Transformations for Small Space Living: Organizational Ideas for Small Spaces

Small space living has become increasingly popular the last few years, thanks to downsizing trends, rising housing costs and the growing popularity of tiny homes. While these dwellings can be cost-effective and cozy, their limited square footage requires highly efficient home organization and management to ensure they don’t begin to feel stifling, cramped and crowded over time. Many individuals and families are overwhelmed by clutter or unsure how to make the most of their limited living space. 

The good news is that small doesn’t have to mean uncomfortable. Our organizational ideas for small spaces can dramatically change the feel of a small home from stifling and restricting to breathable, open and airy. With just a few well planned small home organization strategies, your small space will feel comfortable and spacious despite its compact footprint. This guide will walk you through how to organize and declutter a small home, especially when hobby organization limits your storage. We’ll also share tips on furnishing your home to maximize space, and how to create routines to help maintain your freshly organized small home. 

Whether you’re living in a studio apartment or a downsized family home, these solutions are designed to help you get the most out of every square inch, through practical techniques for decluttering small spaces, choosing smart, efficient furnishings and rotating belongings seasonally. Ready to discover how thoughtfully organized small space living can feel larger, lighter and more peaceful? Let’s get started.

Clear the Clutter

You may have heard the saying “A cluttered home equals a cluttered mind.” While this may or may not be true in your case, it is easy to see how clutter can limit the ability to move comfortably around your physical space, and can create inefficient barriers to quickly accessing the things you need. Clutter can even cause stress and anxiety by making your home less inviting and less functional overall. By employing a few small home organization strategies for decluttering small spaces, you can create a peaceful, tidy small space living environment.

Clutter typically accumulates near areas we frequent most, in little “nests” of frequently used items or things we want to keep in plain sight to ensure we don’t forget them. The 80/20 rule, also known as the Pareto Principle, notes that people typically use only about 20% of their belongings 80% of the time. This means the remaining 80% of most people’s belongings could be donated, sold, discarded, or packed away for long-term storage. 

When thinking about how to organize and declutter a small home, consider the room-by-room approach. Grab three large, clear bins and label them “Keep,” “Donate,” and “Discard.” Identify one area of the room to address first, and work through your space incrementally. For inspiration, search before and after decluttered spaces online to see how dramatically a thorough decluttering can transform a space.

A long-term self storage unit is ideal for seasonal or rarely used items you wish to keep. 

Space-Maximizing Furniture Solutions

Smaller scale, multifunctional furniture is a small home organization’s best friend. Less is absolutely more when the goal is to create space and a sense of flow and organization, so choose pieces that offer storage solutions as part of their design and don’t overwhelm the room. Furniture that is appropriately scaled for your space will prevent your rooms from feeling unbalanced and cramped, which is a common issue in small space living. 

This is especially important in open-concept layouts, where oversized furniture can obstruct sight lines and make the area feel disjointed. When thinking about how to organize and declutter a small home, start by measuring your space carefully before buying furniture, and go for flexible and adaptable furnishings that provide multiple uses.

Space-saving solutions include platform beds with storage drawers, sofa beds, expandable tables, nightstands with drawers instead of shelves, and Murphy beds or wall-mounted desks that fold into the wall. Not only do these organizational ideas for small spaces conserve precious room, they also reduce the need for additional storage furniture or solutions, which will keep your home feeling more spacious and accessible.

Smaller form furnishings are practical solutions that make the most of your decor, while allowing you to tuck frequently used linens, household goods and personal items out of sight. Think through the right placement of each piece as well, with the goal of creating clear, smooth visual flows throughout your home. This will add to the feeling of spaciousness.

Hidden Storage Hacks for Small Homes

Creative storage hacks go a long way when it comes to keeping small space living well organized and manageable. As you work your way through how to organize and declutter a small home, take inventory of everything you have and make note of the types of storage solutions that may work best to help organize it all. 

There are a variety of options available on the market to meet most needs, but if you have an especially unique organizational challenge, such as an oddly shaped corner or nook, consider installing DIY or professional custom shelving or cabinets designed specifically for your needs.

