Storage Space. It’s something most of us could use more of. We are a family of four living in a small space that has many uses: home, homeschool, working from home, and more. The lack of organisation and space has once again annoyed me to no end so I’ve taken matters into my own hands and I thought I’d share some of the ways I have incorporated more storage space into our home; you can see 10 ways I’ve increased our closet and cupboard space here. Please let me know how you add storage space as I’m always looking for more ideas!
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When Tristan was small Phil purchased a small child-sized dresser but unfortunately the design wasn’t very good and the clips broke quickly and the drawers couldn’t be used. In this case, I turned the dresser, which was wood, into a set of upcycled bookshelves for me to use for my lamp, books, and other items.
I turned the fronts of the drawers into shelves and gave it a paint job and it serves its purpose. Not to say that I would be against something more pretty in the bedroom, but we were using what we had, which is a good thing. Again, this was done for the cost of a few screws we already had, and some left over paint – and as we couldn’t use the dresser as it was we wouldn’t have been able to sell it, so it was essentially free and we saved it going to the landfill.
We don’t have an abundance of clothing (although it does feel that way on laundry day), so the children share a dresser, as do Phil and I. We use the other drawers for storage space as well; binoculars, phone cords, battery chargers, etc., go in one drawer, gifts I purchase throughout the year when I find things on sale go in another, DVDs in one, stationary in another.
We have upgraded the shelving in the kids’ room from old shelves of Phil’s to a new set that isn’t as wide so it fits the space better, but higher. There are four shelves, as well as two drawers so the kids now each have a place to put their ‘treasures’ instead of having them here and there and everywhere. We did purchase this set new as I haven’t been able to find anything appropriate second hand after searching the local online sales sites for months. With all the fixing up and organising that is currently going on, the time was right for this. It looks much better, and it’s nice for the kids to have something new instead of fixed-up hand-me-downs.
In the living room, we use the shelves in the TV stand for small board games, origami kits, and some of the kids’ books and homework. We’ve purchased a bookshelf that sits between the TV stand the the door that also houses homework and some books for reading; it’s small, but it’s better than nothing!
In the past, when things were a bit out of control and we all had too much going on at one time, I have resorted to taking a couple of sturdy cardboard boxes, folding the top flaps inside, and placing the boxes on their sides one atop another and creating my own shelves out of them to help keep some of the books and clutter at bay. This was a good temporary fix…that lasted about a year (I’m hoping the new closet shelf will mean I can do away with this quick fix). Here you can see how I used them while camping to keep things organised and comfortable.
And there you have it; 5 ways to create more storage space in a small house; for almost no cost! I love when I am able to do that! Now if only I could do the same with the attic…that’s my next area of organisation after I finish up painting dressers, mirrors, and walls down here…well, maybe next year!
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