Renters often find it challenging to find or create storage space in relatively small rental houses or apartments. However, if you plan carefully and get creative, you might be surprised at how effectively you can store all your stuff without anyone being the wiser.
Storage space in small quarters is often at a premium, and it’s necessary to think creatively to keep the home tidy and items out of view. Both Columbus and Athens have many retail locations where various pieces of furniture, fixtures, and storage boxes or creates can be purchased, both new and used.
A perfect opportunity to start or continue indoor organization projects is during the winter or rainy weather, when you’d rather not go outside anyway. And if there’s one positive to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, it’s that you have more time indoors in which to take on home improvement projects. Better to accomplish something at home than to get infected by the coronavirus while hanging out at a South High Street or uptown Athens bar.
Inventory Your Stuff and Decide What Can Go
To begin your indoor storage project, take an inventory of what you have, going through your possessions and deciding what can stay and what can go. It’s usually a good rule of thumb to let go of anything you haven’t used, looked at or thought of in a long time. The idea is that if you haven’t thought about that sixth-grade spelling bee trophy from your elementary school days in Akron in several years, you very likely can do without it.
The next step is to sort your items and get organized, after which you can start putting away, throwing away or recycling all your stuff. For example, if you have a dozen bath and dish towels and several bed sheets but only one frying pan and two sauce pans, you’ll want to find more room for towels and linens than kitchen cookware. You may need to borrow space from one part of the apartment to give to another area.
Tips to Increase Space in Your Home
Following are some additional tips to increase space in an otherwise cramped home:
- More shelving. Increase closet and cabinet space by adding shelves to them. This has the potential of doubling or even tripling the amount of usable space, especially if you design the shelving to fit storage containers you use for everything from family photos to shoes and boots. You can fashion shelving yourself if you’re handy, or buy it at any home improvement store. Second-hand and stores that specialize in recycled goods often carry shelving components that are ready for a second or third life. Columbus has a million of these sort of stores, while Athens has several.
- When the choice is available, opt for dual-purpose furniture. This might be benches with lids that lift up to reveal storage space and sofas that convert into guest beds. There are many other ways you can keep a small apartment or house neat while having plenty of storage space. An ottoman can be a good place to store extra blankets and linens, while a trunk or crate with a flat top can be used as a coffee table with storage space underneath for board games or picture books.
- Think vertically in spaces that lack horizontal room. When floor space is limited, you may need to look up for storage. Often-used pots and pans can be hung from a decorative rack in the kitchen. Racks above cabinets or attached to doors can be used to store everything from jewelry to shoes to toiletries. Shelving in children’s rooms can store seldom-used toys away from the floor. Empty walls provide space for tall bookshelves that can hold many objects in addition to books.
- Take advantage of oddly shaped nooks and crannies in an apartment or rental house. If you have space under a staircase or a spot by a dormer window or in an attic cubbyhole, use that space for storage. Get creative and add a door and small closet under the staircase. Such spaces provide practical storage areas while adding character to a home.
- Use see-through storage containers rather than cardboard boxes. Many people prefer plastic storage bins to boxes because they’re neater looking, stackable and sturdier. See-through bins allow you to more quickly find items, avoiding the bummer of searching throughout the house for lost items while creating a bigger mess along the way. Clear storage containers work in the refrigerator, too, for the same reasons. You can more easily spot leftovers.
- Use the space under your beds for storage. A bed frame with built-in drawers is an ideal spot to keep bed linens and out-of-season clothing. Beds can be raised on blocks to create more space underneath for storing plastic containers, boxes and even rarely used suitcases.
- Consider getting an armoire, an item that’s not exclusive to bedrooms. Armoires can be used in dining rooms, dens or family rooms to store a variety of possessions out of sight. Some creative folks have even retrofitted armoires with a pull-out shelf to use as a laptop desk.
- Improve storage in your bathrooms. Select a vanity that has under-the-sink storage for toiletries. Home improvement centers sell cabinets that can be placed above the toilet tank as a storage space for bathroom items. Inside these storage spaces and any others really, you can attach battery-operated light fixtures that look like regular light switches.