6 Small House Storage Ideas
Clever storage solutions are the answer to keeping a small house organized and making the most of the space you have. Whether you are downsizing to a smaller house or moving into your first home, sifting through your belongings and having a good declutter is a smart idea.
1. Wall Space in Kitchen
Making the most of wall space is an excellent way to create small house storage. Shelves are the obvious solution, but you can also get wall mounted storage cubes, hooks and hangers for items like ironing boards and vacuum cleaners. In the kitchen, ensuring you have plenty of wall mounted cabinets helps maximize storage space.
Clever baskets that hook onto shelves and hang underneath are an additional solution to double the storage space provided by a single shelf.
Screwing hooks into the bottom of shelves to hang cups and mugs from, is another way to achieve the same thing. Adding a magnetic strip to your kitchen wall can be a simple and space-efficient way of storing knives, scissors, and metal utensils.
2. Folding Bed
Fold away beds are a space saving solution often used in RVs and trailers, which you can also use in a small house.
A bed takes up a lot of floor space when permanently in position, but if it can be folded away during the day, suddenly you have a lot of extra room. The most practical solutions are beds attached to a wall on a hinge, which can be lifted out of the way when not in use.
It’s also possible to buy freestanding beds that fold and can be pushed into a corner or stood next to a wall. Fold away beds work just as well for adults as they do kids. There are lots of clever folding bed solutions around that can be converted into sofas or desks during the day. These are perfect when you’re wondering how to make more space to live and work in a small house.
3. Floating Desks
Keeping the floor area as clear as possible creates the impression of space. Wall mounted shelves and desks, or desks with accompanying shelving units are a great way to achieve this.
Using a desk as a multipurpose item is another space saving idea. In the mornings it can be a vanity desk with a table-top mirror. Then, pack that away and use the space to work at.
In the evenings, slide your work chair out of the way and recline on the sofa or bed in front of the desk and stream your favorite shows to your PC. You may find you don’t need to find space for a separate TV and can make any room multipurpose.
4. Dish Drying Cabinet
When you don’t have a lot of counter space in the kitchen, a dish drying cabinet is a great solution. It has the double advantage of having a door on the front that allows you to close away the mess while your dishes dry and maintain a sense of calm and order in your kitchen.
Usually, a cabinet dish dryer will have room for a couple of rows of dishes, so you get more space than you might with a conventional counter-top version. Keeping surfaces clear and the clutter of drying dishes out of sight can give the illusion of more space, too.
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5. Storage Benches and Baskets
Pieces of furniture that do more than one job are perfect for small houses – and storage benches are a great example of this. Instead of wasted space underneath seating areas, buying or making a bench with drawers, baskets or shelving underneath will help you stay organized.
Coffee or dining tables with drawers can also be a prime location for more storage space. Don’t forget about the less obvious furniture that can include nooks to store away items, like footstools or hallway shoe racks.
6. Corner Storage Racks
Even tiny corners between windows or at the bottom of stairs can become an area for storage with corner shelves or racks. In the kitchen, they can be a place to put herbs, pans, cookery books, glasses or anything else you need to accommodate. Specialist corner cabinets for kitchens with carousel racks inside are also amazing for maximizing kitchen storage.
Wall mounted corner shelving are an opportunity to use space above other furniture. In kids’ bedrooms and nurseries, you can use these to keep toys or essentials like diapers and clothing tidy and out of the way.
If you live in a small house, you’ll have to be strict about what you keep and what you get rid of. If you own furniture that you really want to hold onto, but don’t need all the time, a storage unit can act like the garage or extra room you don’t have.
The first step is making sure the items you want to store will fit. Use our storage size guide to understand the size of the unit you’ll need. Once you know the size of the unit you’ll need, you can store items you’re not ready to part with locally.
