Transcript Podcast Episode 16: Creative Storage Ideas for Small Spaces
Creative Storage Ideas
Wannabe Minimalist Show Transcript Episode 16
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Welcome to the Wannabe Minimalist Show, episode number 16. Today is going to be fun because I am answering a question I received from one of the members in my free Wannabe Minimalist Facebook group. If you have ever wondered how to live in a small space without much storage room, then stay tuned because this is the show for you. And even if you have a larger space, you're still gonna love today's show because there are so many clever little nuggets and ideas for you to use.
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[Music]
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Welcome to the Wannabe Minimalist Show. I’M your host, Deanna Yates and each week on the podcast we will talk about what it really takes to be a minimalist with a family. I believe minimalism is a mindset for how we see stuff, but more importantly, being mindful of the items we let into our lives, homes, and relationships. Let’S do this!
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Welcome back to another episode of the Wannabe Minimalist Show, my friend. I am so happy to have you here. I'm your host, Deanna Yates from littlegreenbow.com. Today we are talking all about how to store your necessary items when you live in a small home without much storage. You know, perhaps you don't have an attic or a basement or any of those extra little nuggets of space that we always take for granted.
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But before we dive in and talk about how to use all those extra little nooks and crannies we have in our home. Let's take a quick minute to talk about today's sponsor, which is my free minimalism starter kit for families. It's a completely free resource and is a great companion to today's show. If you've thought about minimalism but haven't really taken the plunge yet or think that minimalism won't work with your family, then I encourage you to download it. It's completely free. So what do you have to lose?
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You can pick up your copy by going to little greenbow.com forward slash starter kit. Again, that's littlegreenbow.com/starterkit.
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Now, you deserve to live the life of your dreams and your family deserves to get the best version of you on a daily basis. So if you're tired of the chaos, I invite you to join me on this journey toward minimalism that actually works for families. It's not stark white walls or only one plate per person or taking away all of your kids' toys.
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Instead, it's a life filled with meaning, simplicity and experiences, and it feels really great over here. So take the first step with this minimalism starter kit for families. It includes a few printable quotes for you to keep your head in the right space,10 mindset shifts to help you overcome clutter, our five favorite decluttering methods that we use as a family, cheat sheets for how to get rid of that paper clutter once and for all, and then worksheets for getting it to the heart of what a decluttered home would mean you. So go ahead. I guarantee that you will love life on the other side of chaos. And did I mention it's free? What are you waiting for? Head on over to littlegreenbow.com/starterkit for your copy.
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All right, let's get back to diving in to the creative storage solutions for when we want to live minimal in a small space.
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Now, part of my life story that you might not know is that in a previous job, I was a property manager for a brand new high rise apartment building in downtown Chicago. Now, there are many stories from that season of my life and honestly there is not enough time or wine to go into all those nitty gritty details now. But, one of my favorite things from that job that I want to talk to you about was getting to work with the interior design team on the model apartments. And you see those apartments were nicknamed Midwest micro and that's because they were smaller than the traditional apartments in the area. So we had to be very creative when choosing our furniture, the decorations and all of the pieces that went into these apartments. It was also the reason that we created several different model homes because we wanted our potential renters to be able to envision themselves living an amazing life in these smaller homes.
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So through that experience, I learned not only that we didn't need as much stuff, but that we could really utilize our spaces to the maximum and have these really creative and beautiful storage solutions and you know, artistic and creative installations to make our homes just come to life. And so those are the lessons I want to share with you today. Now I learned these from working with our top notch interior designers and we really discovered how to live really big in a small space. All right, are you ready? I have 16 creative storage solutions for small spaces and this is all in honor of podcast, episode 16 today.
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So our first tip is to use multi-use furniture. Now a way I do this in my home right now is that I use Ottomans that can be used as footstools when we're sitting on the couch and watching TV or as extra seating. When we have friends come over, it works really well and they function perfectly. They're really comfortable for our evening TV watching hours. And then I've used them and I usually sit in them when friends come over so they're not too bad. Another way that you can use multi-use furniture is something like a Murphy bed. Now we've seen Murphy beds that go up into the wall or you know, even a convertible couch is another use of multis furniture. We'll get to that one in a minute. But the Murphy bed, we had one in our apartments that converted to a desk so you could pull it down for when you had guests over or we used it in a studio apartment so that that would be where you would sleep at night. And then in the daytime you'd put it up, it would fold out into a desk and you could use that to work from home.
