Tiny homes are dominating the housing market and more people than ever are considering making the change to this simplistic lifestyle. While it’s exciting in theory, many of us aren’t able to transition our families into 400 square feet of livable area. However, that doesn’t mean that we can’t incorporate some creative ideas into our own homes. To help you get started, here are 10 tiny home storage ideas to get the most out of your livable space.
1. Declutter and Organize
The first thing that you’ll need to do to get the most out of your living space is declutter and get organized. Tiny homes have shown many people around the world that you don’t need to have much to have a fulfilling life and sometimes, less is more. Go around your home and use the box method to determine whether or not you have excess. When you come across things that you no longer enjoy, donate them. If you find things that are worn out or broken, toss them in the trash. For items that you want to keep but may not need to have on display in your home, put them in a self storage unit.
The process of decluttering can have a learning curve, but there are many habits you can start doing right now. Once you’ve decluttered and gotten things that you won’t be using out of the way, organization becomes a lot easier. Consider organizing your home with these unique storage tips then moving on to some of these tiny home storage ideas.
2. Be Creative About Stair Storage
The stairs in your home are filled with untapped potential. Oftentimes, the space underneath the stairs goes unused and sits empty. Consider transforming your stairs into a dual-purpose storage system. There are several ways you can accomplish this. If you’re looking to create a usable area, you can work with a carpenter to create a recessed area from the space under your stairs. This will give you enough room to set up a small desk or even a craft area for you to keep things organized and out of the way.
For those who need more storage, the nook can transform into an under-the-stairs closet. Another great option is turning the stairs into storage drawers. This can greatly maximize your home’s storage space so you can get the most out of your closets and existing rooms.
3. Use Both Sides of Your Shelves
When you think of shelves, a lot of people imagine setting baskets, bins, or décor atop the shelf but no one every considers the possibility of under-shelf storage. To take advantage of all of the space your shelves provide, consider using the underside to attach hooks and jar lids. This gives you plenty of room to hang excess things like cutlery or pots and pants or attach jars for spices, coffee, tea, cotton balls, Q-tips, and more. Just make sure that when you use this approach to maximize your storage, you fully secure the shelves onto the wall and abide by maximum weight limits to avoid problems. There are plenty of creative ways to adapt to life in small spaces, you just have to be willing to give them a try.
4. Add Storage Under Seating
Tiny homes are notorious for using every square inch of space in a productive way. One of the more innovative storage solutions that has emerged is adding storage under custom-built seating. Drawers underneath the sofa or cushions that lift up to reveal abundant storage solutions are great additions to get the most out of your living space. This allows you to keep what you need within arm’s reach without cluttering your living room. As dual-purpose furniture becomes increasingly popular amongst homeowners and renters alike, there are options for storage-optimized furniture on the market. However, if you want to create something that fits your home perfectly, consider making a DIY couch or bench.
5. Utilize the Space Under Your Bed
Rearranging your bedroom is a great way to give yourself a refreshing change, but if you’re looking to add more storage then you might want to consider changing your furniture. If you have a bedframe that extends all the way to the floor, it’s time to look for something new. The area under your bed is some of the best space for storing things that you might not need every day, but still want to keep within reach. There are thousands of bedframes available to choose from online that offer varying degrees of storage. You can find beds that have built in drawers, nooks, and even bookshelves in the headboard. There are also options for beds that can lift up and reveal easily accessible under the bed storage. If you want to keep it simple, get a lifted bedframe, put things that you need to store into bins, and slide them out of sight.
6. Hang Functional Items
Taking advantage of vertical space is the best way to mirror tiny home living without making you feel claustrophobic. You can use the ceiling to attach long hangers for pots and pans that double as a decorative touch in your kitchen or you can hang smaller items from shelves or pegboards. There are also great options for magnetic wall attachments so that you can hang all of your kitchen knives and avoid wasting precious counter space.
7. Consider Multi-Level Floor Storage
There are a lot of different renovations that you can make on your home to increase your property value. Some of these add to your home’s overall entertainment while others are practical and will help you meet the demands of future buyers. One of the best things to do in the practical sense is to increase your home’s storage space. If you don’t have any more closets or are unable to add square footage to your home, consider adding storage to your floor. You can add plenty of useful hideaway storage compartments by changing the leveling of a room’s floorplan. You may have to work with a carpenter, or you can look up some DIY instructions online. Either way, floor storage is an up-and-coming solution that’s been inspired by tiny home storage.
8. Use The Space Above Your Cabinets
Many of us have homes that are equipped with tall, bare cabinets. This space goes ignored because it’s inaccessible, but it can be transformed into a beautiful storage area with some decorative bins and accessories. Use decorative cubes, bins, or wicker baskets and top it off with a few matching accents for the perfect touch. Keep room specific items in these areas—i.e., seldom used appliances in the kitchen, holiday blankets in the living room, and out of season clothes in the bedroom. This helps reduce mess and can make a room feel homier.
9. Take Advantage of Lost Corner Space
Corner space is often neglected and unused. You can take back this space by incorporating corner shelves. These are great options to store smaller items like toothbrushes, medicine, toiletries, spices, and more. You can build them so that they are custom designed to your space and give you everything you need to keep things off the counters and out of the way.
10. Create a Storage Wall
Whether it’s inside of a closet or out in the open, a storage wall can provide you ample amounts of storage solutions. You can create a custom wall that’s designed to hold everything you need or seek out help from a professional carpenter. Add in some cubbies, cabinets, hangers, drawers, and more and you can easily create a functional, space saving area for clothes, accessories, office supplies, kitchen gear, and anything else you need to store in your home.
When you need to find the perfect temperature controlled self storage unit to help supplement your home’s storage solutions, The Lock Up Self Storage has you covered. We offer a variety of self storage units in varying sizes to meet your needs and give you more livable space. With our flexible leasing options, you can test out a unit with short-term rentals and extend into long-term rentals as needed. All of our units are temperature controlled and offer stable levels of humidity to ensure that all of your things stay in great condition. Our facilities are protected with top-of-the-line security features like perimeter alarms, gated access codes, and 24/7 CCTV. To learn more about our self storage units at The Lock Up, give us a call today at 1-866-327-LOCK or stop by one of our locations for a tour of the facility.
