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4 Creative Ways to Increase Storage Space on a Budget
If you have often found yourself frustrated at the clutter building up in your house, you’re not alone. According to Time, the single biggest pet peeve amongst homeowners is lack of storage space. Storage is essential to having an organized home, which in itself is important for our mental health and well-being. These four tips will help you fight clutter by allowing everything in the house to have its own place without having to spend a fortune on new furniture.
Before You Start, Go Online
Big shops have regular sales throughout the year, but you can’t always wait until the next one comes around to buy what you need. Even if you could, it can be difficult to get the best possible price without losing out on the deal. This is why the internet is your best friend when it comes to home shopping. There are plenty of coupons, discounts, and cashback programs available for online shopping, so never buy without checking a website like Ebates, which offers discounts and deals on stores like Bed, Bath, and Beyond, where you can find stylish storage solutions that match your decor, regardless of the project.
Look Up
How much vertical space are you currently ignoring or underusing? Many of us have plenty of bare walls that are just begging for some shelving and extra storage space. Shelves are one of the easiest DIY projects to undertake, and can often be made for little to no cost using upcycled materials such as boxes, wooden furniture, and even belts. Don’t be afraid to go high up with shelving near the ceiling or above door frames — you can place things here that you rarely use, such as boxes with important documents or Christmas decorations. If you want to purchase shelving without having to do it yourself, save money by taking advantage of cashback offers and online sales for stores such as Crate and Barrel.
Get Rolling
Storage on wheels is a great way to utilize small spaces without sacrificing convenience and ease of use. Being able to roll out hidden storage makes using it a breeze, so you don’t have to struggle with lifting, pulling, and dragging boxes across the floor when you need something.
Rolling boxes for under bed storage can be bought for quite cheap or made from simple wooden boards, which are perfect if you have some left over from another DIY project. Similarly, a roll-out pantry can be the perfect solution for that narrow gap many kitchens have next to the fridge, and it is also easily made with cheap materials.
Hack Existing Furniture
If you are intimidated by the idea of building something from scratch, you can ease yourself into things by “hacking” existing furniture to boost its storage capabilities. This usually involves more basic DIY skills and has less of a chance of going wrong since you are not making big changes to the structure of the furniture itself.
IKEA furniture lends itself particularly well to hacking due to its assembly methods. This is why a whole community of IKEA hackers exists online to share tips on how to transform their flat pack furniture into something unique. This often involves taking a cheaper piece and making it look more high-end or simply changing its design to suit another room and use. Check out some great ideas for low-cost storage IKEA hacks here. You can also save money on IKEA products by searching through money-saving sites like RetailMeNot.
With these solutions, storage doesn’t have to be a problem in your house anymore. You can now say goodbye to cluttered, stressful, and cramped rooms that are hard to navigate and even harder to relax in. Forget spending money on wardrobes and cabinets that feel bulky and out of place in your rooms. A bit of creativity and flexibility can help you fit easy, cheap, and simple storage solutions into your space in a way that feels seamless and unintrusive.
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