Although downsizing means living a more simplified life, the actual process of moving to a smaller home can be quite cumbersome and complex. This process often involves a good deal of preparation: from deciding what to bring and what to toss to planning out the actual move itself, downsizing to a smaller home involves a variety of factors you have to take into consideration when planning it out.
Here are 7 easy tips for storing your belongings when moving to a smaller home.
Use Wall Racks Behind Doors
From your pantries and closets to your bedrooms and bathrooms, you can create extra space in your home by using behind-the-door storage. Installing hanging wall racks behind doors will prevent clutter in your closets, pantries and drawers. Additionally, hanging wall racks will make it much easier to find your spices, sauces, and cleaning supplies when you need them. Many hanging wall racks even come with adjustable shelves, which you can add and remove as needed.
Shelving Above Toilets
You can also use wall racks in your washrooms. Nothing’s worse than a tiny bathroom overrun with towels on the floor and toiletries under the vanity. To keep your bathroom and powder rooms clutter-free, you can shelve above the toilets. If you are renting and thus unable to install free-floating shelves on the walls, try using a stand-alone shelf unit that fits over the toilet. This extra storage frees up floor space in the bathroom, as well as shelf space inside your vanity.
Use Storage Beds
Do not waste precious bedroom space with armoires and dressers. Instead, use a storage bed when downsizing to smaller rooms. Storage beds typically come with four or more drawers below the mattress and attached to the bed frame. This feature allows you to store clothes and necessities under the bed instead of inside a bulky, space-hogging chest of drawers. This is a perfect way to utilize and maximize space in your bedroom.
Use Bins and Baskets
Storing belongings inside bins and baskets is one of the most affordable and most aesthetically pleasing ways to save space when downsizing. They can be placed almost anywhere, including entryways, kitchens, closets, bedrooms, bathrooms and pantries. Decorative bins and baskets are easy to come by and help make the home both stylish and organized. When using bins or baskets, we recommend adding labels to them as well. You can find an example of bins and baskets here.
Use Hanging Bike Racks
If you own a bike, then you know that they take up quite a bit of room. To save space, you can go vertical with your bicycle. Whether you store your bike inside the home or in the garage, you will benefit from using a hanging bike rack to hold your bicycle upright. From simple wall mounts to free standing bike racks, there are plenty of ways to hang the bike rack in your home and, consequently, open up floor space for other items.
Use Drawer Organizers
One easy way to help contain the mess in your various drawers is to simply add drawer organizers. These will save you space by allowing you to more easily and efficiently store everything from makeup and toiletries to office supplies and kitchen utensils inside your drawers. These organizational trays can be used in kitchens, pantries, bathroom vanities and desks.
Rent a Storage Unit
Renting a storage unit is a fantastic way to create more space in your new home. You can store belongings such as old CDs or clothes in the storage unit and retrieve your items when you need them.
If you have only a few items to store, you can rent a 5 x 5 feet storage unit, which is roughly the same size as a regular closet. This storage unit size is ideal for storing personal items, clothes, boxes, skis, children’s toys, small furniture items and some documents. If you have a few more items to store, you can go with a 5 x 10 feet storage unit. This storage unit is approximately the same size as a walk-in closet and it is perfect for holding a few pieces of furniture, sofas, chairs, a chest of drawers, box spring and mattress, business supplies and records, plus other small items and boxes.