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So those are, those kinds of pieces are really amazing when you have a small space. And then on top of being able to convert, it actually had built in storage as well. So these are the kinds of things you need to look for when you are furnishing your small space. Another way you can do this is a dining table that converts into a buffet table. And we have one of these tables in our home actually. So the two sides fold up and so it can seat six very comfortably. But then also we can put one side down and it can seat four. And we can put both sides down and it becomes a really great buffet table when we have parties. And we can move it off to the side and move it out of the way so that it's, it functions in different purposes.
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And then finally that a couch that converts into a bed for guests. This is by far one of the most popular ways that people have been using multi-use furniture for lots of years. And I actually on my website have a DIY couch that converts into a bed. So we actually did make a couch for our apartment when we lived in Boulder. And so if you're interested, I'll leave a link for that to the show notes. So that's tip number one, use multi-use furniture.
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Tip number two is to go vertical and use your walls. Now seriously, walls are the most under used and underrated spaces in our homes. We think of putting art on them, but we don't generally use them for storage solutions. So you can use the Elfa storage solution from the Container Store. That is a fantastic converting kind of closet system. And those look really nice when you get them all decorated and up on your wall. You know, other things you can think about hanging are musical instruments. My husband plays guitar, so we want to keep one of those handy for him to just to pick up and play every once in a while and hanging it on the wall, keeps it accessible, it can serve as art. And then it also gets it out of storage. A third way is to hang your lights on the wall. So instead of using floor lamps or table lamps, you can use sconces. And they have really beautiful sconces these days that can be more multipurpose and they're not just flat up against the wall. They actually are on swing arms and they can be used in different settings at different times when you're converting your space for different uses.
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And then finally, one of the best ways that I saw our interior designers use our walls for creative purposes was we hung chairs, folding chairs in a really interesting pattern on the wall. So this was a studio apartment that had a table, that set up with seating for two, and then they can convert it into a table for six and the four extra chairs were hung on the wall next to the table. So they were art on a daily basis. And then if you had friends over, you could take them off, set up the table and have a dinner party. So those are those creative ways that you can use different materials that you would never think about putting on the wall. I mean, how often do we put chairs on the wall? We never think about that! But those are some really creative purposes and uses. So step number two is go vertical and use your walls as much as you can.
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Tip number three is to get things off the floor. So visually your home will look less cluttered if the floors are clear. S o you can do this by hanging floating shelves. Or have shelving that goes on the wall instead of a large bookcase that sits on the floor. These are ways to get your items up off the floor and it just helps visually keep that floor space open. And another way is to use furniture with thinner legs so that there is more space and airflow underneath the furniture. This is great with mid century modern pieces in your couch, thinner legs on dining tables and it just, it does help visually. It keeps your space clear and clean and it really does help open up your space and make it feel a lot less cluttered. So think about that. I'm thinking about choosing pieces with dainty or thinner legs instead of big, bulky pieces that are very grounded onto the floor. That's tip number three. Get things off the floor.
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Tip number four is to make sure that storage is included. So in small spaces you have to use furniture that has storage included or hidden away. I mean this is almost a must. So those ottomans I talked about in tip number one that we have as footstools and we also use it for additional seating. That's where I store all of our blankets as well because they are storage ottomans. So the lid comes off, we can turn it over and put snacks on there when we're having family movie night. And then it also holds all of our blankets when we need extra warmth to cuddle up at night and they go right back in there. I don't have to worry about folding them. And it always looks nice and neat.
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Another way you can use furniture with storage are coffee tables that have storage. They have some really cool ones that can convert and have the coffee tabletop pull-up. You could use it as a desk or as a table for eating. And then they also have storage in them. There are couches that have storage now, so you can pull up the seats and you can put your blankets in there, or extra linens. Your out of season clothing can go in there. There's lots of different ways that you can use that kind of storage. And then finally look at a headboard or a footboard with storage. Create some way to have storage around your headboard and then storage at your footboard as well. Because again, you're not adding much bulk to your piece of furniture that's already there, but it will add a ton of functionality. And that's really what we're going for here. So that's tip number four to have storage included.