Often overlooked storage solutions include:

• Vertical storage like tall shelving units, bookcases and wall-mount shelves that take advantage of unused wall space
• Hangers and hooks, such as over door hangers that can hold anything from shoes to beauty accessories, and Command hooks to hang clothing or cleaning supplies like brooms and mops
• Accent pieces with built-in storage, such as coffee table trunks or storage ottomans
• Storage cubes instead of accent tables along walls in entryways
• Rolling bins to hold smaller items, such as craft or office supplies
• Small shelf-sized bins and baskets to organize pantry items
• Low-profile, collapsible containers that can slide under sofas or armchairs

Space-Maximizing Tips for Every Room

Now that we’ve discussed an assortment of organization ideas for small space living, let’s see how we can apply them by using a room by room approach to discover how, step by step, you can achieve a thorough and successful small home organization. 

Kitchen:

• Pull-out pantry racks for pots and pans
• Magnetic strips for knives
• Cabinet organizers like bins and Lazy Susan-style rotating organizers for spices and condiments
• Shelf risers in cabinets for dishwashing and cleaning supplies

Bathroom:

• Free-standing over-the-toilet shelving (also called an etagere) 
• Floating shelves for towels and linens
• Shower caddies for toiletries
• Mirrored medicine cabinets for beauty supplies or prescription bottles
• Narrow rolling carts for toiletries and personal items
• Over-the-door hooks for robes or towels

Bedroom: 

• Under-bed storage containers or vacuum-seal bags for linens or off-season clothing
• Closet organization systems such as collapsible hanging shelves, belt hangers, drawers, racks and shelves for clothing and shoes
• Storage cubes for clothing, shoes and other personal items
• Wardrobe racks for bedrooms with small or limited closets

Living room: 

• Entertainment center consoles with shelves or cabinets to store TV and audio accessories like remote controls and physical media
• Storage cubes for magazines and books
• Floating, wall-mounted shelves for photos, knick knacks, plants or books.
• Seating and tables with built-in storage

Home office:

• Filing cabinets for documents and papers
• Wall-mounted desks that can be folded away when not in use
• Bookcases and vertical shelving for books and other media
• Pegboards for office or craft supplies

Consider renting a self storage unit to store household items that are large or infrequently used. This will free up floor space and help you maintain a clutter-free home. 

The Seasonal Switch: Rotating Your Belongings

Seasons change, and the seasonal personal and household items you keep within easy reach should, too. Regularly rotating items you keep in your home by season will help you refresh your home every few months, without adding unnecessary clutter or wasting valuable square footage on items you won’t need for a while. Keep only what you need readily available, and store off-season decor and clothing until they’re back in season.

Organize and pack your seasonal items, and pack anything off-season in clear, clearly labeled stackable storage bins or vacuum-sealable clothing storage bags. Create a simple system of inventory to keep track of your stored belongings. A basic spreadsheet or even a list app on your phone will help you efficiently manage your stored items, to help you stay on top of what you’ve put where. Add calendar reminders and alarms to alert you when it’s time to swap out your current items with those you stored away last season.

If you have large or abundant seasonal items like decor, sporting equipment or bulky winter blankets, boots and coats, a self storage unit will let you store them securely offsite, preserving valuable space and maintaining your small home organization without clutter or unneeded items taking up room. The cost of a small storage unit is often well worth maintaining the peace of mind and reduced physical effort of constant cleaning you’ll enjoy after decluttering small spaces. 

Decluttering Small Spaces: Small Home Organization Made Simple

The key to comfortable small space living is decluttering effectively, and doing so routinely to maintain it. From there, choosing practical, flexible furnishings and regularly rotating off-season items into storage will ensure you keep your small home organization comfortable, spacious and inviting.

When you’re working with less square footage in your home, consider investing in smaller-form, multifunctional furniture. Platform beds with pull-out drawers in the base or underbed storage bins that stow away neatly beneath your bed frame are both excellent space savers. Vertical shelves, over-door hanging hooks, hanging storage bags and wall-mounted organizers all further expand less-used space in your home, leaving you more open areas that create clean and inviting living space.

As you begin to tackle your small home organization, start with one room or one area in greatest need of attention, and work incrementally to keep projects manageable and rewarding. You’ll see quick progress, and the singular focus will help you begin building tidy small space living routines and habits.

When you’re ready to start your small home organization project, our handy self storage tool can help you find the perfect self storage unit near you to safely store oversized or excess items.