How to Organize a Home with Little Space

Organizing a small home is tough enough, especially if you are working with very little square footage. As the expression goes, “where there’s a will, there’s a way,” and with the proper tips for maximizing space, there is a way to stay organized.

To optimize your small space and stay organized:

Declutter Your Small Home
Remember Aesthetics
Get Creative with Awkward Spaces
Use Rooms Correctly
Upgrade Your Closets

You may have a small home, but that doesn't mean you can't maximize its potential to your advantage. Want to learn how? Settle down and read on!

Declutter Your Small Home

Being mindful of the items in your home is very important. Similar to how you would go through your closet and decide which clothes to donate or toss, you should go through each room of your home and toss or donate items that no longer benefit you.

Playing the “keep, toss, or donate” game always sounds easy until it’s time to part with something that holds sentimental value. Although sentimental value is important, you need to be selective since your home is small.

It’s also pretty typical that people keep items for those “just in case” occurrences that usually never happen. If you haven’t needed something in a year, it’s safe to say you probably shouldn't hold onto it any longer. The Spruce provides a breakdown of the most common items within each room to toss, especially for those trying to maximize space.

Remember Aesthetics

While the main focus is organizing your small space, it doesn’t hurt to also make a few aesthetic adjustments in the process. For starters, picking the right color schemes throughout your home can create an illusion of additional space.

For smaller rooms, paint colors that work well with natural light are the best option, but that doesn’t mean you’re limited to only those shades. Moving.com suggests 9 paint colors and also recommends having an accent wall.

Color schemes can also extend to the flooring in a home, which is just as critical to making a room feel bigger. Lighter wood floors are a wise choice for a small space, but updating or changing the floors may not be an option. In situations where you can’t touch darker wood or tile floors, your best bet is to add a brightly colored rug. The Lazy Loft offers a detailed guide to other color schemes to be mindful of as well.

Get Creative with Awkward Spaces

There are many spaces within a home that are considered awkward because they don’t function the way you wish they did. However, in a smaller-sized home, space is space and you need all you can get.

Corner furniture pieces are a wonderful way to maximize an awkward space that you may have had to forfeit otherwise. They not only provide you with a creative alternative but also add to the illusion that the space is bigger than it is. This doesn’t just pertain to corner storage pieces; it’s also valid for corner couches, sofas, and headboards.

Purchasing multifunctional furniture pieces is another smart move that serves a dual purpose – decorating a space and providing storage. Some examples of multifunctional furniture include:

Storage ottomans that open up to hold blankets, movies, or games
Trundle daybeds that can be used as a couch in the daytime and then a guest bed at night
Adjustable coffee tables that store magazines, mail, or notebooks
Mirrors that open up to store jewelry or items meant for safekeeping

A clear floor in a small room can make a difference as well. When there isn’t clutter, the floor seems larger, as does the rest of the room. One way to keep items off the floor is by using wall space. Mounting a television and adding a tall bookcase are ideal options for bedrooms or living rooms. In a laundry room, you could also stack your washer and dryer, while in the kitchen bring in additional cabinets.

Over the door and behind the door storage is a creative way to store items. In the laundry room, over-the-door storage can be used to hold detergent, dryer sheets, and other miscellaneous items. In your bedroom, you could utilize behind-the-door storage to house socks, shoes, and whatever else you desire.

Behind the door storage can be especially useful in offices to hold pens, pencils, glue, or craft supplies. Even still, wrapping paper, ribbon, and gifting accessories can also be kept in hidden storage compartments.

Use Rooms Correctly

The idea that each room in a house needs to be solely dedicated to one purpose is a thing of the past. Dual-purpose rooms are gaining popularity, especially among smaller homes. Try to figure out if there are any rooms in your house that can be used for more than one purpose. For instance, maybe your office can also act as a guest bedroom (you can use your trundle daybed here). Perhaps your kitchen and dining room don’t have to be two separate areas? Can one table serve multiple functions?

Take it a step further by creating zones to keep your rooms tidy. For example, you may not want to make it obvious your living room acts as your office, but it would probably be a good idea to have a designated zone where your work stuff would go (perhaps it’s an adjustable coffee table).

Within your created zones, anticipate “dumping areas.” Everyone is guilty of having dumping zones in their homes – whether it’s the area by the front door where piles of shoes are collected or a spot on the kitchen island where you toss the mail. By thinking ahead and anticipating where you would “drop” items quickly, you can plan accordingly and implement ways to reduce clutter.

Upgrade Your Closets

A small home usually doesn’t have large closets, but that doesn’t mean you can’t create a fully functioning one. Strategically setting up your closets holds an array of benefits, starting with concealing items and lessening the likelihood of having clutter all over.

An upgraded closet looks different for everyone. For some, a closet with matching baskets and bins is enough to make a difference – both spatially and visually. For others, a fully custom closet is the necessary option to maximize all possible space. Built-In Closet & Garage Designs explains how custom closets also increase the value of a home. This tidbit of info is something to keep in your back pocket if you’re hoping to eventually sell your house and upgrade to a bigger one.

A professionally renovated custom closet is only beneficial if it’s kept in order. From swapping out seasonal items to including dividers, drawers, and shelves, Connecticut Closets & Garages provide 5 core tips for keeping your custom closets organized.

Conclusion

Having a home small in size does not mean that it will be small in memories or personality. Taking some time to think about your space and what you can do to provide yourself more storage will help you keep your small home organized.