Keeping your home ready for guests can be challenging, to say the least. Depending on how cluttered or “lived-in” your home looks, you have probably played the “hide the junk game,” more times than you can count. You don’t have to play this game as often as you do or at least, not in the same way. For you die-hard “hide the junk” players, here are 5 ways to add storage to your home.
Stair Storage
This area is often overlooked. If you don’t already have a closet under the stairs, create one. Store tools for quick cleanup there. For more storage, use the actual stairs themselves. Turn each step into a drawer, either inside the closet, or outside. If the drawers are accessible from outside the closet, make sure they are always closed tightly. You may want to use a magnetic closure to ensure that the drawers close.
Top Shelf Storage
Create ceiling shelves, high shelving, inside your closets to provide additional storage for things you want to keep out of sight or to hold seasonal items. Ceiling shelves added around the perimeter of the room provide you a wonderful storage or display area for your collectables, old books, and other items that you prefer people didn’t touch.
Furniture Storage
Ottomans that open up are a great place for storing things like blankets, toys, or clutter. Coffee table storage areas are wonderful. Just add drawers and/or shelves underneath the tabletop. This is a nice place to store magazines and books. You can also use this storage area to quickly baby-proof or pet-proof a room. These multi-function storage spaces are great ideas for keeping things safe, neat, and organized.
Corner Storage
Corners are often considered dead space, meaning that very little will fit in the area. However, they can provide excellent storage areas, with a little imagination. Because corners meet at a right angle, this means that any square table or shelving, preferably wooden, will fit nicely, at least on 2 sides.
If you don’t want a corner sticking out into the room, you may want to modify the square item. For example, you can cut a square tabletop in half (diagonally, making a triangle) to get a flat edge that can face outward or simply round off that corner. Keep in mind that if you cut the tabletop into a triangle, you may also need an additional table leg for support. You can get a lot of storage area out of one tiny little corner, especially if the storage area goes from floor to ceiling.
Bed Storage
Mother always wanted me to clean under the bed. However, this is a great storage area. Loft and bunk beds almost instantly provide a great work and/or storage area. For standard beds, you can create a frame for drawers that will slip easily under the bed. If closet space is minimal, or the bedroom is small, adding drawers and/or shelves under the bed is a super way to add more storage space.
Are you tired of playing the “hide the junk” game when someone drops by unexpectedly? Give the things you hide regularly a new hidden home in the room where you use them the most. Use these 5 ways to add storage to your home as inspiration.
