I’d lie in bed at night staring up at the mountain of clothes on my chair, pile of books on my bedside table that threatened to fall on me at any moment, and parade of shoes across what little floor space was left on my bedroom floor. It wasn’t like my bedroom was small, it was cramped. Trying to find clothes and make my bed each morning was like a game of battleships.
That was until I spent 20 minutes looking for my favourite black jumper. Searching through drawers, checking my laundry basket twice, even emptying stuff out from under my bed (where I found three single socks and a novel I’d spent months misplacing). Finally discovering it hidden at the bottom of my “clean but not folded” pile on my chair.
This was when I decided enough was enough. Living in a tiny bedroom really teaches you to think outside the box, excuse the pun.
In fact a lot of my favourite space saving ideas were out of complete desperation.
I started with small adjustments first, mostly because I was on a tight budget and wasn’t sure what would work in my room. Fill up your vertical space. No, seriously, hang things up and fill every inch of your wall space you can.
I added floating shelves from floor to ceiling around the perimeter of my room. I thought this would make the room look cluttered but in reality it draws the eye up and makes the room feel taller. I use mine for books I don’t need to reach often, out of season accessories, and those annoying storage boxes that look fancy but are perfect for hiding junk.
Just know, floating shelves are only as strong as the wall anchors you use to put them up. Trust me on this one, I woke up at 2AM to a crashing sound as my first shelf fell off and dumped half my library on top of it. Do yourself a favour and buy proper plastic toggle bolts for plasterboard walls.
Test each shelf by gradually hanging heavier items until you know it can hold your most precious possessions. Skimping on bed risers was my first mistake with under-bed storage. Those plastic container things with wheels looked like a great idea until I realized my bed wasn’t raised high enough off the ground to actually fit them under, and dragging them in and out scraped my wooden floors incessantly.
Invest in some bed risers. They aren’t that expensive and lifting your bed frame up by say, 8 inches, creates legitimate storage space underneath. Bag storage containers with handles slid in and out easily and are WAY gentler on your floors.
What you store under your bed is important too. While I keep out of season clothing under mine, I also store spare bedlinens, my IceSkate boots and anything else I don’t need to access daily. Vacuum storage bags are LIFE for bulky items like winter coats and duvets.
Pro-tip from personal experience: do not use them for down-filled items. Fluffy coats come out graveyard dead. No really, they LOOK like that Halloween decoration of a dead deer someone swallows.
It took me the longest to crack how I wanted to use the closet. Closet space is prime real estate when you have limited space. Hanging rails take up so much vertical space you’re basically throwing it away.
Remove your existing rail and install a double hanging solution (two short hanging rails hung at different heights). This doubles your hanging space instantly. The lower rail is great for tops and folded up trousers, leave the longer hanging space at the top for dresses and coats.
Do yourself a favour and grab one or two of those over-the-door organisers everyone scoffs at. I have one hanging on my bedroom door filled with scarves, belts and smaller handbags. I keep another one on the inside of my wardrobe door to hold tights, socks and underwear in the clear pockets.
Being able to see everything at a glance has been life-changing. Who knew. Now furniture with hidden storage is everywhere.
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You’re looking at an ottoman full of spare pillows and blankets at the foot of my bed right now. My bedside table doubles as storage with deep drawers to stash absolutely everything from phone chargers to hand cream to miscellaneous bits that don’t belong anywhere else. Side note: that nightstand wasn’t expensive at all.
I picked it up from a charity shop and painted it the same colour as my walls. Cost me £15 and a tin of paint but damn if it doesn’t look like something I got from West Elm. OK, you guys.
Some storage solutions are obvious. Some are not. An old hardback book I chopped up to hide spare keys and emergency cash lies on my bookshelf right now.
Please don’t judge me. No one looks in old books for spare cash. Hooks, hooks everywhere.
I got so desperate storing things around my bedroom I installed hooks anywhere and everywhere. I have a line of them behind my door, beside my wardrobe and even on the wall beside my bed to hang tomorrow’s outfit. They can be used for bags, jackets, the dressing gown I actually wear on days I bother to dress (not the cute one I keep on the door hook for appearances).
Drawer dividers changed my life. OK maybe that’s dramatic but using drawer dividers in my dressers helped me stop cramming every sock and scarf into one giant drawer. I made my own from small cardboard boxes covered in pretty paper (works out cheaper than buying ready-made ones and they fit my drawers perfectly).
Assigning each compartment a specific job has eliminated wasted space. I have one for day jewellery, another for hair ties and scrunchies, smaller ones for lip balms and bobby pins. Mirrors are your friend.
Hanging a full-length mirror on the wall opposite my window helped reflect more natural light around the room and made my bedroom feel twice as big. Be mindful of what your mirror is reflecting though. I hung mine initially so it faced my bed.
Literally just reflected how disgusting my bed looked when I hadn’t made it. Move it to face the window and that little nook with my floating shelves instead and BAM. Tricks the eye into thinking you have way more space.
Storage baskets atop wardrobes are genius if you don’t mind climbing up to reach them 😉 Again, great for out-of-season or rarely-used items that you don’t need to grab daily. Gift wrap, photo albums, that box of cables you swore you’d use one day but now just take up precious closet real estate? Top of the wardrobe.
Please don’t hide ALL your junk.
Part of my storage can actually be decorative. I have a vintage suitcase I keep on top of my wardrobe filled with scarves and hats I don’t currently need.
Cotton buds and elastics hang in mason jars on my bedside table that look super intentional as opposed to storing junk. I can’t stress enough how much better my room feels now that everything has a ‘home’. Getting ready in the mornings is easier, relaxing in the evenings is more tranquil.
I actually see my bedroom floor now. Thank GOD because after months of playing tetris/battleships with my furniture I thought I’d never see it again. Grand total for the revamp?
Under £200 scattered over a few months. Small spaces don’t have to break the bank. You just have to be willing to play around until you find what works for you.
