Have you noticed that no matter how big our homes are we tend to accumulate enough things to more than fill our home- or am I the only one that thinks this? It takes conscious effort to keep our homes from getting overrun with stuff, and regular purging is always a good idea. But. What happens if you are purging, and you have already tried to organize your home, (see my post on how to organize your home), and it still seems like you don’t have enough room?? Or you have room but you’re having a hard time making your storage functional and fabulous at the same time? This is when you have to get creative to maximizes your home’s storage- enter hidden home storage.
There are lots of little ways to maximize storage in your home for example:
What’s under your bed?
Under your bed is a great place for extra storage. In our guest room, which also doubles as an office, we have a tub on wheels in which we keep extra printer paper, extra file folders, and the like. In our bedroom we use tubs under the bed to store our shoes. Many bedframes have built in drawers underneath the mattress- brilliant!
The Tv Stand
Tv’s are so hard, who wants to decorate around a big tv that we would rather not when we aren’t watching it? Perhaps though we can use it to our advantage! If it can not be hung on a wall then on a stand it must go! Instead of buying a traditional entertainment stand try repurposing a short dresser- that way you can use the drawers as storage but have none of the clutter visible! An added bonus when using a dresser is that the tv cords can drop behind the dresser and no one has to see the mass of wires hiding back there!
The Ottoman
We opted for an Ottoman in our small living area rather than having a coffee table to save space. The plus is that when we bought an ottoman we made sure to get one that opened to contain extra storage inside! It’s so nice that now when I get settled on the couch and immediately decide that I’m cold, I just have to lift my feet and pull out a blanket!
End tables
End tables are a great opportunity to squeeze out some extra home storage too! Some like the ottoman I just mentioned have a lid that you can lift off to reveal storage, while others, like the ones we have, are open underneath and you can fit a cute bin under the table to hold magazines, books, games or whatever else you’re always wishing you had within arms reach!
Chairs
Whether we just have more stuff than people used to, or whether we are just getting smarter about how to hide the amount of things that we have, companies are getting better about building furniture with hidden spots for storage. Some chairs, or chaise lounges have cushions that lift up for maximum storage, so if you are in the market for an accent piece see if you can find one you like with a little extra storage! If you can’t, remember a slim decorative basket slid under the chair can not only look nice but be functional too- what a good place to hide dog toys!
Closets
There are many ways to squeeze extra storage out of a small closet; you can place a hook over the door of your closet to store bags and items you don’t often use. If you have racks that not only have the bar on which to hang your clothes but also have built in racks above them then you can place bins for added storage. I also have a hanging shoe holder in my closet but instead of storing shoes in it I roll my T-shirts and keep them in it! I really like doing this because in a quick glance I can see all the shirts that I have and then I don’t get stuck wearing the same shirts that are on top in my dresser!
Under Cabinets
A wire rack that unfolds into a shelf is great for under the sink, but don’t forget about the magic a good tension rod can do either! Using a tension rod under a sink from which you can hang cleaning bottles will free up space on the bottom of the shelf for more items that you can’t hang! Or in a tall narrow cabinet, use the tension rods vertically as dividers!
I hope this helped to spark some ideas of how to squeeze more storage out of your home, and to do so more beautifully too! For more ideas on how to make your home functional and fabulous check out the book: Beautifully Organized by Nikki Boyd! Stop by and follow me over on Instagram and I would love to see your innovative organizing ideas- just email me at Essentiallyemmamarie@gmail.com!