Keeping your home tidy and clutter-free can be challenging, especially with many of us spending a lot more time at home. Regardless of size, it’s easy for the mess to accumulate in any home. But, when it does, space will often become an issue – particularly if you’re also working from home.
The good news is that there are lots of ways to make the most of every inch of your home, without compromising on style. And, if you’re looking for clever space-saving home ideas, you’ve certainly landed in the right place.
Here are our top 10 amazing space-saving ideas for the home
Sliding drawers within your cabinets
If you’re looking to save space in your kitchen, installing sliding drawers within your cabinets is a great way to create a clever storage system and maximise the available space. Providing space for bottles, spices, utensils, and food, the addition of sliding drawers can help to keep your surfaces clear and create more space for other essentials.
Opt for a corner sofa
If you’re working with a small living space, investing in a corner sofa is a great way to save space while providing a comfy seating area for your family. Remember, crowding a room with too much furniture can cause it to feel a lot smaller than it actually is – so opting for one more spacious sofa, rather than two smaller ones, can really help.
Coffee table with storage
A coffee table not only creates a great focal point in any space, but it is also a great way to integrate extra storage into your home. Coffee tables with shelves or drawers provide the perfect spot to store books, magazines, electrical products and any other everyday items that take up space in your living room.
Console table
Blurring the lines between function and form, a console table will enhance any living environment, providing enough space for decorative items as well as everyday essentials such as letters and keys.
Sideboards
Sideboards are a great way to organise items you don’t necessarily want to be on full display in your living space. As well as offering plenty of discreet storage space, sideboards also provide the perfect spot to display decorative items such as lamps, candles and photo frames.
Ottoman
Linen, towels and bedding can take up a lot of space in our homes. It’s amazing how quickly a mountain of towels can take over a storage space! An ottoman will not only provide plenty of hidden storage for your linen, towels, and bedding, but it will also look great in any room and let you put your feet up.
Bathroom organiser
It’s easy for your everyday toiletries, lotions and potions to overwhelm your bathroom. A bathroom organiser will provide clever compartment space for your bathroom essentials including toilet roll, toiletries, towels and much more. So, you can keep your bathroom organised and clutter-free, regardless of its size.
Wall shelves
Available in a variety of shapes and sizes, shelves have long been used to optimise floor space and keep different rooms in the home neat and tidy. Providing the ideal space to store away books, plants, decorative items and photo frames, wall shelves are also a great way to add personality to a room.
Built-in Staircase Chest of Drawers
If you haven’t already utilised the space under your stairs, you should definitely consider a built-in staircase chest of drawers. Providing space for shoes, sports equipment, umbrellas and any other items that are cluttering up your hallways, it’s a great way to utilise space that would otherwise be wasted.
Above and below dish baskets
Above and below dish baskets are a great way to save much-needed space in your kitchen cupboards. Allowing you to stack your dishes on top of each other with ease, these baskets ensure no space is wasted.
Have a clear-out
Of course, as well as adopting the space-saving tricks above, it’s also important to ensure you’re only holding on to items you really need. Sorting through your belongings and rehoming or recycling anything you don’t want, need, or use can help free up lots of extra space in your home. And, if your space is severely limited, you could also consider using a storage unit to keep any non-essential items safe, while freeing up space in your home.
Smart Decluttering Tips for a More Spacious Home
Clear out your existing storage spaces
When was the last time you actually used your garage for your car? You’ll no doubt have storage spaces scattered around the home that haven’t been accessed in months. Mostly because they just contain stacks of boxes – probably dating back to when you first moved in – that you simply can’t access due to the way they’re stored.
All cupboards and other storage space should be organised, so that it’s easy to find and get what you want out of them.
Try the KonMari Method
This method, created by Marie Kondo, is one of the more brutal approaches when it comes to decluttering. Essentially, you should chuck anything out which doesn’t give you joy. It sounds hard, but you’ll soon be looking at every ornament and pair of shoes in a brand new light. If it broke tomorrow, would you really be that devastated?
Marie also suggests working through your possessions by category, instead of decluttering a room at a time. So if you know you have far too many clothes, maybe that would be the best place to start!
Ask yourself – would I buy that now?
If the above method doesn’t quite work for you, then this nugget of advice from The Clutter Fairy may be more straight-forward:
“If clearing out clothes, go through each item and ask ‘would I buy that now?’. If the answer’s ‘no’ then it’s time to donate or recycle.”
Store seasonal items elsewhere
Your Christmas decorations, skis and the kid’s paddling pool are all used just once or twice a year, so why are they taking up space in your home? Move your seasonal items to a self-storage container instead – that way, when you do need them, they’ll be easy to get to, not buried in the depths of the shed or garage.
Plan your purge
Interior designer Heather Craig says knowing what you want to achieve is key before starting any purge. “If you know your goal, you can work backwards and list the steps you need to take to get there,” she told us. “Beside each step, estimate how long it will take (allow more time than you think and if you finish early, it’s a bonus!).”
Heather notes that it’s not wise to take on too much at once, otherwise your house will be a mess for weeks. Plus, completing small tasks can be very rewarding.
“Honestly, this might sound like you’re overthinking it, but the satisfaction of ticking lists and making methodical progress is like being given an award.”
Make sure every item has a home
Erin Doland, editor-in-chief of Unclutterer.com and author of ‘Never too busy to cure clutter’, believes everything you own must have a home, otherwise your house will always feel cluttered.
“I like to reference the mantra: ‘a place for everything and everything in its place’,” she says. “If you don’t have a storage place for an object, it will always be out of place.”
By following this advice, you’ll not only have a tidier home, you’ll also be able to find that ‘thing’ you’re looking for much more easily.
“Before buying something new, be sure you know exactly where the item will be stored in your home – if there isn’t room for it, reconsider making the purchase,” Erin adds.
Digitise where possible
Books, magazines, CDs and DVDs are all small objects that end up taking up a lot of room in people’s houses. Digital media, on the other hand, takes up no physical space at all. Consider burning your CDs to your computer, downloading your favourite films to a tablet (legally!) and investing in an eReader. Alternatively, you could simply subscribe to various streaming services, such as Spotify and Netflix – doing so would save space on your computer and expand your music and film library exponentially.
Once you’ve got digital copies of all your favourite books, albums and films, you can trade in the physical versions for cash!
Don’t procrastinate
Heather admits it can be all-too-tempting to sit down and flick through that decade-old photo album you’ve just uncovered, or read that comic book you thought you’d lost, but it’s vital to stay focused during the decluttering process.
“Resist doing this with all your might,” Heather says. “My tip is to have a blank page with the heading ‘Look later’, and if you really, really, really want to spend more time revisiting some things, put them where you are going to store them, then write them on your list. That way, you’re free to go back to them when the session is done.”
Why choose Titan Self Storage?
Here at Titan Storage, we provide self-storage units that have been designed to accommodate all of your storage needs and bespoke requirements.
Whether you need more room for storing household, business or student items, our easy-to-access stores offer a safe and secure base to store your belongings. If it’s your first time using a storage facility, we’ll be more than happy to answer any questions you might have!
