One of the amazing facts about children is that as they grow so do their possessions and suddenly your home is full to bursting. While it would be lovely to move somewhere larger, this is just not possible for many people, so the best way to tackle the problem is to be creative with storage space in your home.
Moving home is also a practical option, but it could take many months for you to even get an offer on your home. Property buying company House Buy Fast offer a we buy any house service which will guarantee an offer to buy your property.
Luckily there are a variety of things you can do to maximise space. Before you set to work though, the first stage is to have a huge sort out of possessions and de-clutter. Children grow quickly and in phases, growing out of clothes and toys. Encourage your children to sort through everything and decide what they no longer need.
Plan to go to a boot sale because they will love the idea of getting pocket money for these unwanted items. Make it an annual event – you will find that they will look forward to it as a way to bolster funds. Think charity shops too because they will feel good that another child will enjoy playing with their dinosaurs or reading their much-loved books.
De-clutter the living room, kitchen, hall and bathroom. Streamline work tops as this gives the impression of space and cuts cleaning time. If you have space under the stairs, fit some shelves to create storage space and in the sitting room buy some colourful hat boxes that tone with your colour scheme and allocate one to each family member.
Is there room for a small Ottoman too as this will provide an extra seat (which is always useful) and good storage space for books and music. In the bathroom, if you need some extra storage, consider buying a cupboard that will fit under the basin and coloured plastic baskets to fit inside – one for each family member.
Bedrooms can certainly grow with your children. To create more space think ‘vertically’ and invest in a captains’ bed for each child with valuable storage drawers underneath. Better still, are the high sleepers as they have a desk area below and a bookshelf or folding bed. Both of these beds can be found on eBay and in charity furniture shops. If you don’t want to change the beds, buy some sturdy wooden under bed trolley boxes – two per single bed.
If you are keeping a spare bed in one of the bedrooms in case your child’s friend comes to stay, why not swap it for a chair bed as this will take up much less space? For some clever shelf space, there are headboards available that incorporate shelving or you can fit some shelves yourself – just make sure that you fit them high enough so that when the occupant sits up in bed he/she doesn’t get concussion!
Have a look in the wardrobe, is there ‘dead’ space beneath the hanging rail? This can be used by putting a small chest of drawers there which is perfect storage space. Cover the top of the chest with some thick protective paper and shoes can be stored there or buy one of the cloth hanging shoe racks.
Teach your children to be tidy and help them by buying some drawer organisers as these make storing undies and socks so easy. If there is room at the foot of the bed, an old fashioned Ottoman is a great addition and filled with plastic storage baskets, makes a great storage place. Give each child their own dirty linen bag to hang on their door as this will definitely create space on the floor.
Another good place for storage is your attic. Is it boarded and safe to use? If it is dry, it can be used for storing seasonal clothes. Divide your youngsters’ clothes into winter and summer and those that are not needed, can be stored in the heavy duty duvet storage bags that can be bought in supermarkets and dry cleaners. Mark each one clearly with a large label saying whose clothes they are and a list of which clothes are in the bag – just in case.
Buy some pretty storage boxes and label one for each family member, these are ‘treasure boxes’ to keep special cards, bus tickets, foreign coins, badges, certificates etc. – all must be carefully labelled and the boxes can be kept in the attic and added to over the years – they are very special mementoes and this ensures that nothing gets mislaid.
Having created more storage space in your home, does it feel light and airy? To help with this, it is worth hanging some large mirrors – especially if they can reflect some greenery into the room. Check your lighting too as a lovely relaxing ambience can be created using uplighters, dimmer switches and some leafy green plants.
You’ll be surprised, sometimes there is so much hidden storage potential there is no need to move to a bigger home, with all of the cost involved such as estate agent’s fees, stamp duty, removals etc.