every once in a while—especially if it had a lid. Other containers, such as decorative boxes, caskets, or bags, can also serve the same purpose depending on your space.
Think levels
Large spaces without shelves can get disorganized quickly, and a space devoid of organization puts you (or me, anyway) on the fast track to madness.
Adding shelves or other tiered systems helps organize items so you can see them all and easily reach them. This can come in the form of shoe racks in a closet, an organizer for pots and pans in your cupboard, or even a tiered spice rack (which you or MacGyver can easily buy from small boxes).
When one door opens…
…may reveal some extra hidden storage.
My favorite find for 2022 are the organizers that hang behind doors. Behind our door to the basement, next to the kitchen, we installed over-the-door storage shelves.
And behind the coat closet door, an over-the-door shoe organizer keeps pesky loose shoes neatly in pairs.
When in doubt, clear it
What happens when you have more than you can store?
There are two options: one is to keep what you use regularly close at hand, and store the rest in a basement, attic, or other larger storage space where you can retrieve it when you need it.
Otherwise, this may be the universe’s way of telling you to cleanse. Cleaning spaces has been my duty in 2023, and the satisfaction I get when I get rid of things in an entire room can’t be compared.
Email your questions to Theresa “Tess” Bennett at homewit[email protected] and keep up with Tess on Instagram @homewithtess
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