How to Limit Clutter & Maximize Space in a Small Home

Living in a small home can often feel challenging when it comes to home organization and getting the most out of the space that you have. As is with any organizational task, step one is to sort through your belongings and rid yourself of that which no longer serves you. However, clutter can creep in again and take over if you aren’t careful. 

Cut down on clutter and maximize space in your small home with these simple tips:

• Adopt a Minimalist Mentality
• Buy Items with Multiple Functions
• Buy One Item, Get Rid of One
• Utilize Vertical Storage
• Use Full-Sized Furniture
• Use Colors for Separation
• Mount Your Television
• Hang Mirrors
• Mount a Wall Desk
• Hang Pocket Doors

Read on to discover how to create more space in your home and in your life!

Are you ready to live with less? Decluttering your home is step one. Becoming a minimalist means letting go of your attachment to “stuff" and only living with the things that you really need. It is intentionally being surrounded with fewer material items so that you can do more with your time and life. You spend less time and money on meaningless possessions and more energy on living life itself.  Whatever minimalism means to you, it basically boils down to a “use it or lose it” mentality.

When it is time to make a purchase, try to buy items that serve more than one purpose. For example, let’s say you need to buy a toaster oven. However, you really want an air fryer too. Buying two kitchen appliances will clutter up your kitchen counter. Consider buying one item that will do the job of two. The same goes for your furniture. Select pieces that will do double-duty, such as an ottoman cube that you can use to store books and magazines.

Organizational experts all agree on this one golden rule. Every time you purchase an item for your household, you should get rid of one. This rule goes for anything in your house, from toys to shoes to clothing. You also don’t have to throw items away. You could give them away as well. One person’s trash is often another person’s treasure. Give from your heart and give often. This is a principle that is sure to bless you and your household while keeping your home free of clutter at the same time.

In a small home, having enough storage space can always be a challenge. Closet spaces and drawers fill up quickly, even after a purging session has been completed. One of the best things you can do to organize a small home is to utilize vertical wall storage. Hang vertical shelving or create built-in cabinets on your walls to hold your precious things.

Resist the temptation to buy smaller pieces of furniture, just because you have a smaller home. According to Architectural Digest.com, you should actually do the opposite. Instead, select larger pieces of furniture, but fewer of them when you have a small space because smaller furniture will actually make a room “look smaller.”

In any home, you sometimes need a way to create a sense of separation between different areas, without having walls, doors, or partitions. Particularly in a small home, color can be very helpful in creating a sense of separation between different living areas. For example, you can have a reading nook in one color scheme, and a dining room in another.

Media consoles that sit on the floor and hold large, flat-screen televisions take up valuable floor space that is much-needed in a smaller home. Mounting your television on a wall is one of the best things that you can do to save space in your living room or bedroom.

Although hanging mirrors won’t literally create more physical space, they will create the illusion of it. There is a reason why mirrors are one of the oldest tricks in the book. It is because they really work! Wherever you place a mirror inside of your home, it will reflect light and make that space look larger.

Perhaps you aren’t able to find space in your home for an office. One clever solution for this is to create a wall desk. All you need to do is attach a shelf to the wall and pull up a desk chair. To have space to store your papers, simply continue the shelving upward. Then you can just use bins and baskets to store your office items.

If you want to take home organization a step further, hang a couple of pocket doors throughout your home. House Beautiful notes that doing so will eliminate the need to leave space for the doors to swing open and shut. You can also research pocket doors that include “glass window” inserts so that light is allowed to flow freely throughout, further adding to the feeling of expansiveness.

When you live in a small place, proper home organization is key to having a smooth-running household. Selecting the right design elements can also be quite helpful in creating the illusion of your home being larger than it is. Living with less and learning to give away what is no longer useful to you will create the open space in your life that you need.

• https://www.architecturaldigest.com/story/8-clever-ways-maximize-small-space
• https://www.housebeautiful.com/home-remodeling/interior-designers/tips/g1454/small-space-design-ideas/