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Alright, tip number five is to utilize our doors. Now the space behind your door is another great place to add storage. They have those over the door, shoe racks, and they can be great for not only corralling your shoes, but in your kids' room. You can use them for toys. I've seen amazing pictures on Pinterest with people using those for Barbie storage or car storage action figure storage. And they're a great way for kids to be able to see their items.
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At a glance, they're out of the way, but they can be organized and right there where they can see them in order to remember to play with them. Because if your kid is like mine, it's out of sight, out of mind. And so I try to keep her toys that she does still want to play with in a way where she can find them on her own. So another way you can use your doors is if in your kitchen, if you have a pantry door, you can use that, you know, over the door storage for organizing your tinfoil or baggies and any other smaller items that you might have. It could be your spice rack, it could be you know, boxes of cereal, anything that would fit behind the door. Just think about how to use that space in a creative way. And then if you have an office or a craft room, the space can be used for your extra supply storage. All right, that's tip number five. Make sure you're using the back of your doors.
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Tip number six is to clear off your counters. So similar into making sure your floors were clear, having clean counters visually is so rewarding and it just makes your home look so much less cluttered. So instead of keeping things out on your counters in order to have it be easy access, you want to either store them away or store them in a way that they're not sitting on your countertop if at all possible. So you can do this by using the underside of your cabinets. Think about if you can use hooks to hang your tea cups or your mugs. If you take those out of your cabinets, that might free up some space to put some, you know of your small kitchen appliances, like your toaster or something like that that you meet you use frequently but not all the time.
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And then you might want to go ahead and put that in that cabinet. If you can free it up by getting your coffee mugs out. You can also hang your pots and pans on a rack or on the wall. And again, this is freeing up that cabinet space for you so you can put away the things that you have currently sitting on your counter that you need and you need access to them but they don't have to be out cluttering your space. And then finally use those under shelf baskets. They sell these at container store and target and all the great, you know, all the big box stores. So those are the shelves that connect to your cabinet shelf. And then they give you space right underneath because often in our cabinets we put things on the shelves, but there's always a space above them, that vertical space. And we want to try to utilize every nook and cranny possible. And those under shelf baskets help you do just that. So that's tip number six, clear off your counters.
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Tip number seven is to use under your bed because honestly under our beds, if we don't, use them in a very precise manner they can just become a jumbled mess under there. I remember when I was growing up, I would just always stuffed things under my bed. But now my daughter, we currently put her clothes, the clothing baskets under her beds. We just pull those out, get her clothes out in the morning and put them right back in there. Under our bed. We do have kind of storage for out of season materials and those are under our bed because we don't need access to them every day. But it's a great way to put them away and not be able to see them when they're in the room. And if you're in the market for a new bed, they have beds now with builtin drawers and they're a great way to get more storage without sacrificing your space because again, your bed takes up a certain amount of space in your room regardless of how high it is.
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And so you can use that under bed area for your storage in those drawers. You can use them for your clothing. And then that way you can get rid of a dresser, which will help you get rid of more. You know, because you have a small space is only so much to work with. And if you don't have need for a new bed, you could utilize this by just making drawers or using drawers that you already have and put them on wheels or casters so that you can slide them in and out from under your bed really easily. All right, so that's tip number seven to use under the bed storage.
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Tip number eight is visual storage. So visual storage is a way to put your things out so they are in a pretty and visually appealing display. All right, so the designers that I worked with did this by creating beautiful entryways. So they were not only functional, but they were really nice to walk into. At the end of the day, there would be a beautiful piece of art. There would be hooks, there would be shelves, there would be baskets, and you could put all of your items that you needed on a regular basis. And for making your mornings easier right there in that entryway. This is also a great place for your family command center. And I have a blog post that talks all about creating a family command center that will help serve you best in this current year. And I will link to that in the show notes as well. So that's one way to create visual storage.
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Another way is to use your jewelry as a way to make pretty art on your walls. So our jewelry is meant to be pretty in the first place. And if we can organize it in a really nice jewelry display, an organization case, then it can be function, you know, it can function as art as well. So that's another way that you can use this visual storage and it helps free up some drawer space or shelf space or something like that. And you're using things that you need on a regular basis just in a really functional way. So that's tip number eight to use visual storage.
