How to Organize Your Small House with No Storage: 7 Tips You Can’t Live Without

While tiny homes and studio apartments are making it more desirable to live in smaller spaces, organizing a small apartment or home can still be frustrating if your space lacks dedicated storage.

The best way to free yourself from this frustration is to utilize a variety of tips and tricks to develop an organization plan that works for you.

Keep reading to learn more about several creative storage steps you can take to help make living in your small space more enjoyable.

How to Organize Your Small House with No Storage

Organizing your small home or apartment is not about finding more space. It’s all about getting the most out of the space you already have.

Begin by setting parameters for your future purchases. After working to organize your home, the last thing you’ll want to do is fill it back up with unnecessary items.

Bulk shopping is a great strategy for larger families, but you shouldn’t trade space around your home to save an extra dollar or two. Start shopping with caution. It can be tempting to purchase necessities in bulk, but if you live in an urban area, there are plenty of shops around where you can resupply with ease. At the very least, you should dedicate a particular space to storing your bulk purchases. If it can’t fit in this area, then you’re probably better off leaving it on the shelf.

After developing a shopping plan, you can move forward with decluttering and organizing your space. The following steps should help you eliminate clutter and transform your small house or apartment into an organized home.

1. Declutter and downsize your possessions

The idea of downsizing possessions can be intimidating. However, chances are there are a few items you haven’t touched in years hiding within your closets and dresser drawers. If these items don’t hold any sentimental or monetary value, you should think about moving on from them.

Instead of overwhelming yourself by trying to downsize and declutter your entire home all at once, start with a particular mission in mind. Begin decluttering one closet or, if that’s too daunting, a drawer, then move on to other drawers, closets and ultimately rooms. As you move through the different zones of your home, create a pile for items you’re unsure about and another for ones you want to donate or throw out.

While decluttering your home, there are a few additional tips you should keep in mind. First, make sure to ask yourself if any items would be better stored in another place around your home. Next, reorganize your closets, drawers and cabinets by placing Items you use daily closer to you. Finally, make sure to make note of the day you decluttered your home and make a plan to repeat the process in a few weeks. The good news is each time you complete the process it will get easier.

2. Clear flat surfaces

Organizing cabinets and drawers is important, but to properly transform your home you also need to pay attention to flat surfaces like countertops, tables and nightstands. Even the top of bookshelves or television cabinets can become a catchall for clutter if you’re not careful.

During this step in the process, work from one flat surface to another. Start in the kitchen. You’ll want to keep your kitchen countertops completely clear, so you have room to cook meals and prepare ingredients. Consider installing a pegboard, hooks and other storage solutions around your kitchen so you can clear your countertops and still keep items like essential utensils and spices close.

Moving throughout the rest of your home, keep in mind the importance of keeping flat surfaces clear. A well-placed centerpiece, candle or stack of books might be fine if it fits into your home or apartment’s design. However, placing too many decorations on a countertop or nightstand can easily give the impression that the space is an acceptable dumping ground for unruly possessions.

3. Utilize vertical space

Next, you will want to utilize vertical space throughout your home or apartment. A great way to do this is to install floor-to-ceiling bookshelves or shelving throughout your home. While this may seem like an expensive way to go about organizing your small space, there are many vertical storage options to fit into a variety of budgets. While lavish design studios will certainly have shelving and bookshelves that suit your taste, you can also purchase cheaper options from retailers such as IKEA, Target or Walmart.

When organizing vertical shelves, make sure to place frequently used items at eye level and more obscure possessions near the top or bottom. Outfitting your new shelves with a few baskets, bins or boxes is also a good idea to help group similar possessions and help things remain neat and organized.

4. Employ multi-purpose furniture

If you live in a smaller space, the best piece of furniture you can buy is one that fills a variety of needs. Think storage beds. If you don’t already have a storage bed, you can achieve more space in your bedroom simply by switching to one.

Ottoman-style beds that use a hinge mechanism are the most impressive type of storage bed. However, bed frames with built-in storage drawers or cubbies are also suitable for storing clothes, spare linens and other items. If you don’t want to get rid of your current bed frame, you can also use risers to raise your bedframe slightly to allow for additional under-bed storage. With this additional space, you can stow additional storage solutions, such as a rolling bed hutch, under your bed.

5. Divide your clothes by season

If you are still low on space in your bedroom, try dividing your clothes by season. Once you have a good handle on what items you wear during each season, invest in a vacuum sealer to pack out-of-season clothes away.

When purchasing a vacuum sealer, make sure to purchase durable bags and not overfill any one bag. If you skimp when purchasing your vacuum bags or overfill your bags, you may find that after a few weeks your vacuum bags have lost their seal. It’s also important to make sure you properly wash and dry your clothing before vacuuming it for storage.

6. Use stacking containers

When learning how to organize a small house with no storage, it’s easy to focus on large problems such as a cluttered closet or messy entryway. However, you should also focus on organizing the contents within your cabinets, under your sink and inside your fridge. Stacking containers will make the most of every inch of space.

Having stackable containers under the bathroom sink or within your cabinets, will make it easy to retrieve items without the hassle of sorting through piles of possessions. You can purchase clear containers for inside the fridge. These containers will allow you to utilize more of your fridge’s interior space and will also allow you to quickly identify what ingredients you have on hand to prevent waste.

7. Calm your entryway

Another area that can benefit from small house organization hacks is your entryway. Since this is the first space you see when entering your home organization is key. If you are having trouble curbing clutter from extra pairs of shoes, jackets and other items, purchasing a multi-purpose bench might be a good idea. There are quite a few options on the market for benches that double as shoe racks, cubby holes and trunks.

By using one of these pieces of furniture, you will be able to easily store all the things you need without sacrificing the peace of coming home to a tidy and organized home or apartment.

FAQs

Q: How do you live in a small house with no storage?

A: If you are wondering how to organize a small house with no storage, don’t worry it’s easier than you would think. Follow these steps and you’ll be able to get your home back in order in no time.

1. Donate or sell unwanted possessions
2. Declutter problem areas
3. Give every item a home
4. Utilize vertical space
5. Organize cabinets & closets
6. Develop a plan for future purchases

Q: How do I deal with no storage?

A: Living in a home or apartment with no storage can be challenging. However, there are a few strategies you can implement to help you organize your possessions. Start by donating or selling unwanted items and then move on to decluttering problem areas. Next, implement creative storage hacks such as pegboards, hooks and vertical shelving.

How to Live Comfortably in a Small Apartment or Home

Living in a small home or apartment has its challenges for sure. However, there are also a host of benefits that come along with living in a smaller space. Not only will you likely have a cheaper rent payment and cheaper utility bills, you also won’t be paying for space you don’t use.

Hopefully, by reading this blog and implementing the tips listed above, you can organize your small space. If you have any additional questions about small space organizing or small house organization hacks you would like to share, let’s continue the conversation in the comments.

If you happen to be in search of a storage unit to help you organize your small home, use our storage finder to locate the Store Space facility closest to you. Store Space is the go-to for secure, affordable storage solutions around the United States.