How to Optimize Storage in a Small Space

By Alyssa Laffitte on January 18, 2020

This article is brought to you by CORT Furniture Rental. We take the hassle out of furnishing your new place so you can do more important things like read this article. Learn more about why furniture rental is the best way to get a great looking apartment.

As college students, we often don’t have the biggest living spaces. Many students live in dorm rooms or tiny apartments. Even if you live in a small space, you can still make the most of your storage. Here are a few ways to maximize your storage in a small space. 

Take advantage of the furniture you already have

You likely already have furniture you can use to help you optimize storage in a small space. For example, a dresser set or a wardrobe in the bedroom, or the entertainment set in the living room. These pieces of furniture are the perfect place to store your items, especially clothes, accessories, and shoes (for the bedroom), or your collection of Blu Ray discs (for the living room). To get the most storage out of these items, keep them organized and decluttered. When your storage space is organized, it will be easier to find your items. Using furniture you already have is a great way to optimize your storage in a small space.

Take advantage of “hidden storage spaces” around the room

If you take a look around your room, you might find there are many “hidden storage spaces” in various places. For example, underneath the bed. This is hidden enough that you won’t always see it (especially if your bed has a bed skirt), but big enough that you can store a few things there. Use these hidden storage spaces to optimize your storage space in a small room, and, of course, keep it organized!

Opt for “double duty” furniture

There are many pieces of furniture that can be both aesthetically pleasing and functional for storage space. For example, storage ottomans can open up to hold items inside, but they also make a great addition to your room décor (plus, they can function as extra seating!). We will call these “double duty” pieces of furniture. If you have a small space, try to use as many of these types of furniture as you can. Using furniture that can also serve as storage is a great way to optimize your storage space in a small room.

Use as much of your closet as you can

Many people don’t fully take advantage of the closet space they have. Personally, I know I don’t, since I only use the bottom part of my closet (I’m too short to reach the top shelves!). If you want to optimize the storage space you have, you need to use as much of your closet space as you can. You can use organizing shelves or racks to hold your accessories; you can use a double or triple-decker shoe rack to hold your shoes. If you have the same problem I do, buy a step stool so you can reach the top shelf of your closet. All these strategies will open up more closet space for you and will allow you to optimize your storage.

Use the back of the door as storage

If you are really tight on space, you will need to use every single storage space you can. Surprisingly, the back of the door can function as storage! If you have many accessories, like purses, bags, belts, or shoes, you can use the back of the door to store these items. A shoe rack for the back of the door is a perfect idea, or use a command strip to hold up your bags. These simple back of the door storage hacks are excellent ways to optimize your storage in a small room.

Use décor pieces to make the room look bigger

If your room is small, you can use decorative pieces that can help you store items and make the room look bigger. For example, you can use a standing mirror that opens up to hold jewelry. It will make your room look bigger, but it will also function as storage.

Embrace minimalism

The best way to optimize your storage space is to simply have less stuff to store! Take some time to go through all your storage and donate, give away, or sell items you have that you no longer want. A good rule of thumb for minimizing is, “if you haven’t used it in the last few months, get rid of it.” It’s also a good practice to get rid of things you have duplicates of. You will be glad to have decluttered your storage space and your life, as life are much simpler when you have less stuff. Downsizing and minimizing is the best way to optimize your storage space.

Clearly, you can still make the most of your small space to be able to store all your items. You simply need to better optimize your storage space. CORT furniture rental has some pieces of furniture that will make optimizing your storage in a small space much easier.

Looking for an easy way to furnish your off-campus apartment? Renting furniture from CORT saves you time and money. See how easy it is to get great looking furniture without breaking the bank.

Follow Uloop

Apply to Write for Uloop News

Join the Uloop News Team

Discuss This Article

Back to Top

Log In

Contact Us

Upload An Image

Please select an image to upload
Note: must be in .png, .gif or .jpg format
OR
Provide URL where image can be downloaded
Note: must be in .png, .gif or .jpg format

By clicking this button,
you agree to the terms of use

By clicking "Create Alert" I agree to the Uloop Terms of Use.

Image not available.

Add a Photo

Please select a photo to upload
Note: must be in .png, .gif or .jpg format