Organizing Small Rooms

Written by Debra Wyatt (last updated March 4, 2021)

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When the time comes that you have to downsize your living space then the time has also come to reevaluate what items are really necessary. Often it seems like the smaller the space the less space there is for storage. When living or trying to organize a small room, one must be creative with the space that is allotted for them. Usually small room comes with a reach-in closet, which limits the storage space even more.

Before doing anything particularly drastic, you will want to take a realistic look into the small room and measure it. Be sure to measure the closet as well measure the height, depth, and width. Write down all measurements. Empty the room completely of everything. When re-purposing a room you don't want to have any leftovers hanging around and then adding to items as well. If you do that you will end up with a cluttered small room.

Think about what the room is going to be used for. If it is going to be used for a bedroom, then your closet probably will be only big enough for your clothing needs. Closet organizers are great when it comes to organizing your wardrobe and taking up less room in the closet leaving more room for other items that may need to be placed in the closet. Think about what your clothing needs are: Do you mainly wear sweaters, shirts, and jeans? Then you will want a system that has more shelves than rods.

Place some shelves into the closet, so that you can place containers that hold such things as underwear, socks, and accessories. Be sure to mark these containers so you know what they contain. By storing underwear, socks, and accessories in the closet you can easily eliminate the need for a dresser, thus allowing more space in the room.

Before bringing in any furniture, consider putting a shelf around the top of the room about two feet from the ceiling and another shelf about eighteen inches below that shelf. This will give you more space for storing items such as books and music. Put the different items into baskets or other containers and don't forget to label them. Place only the essentials (chair, desk, bed, etc.) in the room. This gives the illusion that the room is bigger than it really is.

When it comes to storage don't forget that there is space under the bed. Buy some containers that fit under the bed. These types of containers can be purchased at stores like Target and Wal-mart. They are great for storing the larger, bulkier items like blankets.

Author Bio

Debra Wyatt

Deb has a communications degree and applies her talents to her position as Marketing Specialist at Sharon Parq Associates. In her spare time she spends time with her children and grandchildren and devotes time to her church. ...

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What is five more than 3?

2017-01-10 20:34:38

JJ

Why shelves in the closet? Unless the bedroom is very tiny, things like underwear, socks, & clothes you'd wear for knockabout could go in a dresser.


2014-04-26 11:19:43

JJ

Thanks, Annia, good ideas. You're right; I best not drill a hole in the door. They'd probably skin me alive if I did! (-:


2014-04-25 11:19:39

Annia

Consider hanging things on the back of the room's door. If you don't want to drill into the door, get some of the big binder clips to fasten to the top. You can bend the handles down, and tie things to them that hang lower down. That's how I hang my jewelry and nylons in my small room! Also, consider putting a small dresser at the foot of the bed.
Debra Wyatt - please punctuate your articles more completely - they are hard to read when they are missing the periods and commas. And we DO want to read them - you have valuable things to say! Thanks.


2014-04-25 09:08:23

JJ

I can put a few flat things under my bed---it's fairly low---but I've got a long, narrow closet that won't accommodate a lot. Fortunately or unfortunately, I haven't got a wardrobe the size of most people's. That gives me some room to store things in my closet, but not much. Recommendations? I'd be obliged to you. God bless you! (-: