Have you ever felt like you just don’t have enough space in your home? Maybe you’re always struggling to find a place to store things, or you could feel like you have way too much clutter that you just want to get rid of.

But as you might know, it takes time to get rid of things, and most of us don’t really want to throw away our possessions. Think about it–you’ve got to categorize the things you’re willing to part with, sign up for an account on a website like eBay or Depop, and then take pictures and list your items. Then you need to wait for a seller to purchase, package up the item, send it, and also deal with any potential disputes.

If you’ve sold things online before then this is no big deal, but a lot of people don’t really want to go through this hassle, especially the part where people can complain about the item you’ve sent or request a refund maliciously. So in this post, we’re going to help you maximize the storage space in your home with some smart DIY hacks and utilizing as much space in your home as possible.

Making better use of the vertical space in your home

A lot of people tend to forget about the vertical space in their home and how it can be used to introduce more storage space. Think about this; how high do your shelves go? If you’re in a home with a low or medium height ceiling then your bookshelves might reach the top.

However, there’s a good chance that your storage furniture probably doesn’t go all the way to the ceiling. If you add on some extra shelving (and have a safe way to actually reach that high) then you’ll realize that you can make much better use of the vertical space in your home to add more storage space.

This extra storage space isn’t the most practical to reach, especially if you have to get on a step ladder to reach it–but that’s perfectly fine. A lot of the things we store don’t get used regularly anyway, so it’s not uncommon to just leave some boxes up there or items that you don’t use on a regular basis. It’s not going to add extra time to your cleaning or maintenance either, since all you have to do is dust it occasionally.

Vertical space can also be utilized in other parts of the home. Take your bathroom as an example. There are over-toilet shelving units that can add some extra storage space. They take advantage of the fact that in most homes, there’s nothing really above the toilet tank and it’s just wasted vertical space. This makes an over-toilet shelving unit a great addition to any home, but you can go a step further and install something like a cupboard or floating shelves instead.

And lastly, don’t forget that bare walls are often a great place to add extra shelves and hanging storage areas. You don’t have to use every single wall in your home, but just keep in mind that your walls are prime areas for adding extra storage space to your home.

In short, don’t overlook the abundance of vertical space that you have in your home for storage. From simply buying a taller shelf to installing custom shelving units, there are loads of ways to take advantage of all of that vertical space in your home.

Adding extra storage in places that you normally wouldn’t think to

There are loads of places in the home where you can add a bit of extra storage space, but you might not be aware of or have seen them being used. So here’s a quick list of places that can help you squeeze out a bit more space:

Behind doors

The space behind your doors is typically used to hang things such as clothes, but you can also install little shelving units or extra hangers for various accessories and clothing items. This is especially great if you like to mix and match different accessories and hats for your outfits, so you have a neat and tidy place to put them all.

Underneath stairs

Stairs can be transformed to hold a lot of extra items. The most common idea is to convert the space underneath your stairs into a small cupboard to store items such as household supplies and other goods. However, you can also try to add drawers to the steps of your stairs. This is typically known as in-stairs storage and requires a bit of DIY knowledge to get started.

Inside a closet

Closets can usually be optimized a little more for extra space. In particular, the use of something like a yellow powder coated pipe or rod can be a great place to hang more clothes. These can usually be installed close to the ceiling for maximum space, and they’re often a lot easier and more flexible to install than just having extra shelves. This is something you’ll see a lot more for clothing purposes as it’s easy to just place a couple of hangers on a pipe to store more garments, and you’d be surprised at how many places in the home you could fit an extra rod or two for storage purposes.

Inside your drawers and cupboards

There are usually a bunch of ways to make better use of the space inside of your drawers, especially if they’re fairly tall and can fit multi-tiered boxes inside of them. This is a great idea for makeup storage or for storing things such as stationary or cables. You can use all kinds of organizers, DIY or otherwise, and place more items in each of your drawers. For taller cupboards, you could add a multi-tiered organizer to make more use of the vertical space inside of it.

Conclusion

So if you’re willing to do a bit of DIY work, you can actually squeeze out a lot of extra storage space in your home. Focus on maximizing vertical space, and look for places in your home that could be transformed into a practical storage area.