The Best Small-Space Storage Solution
A small space is the ultimate organizational challenge. But just because your living space is limited doesn’t mean it can’t be organized! Small spaces mean less storage, so you have to be more aggressive about your decluttering and more intentional with your purchases. There are plenty of creative storage solutions for small spaces, but today I’m going to focus on my go-to approach whenever I’m feeling limited: think vertically.
Live Within Your Space Budget
If you have a small space, first make sure you declutter your stuff down to your “space budget”. It may be hard to accept, but the truth is: you have the space that you have, and your stuff needs to fit inside of it. So it’s important to start every organization project by pairing down your stuff to what you actually use. Don’t keep the items you might someday need, nor the items that you once loved but no longer use. If you want your space to serve you well in this season, it should only contain the items that you use right now.
Think About the Space Vertically
Once you have decluttered, it’s time to create functional storage in your small space. My favorite approach is to think vertically. Is there vertical space that isn’t being utilized? This can be on shelves, on doors, on top of furniture, etc. Let’s explore some ways this might look for each type of space.
Small Pantry Storage
You can look for vertical space in a pantry on the shelves themselves. Is there a good way to stack higher on a shelf? Consider a shelf riser or stackable bins or drawers.
Bamboo Stackable Kitchen Shelves
Another great space for storage in a small pantry is on the door. If you have space, a metal rack with sturdy shelves would be perfect to create a ton of extra space, even for things as heavy as canned goods.
Elfa Utility Over-the-Door Rack
If you don’t have enough clearance for a metal rack, try a fabric shoe organizer. It might not work for heavy items, but it would still be great for miscellaneous kitchen items, such as reusable grocery bags, paper products, or even those awkwardly tall water bottles that don’t fit so well in cabinets.
Amazon Basics 24-Pocket Over-the-Door Shoe Organizer (only $8 at the time of writing!)
Small Kitchen Storage
To utilize vertical space in the kitchen, make sure you first and foremost are optimizing the height of your cabinet shelves. They can almost always move around, and they don’t have to all be even.
Beyond the built-in shelves, consider adding a shelf-riser. These prevent heavy dishes from stacking too high, and they allow you to stack different categories of items separately for easy access.
YouCopia Adjustable-Height UpSpace Shelf
Next, think about your cabinet doors. A small basket or over-the-door rack could hold cutting boards, pan lids, or wraps/foils. A small hook could hold oven mitts, towels, or large utensils. What narrow items do you have that could be repositioned to the cabinet door?
mDesign Adhesive Mount Plastic Organizer
ORLESS Kitchen Cabinet Door Organizer
Now consider ways you might be able to use the space directly underneath your overhead cabinets. I love these creative products because they help clear items off of your kitchen counter:
VOREN Mounted Coffee Pod Holder
And these products do the same in the fridge:
Lastly, a hanging pots & pans rack can open up TONS of room in a small kitchen. There is probably some open ceiling space somewhere in your kitchen. By installing something that can turn that vertical space into storage, you will create lots of empty space in your kitchen.
Other Small Spaces
Many of these storage ideas can apply to other small spaces across your house. The pantry ideas would transfer well to a linen closet, the kitchen ideas would transfer well to a bathroom cabinet, and so on. You can almost always add more hooks to walls to turn vertical space into a storage opportunity. Even the car can benefit from utilizing vertical space (check out my car organization post for specific ideas!).
So whatever the organizational dilemma is, make sure you ask yourself how to take advantage of all of the space available—especially vertical space.
Happy organizing!
Do you have any creative uses of vertical space in your home? I’d love to hear in the comments below!