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Tip number nine is to use every available nook and cranny in your home. And we talked a little bit about this with those under shelf cabinet cabinet baskets. And another way you can do that is looking around your house to see if there's any little space that isn't being used. So this might be the space next year refrigerator. If there's a gap between your refrigerator in the wall, you can put in either like a sliding rack for your cleaning supplies like your broom and your mop or you can put in a pantry. Slide there. I've seen some really great things on Pinterest where your cans and your thin boxes can go there for storage and it all slides right back in between your refrigerator and your wall. Takes a little DIY work, but it's definitely worth it.
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Another place would be on the side of your kitchen Island. So we're in the process of adding an art area for my daughter right on the side of our kitchen Island. There's room there will still be room to walk past it. And if I just use something that's about four inches or less, that will fit right under the overhang from the molding at the bottom and the countertop I'm on the top. And so it won't really stick out further than it already is, but it's going to be on the side and it will be streamlined and visually appealing. So think of those kinds of things. Are there different areas in your home that are just not being utilized to their potential? And that's tip number nine. Use every available nook and cranny.
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All right, tip number 10 is to ditch the boxes. So what do I mean by this? Well, years ago we tossed out our old CD and DVD cases. Now everything is housed in one leather case for the DVDs and one leather case for our CDs. Honestly, we barely ever look at these things anymore, so it's almost time to get rid of them. But we haven't gotten quite there yet. But now they take up a fraction of the space. The stuff we still need is available just like it was before when it was in those cases. But now it's easily movable. And they're so much easier to find because we don't have to look through all of those different cases and we don't look at them on a regular basis. So those are the kinds of things where you can ditch those boxes. Are there any other collecting item, you know, collected items that you have in your home that are in boxes that you can just take out the part you need and get rid of? The external wrapping says tip number 10 ditch the boxes.
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Tip number 11 is to loft your kids beds. Now I would say loft all the beds, but I'm not climbing into my bed at the end of the day, although it is a great way to take advantage of the vertical space that really is just wasted above our beds. So our daughter loves bunk beds and she would absolutely love for us to get her one and maybe at some point we will. But right now we really like the bed she has and there is a great one right now at Ikea that I just saw and it's lofted. And what's so awesome about it is at the foot end of the bed, there is a wardrobe with some drawers and some hanging space to hang clothes. So it's almost like you have a closet built into your bed and then underneath the bed is a desk for the kids to work at. So that could be an art table, that could be their homework station, but it gets all of those three functions in one piece of furniture. So it's super functional. And this would be really perfect for either a small space or shared rooms. If you have children sharing a room, this would be fantastic because they each get their own bed, their own desk, and their own closet in two pieces. So that's tip number 11 to loft your kids' beds.
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Tip number 12 is to paint all walls and ceilings, a light paint color that matches. So this is a great trick that was used by our interior interior designers. Now if you paint the walls and the ceilings the same color, the room will look visually larger and be a lot more open. And this is true if the paint is a lighter color because you're not seeing that visual break at the ceiling where generally we have white ceilings and a color on the wall. If you can paint everything the same light color, it really will open your space, I promise. It's amazing how much it works. And if you want to take this a step further, paint any of the wall shelving the same color. So let's see, you have some floating shelves on the same on a wall. Go ahead and paint those the exact same color and then they just start to blend into the space and it's, it's amazing what it does. I promise it works and it, it works really well. So if you don't have much space, you have a really tight area. Go ahead and paint it a light color, all one, and it will really open it up. That's tip number 12. Paint all your walls and ceilings the same light paint color.
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Tip number 13 is to use the space above your windows and doors. So this can kind of go back to all those nooks and crannies. But I thought it was worth separating because I don't think this is where people think of when they think of nooks and crannies because they're out in the open. It's in that space that's above your windows or the space that's above your doors. They're perfect for extra shelving or storage because you don't have to duck under them. They're not taking away height from your room and they usually are in a way in an area where you could put up some, some of the shelving and not make a huge impact visually on your space. But the thing you have to be really careful of when you do this is that you want to make sure that the storage is not cluttered.
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So you have to streamline the storage and if you have lots of little things, you need to put them in a basket. Or if you have things that are hard to organize, you want to make sure that the cabinet or the shelving has a door front door on it, door face on it so that you're seeing something that is really streamlined. You don't want to see a lot of visual clutter up high. So the idea is to get it out of sight and so that you don't even notice it in your peripheral vision as you're going through your space. So that's how you can use the space above your windows and doors. All right?
