Do you remember when you were a kid and dreamt about growing up, landing you dream job, having financial stability, the perfect partner, and a beautiful big house or spacious apartment? How did that turn out? If you have achieved it, congratulations. This article will probably not be helpful at all for you. But if you’re here because of the title of the article, it’s likely that you’re not living in that huge manor, house, or apartment, and you’re desperate to get the most of that tiny bedroom of yours.
Don’t feel bad. It’s not that you’ve failed on your dreams. The truth is that with all the overpopulation and the waves of people moving from rural towns to the cities, many opt for renting a room in a shared apartment. Moreover, construction companies have devoted their time, effort, and money to adapt or make buildings with tiny apartments to lodge as many people as possible, and as a result, well, we’re living in shoe box spaces.
When I moved to Scotland for half a year, I ended up renting a house with other four students, and in my effort to save the most money, I chose to stay in the smallest room to pay less than the others. Now, this sounded great through our Whatsapp conversations, and in the pictures the room looked quite a decent, but I’m not kidding, it was like Harry Potter’s cupboard under the stairs. I swear I’m not exaggerating. The room was about 2×4 meters, it had a single bed, a small desk, and one tiny closet. Still, I did as much to make it my sanctuary, and I really ended up loving my small room. What did I do? Storage units and a bit of creativity, that’s all. So here are some easy and creative ways to make the most of that reduced space and turn it into a comfy place without feeling cramped.
Use the space under your bed
If your bed is high and there’s space beneath it, use it. You can get some boxes that fit properly and store shoes or whatever that doesn’t fit in your wardrobe. I had a box for summer stuff and another for winter accessories. That way I had more space in my drawers and wardrobe.
Place a rack behind your bed
You can also place a rack just behind your bed that can work as a headboard as well. It will only take a couple of inches of space and you’ll be able to store more things in your wardrobe.
Place some shelves on your walls
If you’re not a fan of the previous suggestion, you can also opt for shelves. Sometimes we underestimate how useful walls can be. This is a dead space that only works for frames or any other kind of decorations, but shelves can definitely work for books, shoes, or basically anything. You can also put a hanger underneath them. If you don’t like to just put stuff over them, the best way to make the most of them is by saving things in nice boxes. Label them, and there you go.
Use your bookcase to store more than books
The nice thing about bookcases is that they give you many levels to place things. Don’t use them only for your books. You can place your makeup, shoes, clothes, among other things, and the combination of things will look interesting. Think of bookcases as shelves as well.
Use a slim cabinet for shoes
Shoes tend to be major space eaters, especially if you have a problem like me. There are many options to storage them but, to be honest, the best one I found was slim cabinets. As the name suggests, these are not spacious, and they allow you to store about 10 pairs, which is great.
Use rope to create a nice scarf hanger
This is a life changer, I swear. You just have to find a spot in a wall, two nails, and a thin rope. Nail them, leaving between a proper distance to fit your scarves. Tie the rope to the nails, leaving it quite tense, and voila! Just hang your scarves alone or with clippers. This amazing hack can also be used to place your sunglasses or even photographs. It’s up to you.
Use cardboard or small boxes to make divisions in your drawers
You’ve probably seen these on the Internet, but it really helps for organizing your clothes and saving space. Just measure the interior of your drawer and cut the cardboard to fit. You can also use plastic, or even PVC tubes (although you’ll end up having dead spaces as well.
Our bedrooms are much more than the place we sleep in. No matter how little time we spend on them, they should be spaces of comfort and harmony. Having an organized place will create that environment, so don’t be afraid of experimenting. Most of these are quite simple and inexpensive, so if you don’t like them, you can try something else.