If 2018 has taught us anything, it’s that the tiny home trend is here to stay. Globally more and more people decide to downsize their lives and convert to this minimalistic style of living. However, the quirky phenomenon isn’t necessarily about sacrifice.

With well clever, innovative designs, most homeowners and tenants have discovered living in a smaller space leads to a simpler, more fulfilling life; Freeing them from debt, mortgages and the urge to keep up with peers.
A smaller space means less room, Less room means less storage space and less storage space? Well, that’s just annoying, but it doesn’t have to be.

We have rounded up our favorite property managers secrets and tips for optimizing small spaces.

Sell, Donate and Toss

Being from Manhattan, 28-year-old Nathan is no stranger to small living spaces with limited storage space. His biggest tip for those optimizing small spaces is to make three piles. Sell, Donate and toss. It’s self-explanatory, this exercise will enable you to see how much space you need to create to store all your belongings.

Nathan says that while it is challenging to let go of personal items, it makes life a lot easier when you are trying to organize space for a few items rather than an entire houses inventory. It also means that you won’t be hoarding excess belongings, making it all that much easier to maximize your small living spaces storage potential.

We suggest doing this exercise a few times a year; you’ll be surprised at just how much crap-for the lack of a better word, you can compile in only a few months.

SnapInspect Small Living Tip: Every time you buy something new, throw something out. (or better yet, donate it!)

Organized Chaos

Once you’ve shaved the excess items, it’s time to get tactical and organize your chaos. Natalie, a 45-year-old property manager from New York, attributes her easy, small living success to containers.

She says that it’s crucial you find a home for everything, no matter how big or small it may be. Bins, Baskets, bags, anything that you can fit multiple items in, is useful in some way.

Your space doesn’t have to look like a plastic filled storage warehouse either. Get creative, make use of artwork that doubles as containers, vases, bright colors and anything else that catches your eye.

You can find containers made for anything and everything when optimizing small spaces. From clutter on your kitchen bench top, all the way up to storage for gardening items. Decorative baskets, container stacks, and bins are just some of the space-saving solutions that you can invest in to further optimize your living space.

Get Vertical

After downsizing and organizing your items, its time to cast your attention vertically. Think about the storage potential of your walls. Any bare wall in your space has the potential to store things. Instead of investing in expensive artwork, start hanging belongings off walls and tell your friends its art, they won’t know the difference.

San Diego’s Marty McKenzie is a huge advocate for what he calls the “Art wardrobe” – A clothing rack out in the open, usually hanging off your ceiling or wall. Not only does this eliminate the need for a bulky wardrobe. It also forces him to keep only the essentials. He also says that because everything is out in the open, he always keeps his “art wardrobe” organized and neat since everything is on display.

SnapInspect small living tip: Make items have a double purpose. Create new space by clearing out your bookshelves and stacking books vertically. Ta-dah! You now have a trendy lampstand.

Use every inch

After looking at your walls for more storage, its time to look everywhere else. Store pots and pans in the oven when it’s not in use. Place shoe organizers on the backs of cupboard doors, buy hooks and hang items that usually take up floor or shelf space.

Use the space under your bed to store out of season clothes, bulky items and anything else that you don’t use daily. By lifting your bed off the ground with bed risers, you can double or even triple the amount of space on offer to use as storage.

Merely looking up and down at your property you can yield enormous results for space optimization. Whether you’re downsizing from a 6-bedroom home into an apartment or just wanting to free up some floor space, optimizing small spaces is never a bad idea.