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Tip number 14 is to fold your clothes a la KonMari. All right, so for all the things that Marie Kondo has blessed us with, I really love her folding method almost best of all. Now, if you followed along with me on the 21 day decluttering challenge, then you know that this is how I fold all of my clothes that do not need to be on hangers. It makes it so much easier to see what I have available to wear. My clothes do not get messed up over time and I can pull a shirt or a pair of pants out super easily and it's even easier to put everything back away after I get them out of the laundry and they're clean and folded and ready to go back in. So I actually think you can fit a lot more things in your dresser drawers when you fold them standing up vertically as well.
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So there are so many reasons why I recommend this method, but I guess for the purposes of today when we're looking for creative storage for small spaces, that one, you know, takes the cake where you can fit more things in the same amount of space. I definitely recommend you trying it even if you don't try all the other things from Marie Kondo. Definitely try the folding method for your major things. I do not do this for my underwear and sock drawer. All right. Don't report me, but I do it for my shirts and my pants, my workout clothes and sweaters and things that go in my dresser drawer. Okay. All right. So that's tip number 14 fold your clothes vertically, a la KonMari.
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Tip number 15 is to declutter ruthlessly. Now it probably goes without saying. I mean after all, this is a wannabe minimalist podcast, but I just wanted make sure that I put it here. As a reminder in case this is the first time you're hearing from me or the first time you're on my channel or the first time you're trying to be creative with the storage solution in your home.
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The easiest way to have more space is to have less stuff. And so if you are living in a small space, you owe it to yourself and your family to declutter. Ruthlessly get rid of all of those things that you're holding onto just in case or all of those things that you think you might need some day or especially anything that you have duplicates of because you use the yuckier one or the one that's not as good and you save your good one for another time. Right now is the time to use all of your good things. Do not see them for a later date, so get rid of any duplicates. Use the things you're saving for a special occasion. Your life is a special occasion. You are a special occasion and you deserve to use all of the good stuff for yourself and your family in your life.
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All right? So one way you can declutter ruthlessly is to pack up anything you think you can live without and then try to live that way for a couple of months. After that amount of time, I promise you will be able to gauge what you can and cannot live without and it will be so much easier to let go of anything that was put in storage because you know that you can survive without it. So that's tip number 15 declutter ruthlessly.
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And our last and final tip for creative storage for small spaces is kind of a fun one. It's a little assignment that I'm going to tell you to go to Ikea for inspiration. So if you live near an Ikea, I highly recommend going there for ideas. We live not too far from one and I've gone there a couple times in the last six months.
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I don't generally tend to buy a lot of things when I'm out and about. But I do like to do some research and sometimes I just need a little creativity. And Ikea is full of creativity. You can walk around the top floor where they have all of their furniture arranged, like those model apartments. And it's really interesting to see how they lay out the furniture. They pair different pieces together or they can use something in a creative way. And I always leave inspired. But honestly if all else fails, you can always stop in the restaurant, grab a piece of amazing chocolate cake and call it a win. Right?
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And if you don't have an Ikea in your area, look to see if there's any new apartments that you can go see model apartments and you can take different tours and see how other people arrange their furniture and things like that. So even if there's not an Ikea, there has to be an apartment building with a model apartment somewhere within your vicinity. All right. And that was tip number 16 go have a little fun and go to Ikea for inspiration.
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There you have it. 16 creative storage solutions for small homes. And now I have a question for you. Which one of these is your favorite tip from today? Is there one idea that really resonated with you that you can't wait to try? Well, I would love to hear about it. So hop on over to my free Wannabe Minimalist Facebook group and share your favorite tip from today. Really I can't wait to hear from you and helping courage you on your journey toward less stuff, more happiness, and an awesome life. So jump on over to the Facebook group and let us know more about you.
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It's totally free. I want to meet you there and hear about your journey. Come join our conversation. Learning from all of you is one of my favorite things, so I hope to see you there. Again, it's the Wannabe Minimalist Facebook group and I'll be sure to leave a link in the show notes to make it even easier for you to find us.
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And one last thing, if you liked this episode, I would love it if you would subscribe and leave a comment or rating so others can find the show too. Honestly, this makes my day. So thank you to those who have already subscribed. And to those who have left me comments, they fill my heart with joy and you guys are truly the best.
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And that wraps up today's episode. I'm actually gonna take next week off because it's ski week at school and we are taking the whole week off. My daughter's off school all week and plus it's my birthday, so I'll see you again here in two weeks. Cheers.