How To Maximize Storage Space In Your Small Home

People who live in small homes will often run into the issue of maximizing the storage space that they have available. A common theme in the life of a typical homeowner is the continuous addition of things to the living space. Over time, homeowners tend to collect more and more decorations, pieces of furniture, clothes, and much more. While only about 2.6% of the population is classically categorized as a hoarder (via Psychiatry.org), those who call a small home their own may be at risk of increased clutter throughout the property.

Maximizing storage space is an exercise in efficiency and planning. Tackling a few key elements in the layout of your property and the use of dedicated storage solutions can help make this task a simpler endeavor overall. With these three strategies in mind, tackling clutter and avoiding the stress that can come along with it is simpler than ever. Continue reading to learn about three essential tools in your home's war on the storage squeeze.

Vertical space should be your first port of call when working to maximize the overall room efficiency and storage availability in any part of your small home. Cabinets are a key feature here and often make their way into the design of a variety of rooms within any home. However, cabinets aren't always the best solution and will jut out into walking space of narrow hallways. They also sacrifice some of the movement space that would otherwise exist along the perimeter of a room. Angi notes that many options exist to build an entire kitchen without these staple pieces, so organizing other parts of the home can be done with ease.

Another option that doesn't require the same dimensional sacrifice is the use of hooks, pegboards, elevated shelving, and even over-the-door organizers. These types of storage installations allow you to place essential items along the wall without pushing the interior dimension of the room into smaller territory. Pegboards and magnetic whiteboards are great for households that are always on the go. With these types of wall-mounted units, you can keep your schedule and some key items organized at all times (for instance, the family's keychain collection).

As mentioned previously, cabinets can be an excellent addition to many areas of the home, but they may become they drag on your home's physical layout if they are built to extend out into already squeezed living space.

One simple solution that gets around this design flaw of a typical cabinet is the use of recessed storage between studs within your walls. Finding the studs in a wall is as simple as using a quality stud finder and employing the patience to mark out each one that will be affected by your renovation. The Washington Post notes that studs are typically found at 16- or 24-inch intervals, and so once you find the first stud, the rest of the process becomes increasingly straightforward. 

Knocking out a section of wall between two studs that are perpendicular to or across from the bathroom doorway or even the entrance to your home can give you an integrated storage space that runs vertically from the floor all the way up to your ceiling. This type of home improvement project can be done as a DIY project, but if you are unsure of your carpentry skills, then speaking with a professional is likely the best route here. Installing a few recessed cabinet areas throughout the property can make for a revolutionized storage strategy that eases the pressure in a substantial way.

The last tip on this list is the use of built-in bookcases, shelves, and cabinet options. Built-in storage solutions are tailored specifically to the twists and turns of your property as well as the needs of you and your family members. This makes them a versatile addition to any part of the house. Custom-built storage solutions can be designed to fit both the exact dimensions of your storage requirements (for instance, the exact size of your book collection in both length and depth) while minimizing the impact that is felt.

Christopher Scott Cabinetry reports that custom bookshelves are a great option for increased storage space in your property, but this isn't the only value that they bring to the footprint of your home. In addition to straightforward storage, a custom, built-in bookshelf can be designed to maximize storage utility in line with your exact specifications. Instead of trying to wedge prebuilt bookshelves into corners or along the wall in your target room, a built-in solution gives you a custom feel that brings both a sense of luxury and a more subdued, stylistic storage space. These types of installations excel at providing a decorative feature that can be used to showcase pictures, commemorative items, and any other decorations or personal touches that you might want to include in the overall layout of any given room.