Frugal Family: Ideas to Increase Your Storage Space

Storage always seems to be at a premium no matter what size home you have. In our house, toys and papers appear to multiply at the speed of light. If you have hobbies like knitting, sewing, or scrapbooking, you probably find your stash of supplies grows much faster than your ability to store it all. Add in mail, magazines, and the assortment of things you need to keep your family’s life running smoothly and it’s easy to feel overwhelmed with clutter.

Assuming you aren’t storing excess materials that should be donated or sold (i.e. you’re not a candidate for the show Hoarders) the following ideas are easy, inexpensive ways to add extra storage to your home. 

Go Vertical

While you may not have floor space to add a new piece of furniture for storage, most of us have a blank wall that could be used for vertical storage. Shelves, of course, are an option, but my experience is that they never hold enough. That’s why I fell in love with an image I saw on Myhomeideas.com showing a wall full of towel racks with clips holding wicker baskets. This would be an easy idea to replicate with inexpensive towel racks (or small curtain rods) and baskets from Ikea.  You could also substitute canvas baskets for wicker to save money. 

This type of vertical storage can be used in practically any room, allowing you to store toys and books in the play room, towels and personal supplies in the bathroom, or mail and other home management materials in the kitchen or hallway.

Repurpose a wine rack

If you’re not a wine connoisseur, you might think you don’t have a reason to buy a wine rack—think again! Wine racks are great pieces to repurpose for storage because they’re generally made to fit in small or otherwise unused spaces.  

• If you have wall mounted cabinets, you can attach an under-cabinet wine rack that you can repurpose for a variety of uses:  a mail station in the kitchen, a gift wrap station in the laundry, or a place to hold pencils, crayons, and other craft supplies in the playroom.
• Small countertop wine racks are perfect for storing spare towels in the bathroom.
• In a craft room, standing or countertop wine racks can hold fabric, balls of yarn, or containers of small items like buttons or thread.

Behind Closed Doors

Even if you’ve used every bit of wall and floor space in your home, I’d bet you have a least one closet door that could be used for hidden storage.  Door hanging shoe racks can be repurposed to store small toys, craft supplies, clothes and tools. Closet doors aren’t the only doors that can provide storage space - every cabinet door in your home could potentially offer some hidden storage. Use short but strong wall anchoring screws to install shallow baskets to the inside of the doors and suddenly you have space to store everything from excess printer paper to cleaning sponges.