In September, I moved from a larger home to a smaller one because I was living beyond my means and needed to finally be an adult and downsize. I love the home I have now but it is one room smaller and also doesn’t have a basement. Without a basement, it is hard for me to store the items I do not use on a regular basis or separate my winter items from spring and summer.
The drawback of this is that I now I have less space and way too much stuff. I’ve given alot of things away to the Salvation Army and to family and friends, but I still have a lack of storage space that has overwhelmed my closets. I finally tackled my space issue this weekend and came up with a clever way to organize and store smaller items, therefore freeing up space.
Thumbtacks are a great way to store items. And since you are using the wall instead of a drawer, shelf, etc., there is room to store other things. By storing my earrings on my wall on tacks in the closet, my drawers where I used to store them are now free for me to put other stuff.
The tacks serve as a perfect way to hang my accessories and also keep them neat and organized. I am about halfway through with putting them all up.
I also added shelves at the top of my closet to store the other items in a less cluttered way. I had a little help though so I can’t take all of the credit for the installation.
Do you see the odor eaters? They will keep my closet smelling fresh and clean!
I also used the thumbtack idea for my daughter’s coats. With the lack of space in her closet, I decided to make a “mudroom” type of area in the hallway. What do you think?
I put the thumbtacks at her height so she can easily hang up and retrieve her coats.
The work didn’t stop there. Check out my new racks in the laundry room that also can store my paper goods. I have to utilize ever space in this house to cut down on clutter.
The shelving units were purchased at Home Depot. I spent $45.00 for them and for the thumbtacks
I apologize for not taking before and after pictures. I didn’t think of doing this blog post until I read the closet post on Riding With Jessica HERE. Then it came to me that other people may be experiencing the same problems I have with space so I thought I would share!
September 9th, 2010
8 Comments at "Organizing With Less Space"
I can totally relate to this. My partner and I live in a small studio apartment for its location. We are not allowed to put holes in the walls so the thumbtack idea is out. But we do something similar with 3M Command Hooks – different sizes for different things. The small ones are great for jewellery and keys. Larger ones great for coats or handbags.
Also, I recommend using under-bed storage if possible. We have a nice high slat bed with plastic baskets underneath, which allow us to store out-of-season clothes and shoes. Of course, buying an unnecessary bed is silly, but we had needed to replace ours anyway.
And if you happen to know a builder, opportunities for extra space and storage multiply tenfold!
I can totally relate to this. My partner and I live in a small studio apartment for its location. We are not allowed to put holes in the walls so the thumbtack idea is out. But we do something similar with 3M Command Hooks – different sizes for different things. The small ones are great for jewellery and keys. Larger ones great for coats or handbags.
Yes 3M hooks are another great option. Thank you for reminding me about them! I may try them next!
I might be downsizing (potentially, I don't know yet, lol) and the thumbtacks for jewelry thing is a great idea! I'm forever losing one earring, lol, plus it gives you a sort of inventory of what you have. I would have thought the thumbtacks would be too weak to hang coats with though? Are they the regular office type thumb tacks?
Thanks for commenting! The thumbtacks are regular ones I got from Home Depot. They work for my daughter's coats. I don't know how they would hold up on adult coats or heavier ones but we've been using them for awhile and they are working like a charm!
I'm in the midst of several organizing projects myself. Sometimes being in the same place too long, things start to collect.
i am sooo unorganized! i have soo much stuff and not alot of space. ive gave away things. thrown stuff away.. its just to much where its now outta control!
Good stuff. I've long since learned the beauty of thumbtacks! I use them to hang frames that aren't too heavy, keys, etc. Another good idea is to store things on your doors. I use both my bedroom and bathroom doors for storage. I removed my closet doors so I would have more space, or else I'd be using them too.
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