5 Helpful DIY Tips for Organizing Your Home

Demand for homes with less than 600 square feet are on the rise and will continue to grow to as the population grows and land becomes increasingly scarce. With mindful organization and a little hyper-efficient usage of space, any shoebox abode can feel like a mansion. So we can use some of the lessons learned from van-dwelling nomads can help us fit into smaller homes in nicer areas we otherwise wouldn’t be able to afford.

Do you really though? This is the first question you should start with when organizing your home and prioritizing which items you need immediate access to.  While a minimalist lifestyle is more attractive to some, it can just be hard to throw things out. But if you find yourself forgetting that you even had that old box of whatnot or that old gadget, maybe it wouldn’t hurt to donate or sell it? There’s increasing evidence for the mental health benefits of maintaining tidy spaces. By better organizing your so-called ‘deep storage’ spaces, you have a much better chance of finding a spot for everything. 

While companies like IKEA offer countless storage-focused furniture options, there are also a few handy tricks you can use to organize your home. Trundle beds and fold-away desks are always an ideal solution for maintaining precious square footage. But sometimes can be expensive to purchase new furniture.

Piano hinges and some smart bracing or even just some adhesive velcro strips can turn an old thrift store find into a super functional and personalized piece of furniture. Attaching small casters to old drawers makes for easy under-the-bed hideaway containers. You can even consider furniture with dual purpose like your kids bed with hidden drawers which may serve as their stuffed animal storage. There are lots of creative options out there to help use every square inch.

One of the most underutilized storage spaces in any home is probably the walls. Outside of the garage, they tend to serve as a place for art and small shelving for books or knick-knacks. But there’s some really precious surface going to waste there. Consider shelves, since some good shelving can go a long way in helping you organize existing space.

Once you’ve completely covered your walls in pegboard and fold-out desks, it’s time to look up to greater opportunities. Headroom isn’t something you ever want to sacrifice. But no one wants to go walking into a hanging bicycle in the dark. Luckily, there are a few options to be had up there.

 There are entire articles devoted to the creative use of clothes hangers. However, behind-the-door hanging shelving and similar solutions for closets can help double or triple the amount of storage in small closets.  Just remember to store heavier items closer to the floor. 

Everything in your home needs a home. This is crucial to prevent clutter from building up. This also echoes back to our first point in deciding what you really need and don’t. If you don’t have somewhere designated to put something, it’s always going to be floating around in the way. You always see the professional organizers with their imposing warehouse-style plastic tub arrays, but there’s a reason for this approach. 

We want small containers inside large containers, all nestled into cabinets, and on the back of that cabinet door – more hooks and hangers. It’s just storage inside more storage, all the way down. It may sound a little crazy, but compartmentalization helps us to access and return things without having to think twice about it.