Effective Home Organization Ideas for Tidying Small Spaces (that Even Marie Kondo Would Approve of)

You love your living space but if only it was easier to keep it tidy! For smaller homes and apartments, our home organization ideas will help you maintain order and enjoy your home spaces even more than before.

Did you know having an organized space can positively impact your mental health? It ranges from the simple issue of sleeping better in a clean bed to the act of cleaning that can improve your mood. Don’t you feel more relaxed when you arrive home to a tidy living room or feel more in control after decluttering the attic?

Unfortunately, it’s tricky to ensure a house puts you in a good mood every day of the week, especially if you love in a smaller space. It’s more difficult to hide clutter and a chaotic, tiny home or apartment can make you feel cramped—even depressed—quite easily.

The answer?

Proper organization, smart interior design and planning can make a huge difference! And you don’t need to be a pro interior designer to get it right. Try the following when you renovate or implement some of the guidelines in your current space.

 

How to Maximize Room Space

The Illusion of Space

A pro tip that you can get right much easier than you think, is to make smaller spaces seem bigger. You may not physically have additional floor space, but the illusion of it will do wonders for how a room makes you feel when you enter. Try some of these tips and you’ll find it easier to breathe in your cramped little apartment:

• Hang mirrors and use glass as part of your décor theme. This will reflect light across the room and even between spaces, helping to make areas look bigger.
• Let different rooms seem connected, either by removing doors that divide them or using similar flooring in both areas.
• Redo the walls in lighter paint colors or wallpaper. Once again, this reflects light better than dark tones, giving an illusion of more space.
• Limit furnishing and décor.

 

Reclaiming Lost Space

Next up, consider where you’re sacrificing space that you can claim back through smart home organization ideas. Start off by scanning each room’s floor area and identifying items you can take UP. For example, mount the TV, rather than using floor space for a TV stand or cupboard. Also consider adding shelves higher up on the walls, rather than using a bookcase. You can even put it above the doors for a contemporary look.

With this same approach you can replace or reorganize indoor plants and décor. Rather place it on a floating shelf against an unused wall space than the floor.

Even if you really need a specific piece of furniture in a room, such as a bedside or coffee table, choose furniture that allows you double-usage of the area. For example, exchange a solid table for one fixed to the wall or one with legs. This gives you some space underneath to slide in shoes or a storage box, but you still have a surface for your coffee cup, keys and book.

While on the topic of storage…

 

Get Smart About Storage

Some of the best home organization ideas concern storage methods. It can transform the atmosphere in a home, so no wonder tidying and organization experts like Marie Kondo are so popular these days!

Our top 6 tips for improving your home’s storage solutions are:

1. When lack of proper storage cupboards leads to clutter everywhere, use alternative methods. Think hooks against walls, funky storage baskets that double as décor features and hidden storage to hide clutter. For example, instead of just a bench, pick one with storage under the seat.
2. Use vertical space better. If you have a shelf that’s home to small items, use containers or additional shelving above to optimize that storage area.
3. Not all your storage needs to be inside a cupboard. Use creative ways to store items on the outside of a cupboard door or the side of a bookshelf. If it’s the right color and look, it won’t ruin the aesthetics.
4. Do you really need doors on all your cupboards? You’ll win some floor and storage space if you take them off. And as long as the shelves stay neat—by using some of our other tips below—the room can have a modern feel.
5. Consider each piece of furniture and find ways to add storage to them. For example, a window seat or bench can have small drawers below.
6. Does your small apartment have a flight of stairs? Can you turn that into a usable space or storage area?

 

Home Organization Ideas for Different Rooms

Not sure how exactly to apply smart home organization ideas to the room you find the most challenging? Here’s a quick reference list.

 

In the Bathroom

Are there ways you can use the inside of cupboard doors as storage too? Perhaps a small basket glued to the inside, for odds and ends or cotton wool? Also opt for a floating cupboard, so you don’t lose floor space.

For all your bathroom necessities, a tiered storage organizer or a shelf above the toilet has saved many a household’s small-bathroom challenges.

 

Organizing the Kitchen

A main culprit in kitchens is the counter. If it’s cluttered, the space will automatically feel smaller. See how much of the appliances and utensils you can fit inside a cupboard or on a wall—using our home organization ideas about storage mentioned in the previous section.

One way to fit more into cupboards and even the fridge is using vertical space more (see above). Visit any storage related store and you’ll find stackable containers ideal for kitchen use.

 

Bedroom Transformations

And easy fix in a bedroom is giving your bed a new purpose: storage container. Add drawers to the base, slide containers under the bed or invest in a new bed with customized storage under the mattress.

You’ll also be surprised how much additional clothing you can store in your cupboards if you try vacuum storage. When the seasons change, vacuum pack the clothes you won’t use for the next few months. Chances are they’ll last longer too, thanks to less friction inside the closet.

For anything from makeup to accessories, get creative and mount storage solutions to the walls, in plain sight. Hooks, peg boards or lightweight containers fixed to the walls can be stylish home organization ideas that fit with a variety of décor styles.

 

Making ‘Organized’ a Habit

Now, you have all the smart organizing techniques in place. It’s not enough. They are only as valuable as the system you use to maintain, tidy and clean your home. Especially in smaller homes and in apartments where multiple people share spaces, your systems determine how organized your home will be on a continual basis.

Rather than calling a draining ‘cleaning day’ every now and then, use the smart home organization ideas above and pair it with the following tips:

• Have a spot for every item: Whenever you add something new to a room, allocate it a specific spot. For example, when you buy a new sound system, decide where you want its remote. Clear a spot for it on a shelf or table and remember to tell occupants about it. Because no one doubts where it should go, there’s less chance of them displacing it or it becoming part of the clutter on your shelves.
• Commit to a chore manager and tracker: Any home needs ‘tidying’ as part of the weekly tasks. But with multiple people living there, you need to monitor these chores. Find a chore calendar system that works, especially if you have messy roommates or kids you need to manage so they don’t ruin your goal of staying organized. Manual systems like a chore wheel can work or adding a chore list to the fridge. But these can make a small kitchen seem more cluttered. An app like Enzo works its magic digitally and you don’t have to sacrifice any space to put it into action. It also comes with helpful features for home maintenance, such as task reminders.
• Throw out before you buy: If you’re buying anything new, first throw out something you already own but don’t use that much anymore. You can donate, sell or discard. As a result, you limit clutter.

 

Final Thoughts

Your home should be your refuge. Don’t let clutter or the size of a room turn your haven into chaos. Even when sharing a home or apartment with others, proper organization is key to having a happy, functional home.

Don’t forget to use tech to your advantage. Enzo, our market leading chore tracker app can help everyone stay in top of tidying tasks, helping you maintain order on a continual basis. Let the home you create keep on being your sanctuary.