18 Small Bedroom Storage Ideas: Surprising Hacks
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Banish the frustration of tiny bedrooms. Finally discover how to store everything you own. These small bedroom storage ideas will change your life.
Your bedroom should be a peaceful place you can go to escape the world. But when you have a really tiny bedroom, how do you keep it clean? You need creative small bedroom storage ideas to help you maximize your space.
Wondering where to begin? Get our FREE guide, The 30-Minute Organizing Secret, and discover easy ways to overcome the chaos of clutter – even with kids at home!
Small Bedroom Storage Problems Solved
The problem is all too real. Every square inch of your bedroom is used by dressers and your bed. Small bedrooms also tend to have small closets. Is it really possible to have a small bedroom that is also really tidy – without giving up everything you own?
It really is possible. You can create what the Organizing Junkie calls a “bedroom sanctuary” even if you don’t have a master suite.
These genius hacks will solve all your small bedroom problems. Finally, discover more room than you knew you had.
The perfect companion to this guide is our Take Back Control book. Download this book and go through each room of your home and create a calm and organized area that brings you peace and joy!
Table of contents
- 3 Things To Do Before Creating More Storage
- 18 Genius Storage Ideas For Small Bedrooms
- Room Tour Video
- How To Keep A Small Bedroom Organized
- Frequently Asked Questions
3 Things to Do Before Creating More Storage Ideas
Before we get into the hacks, we need to address the basics of organization. Before you look for more places to keep your things, sort through them.
These are the 3 things you need to do before creating more storage ideas:
- Sort Everything
- Throw or Give Away What You Won’t Keep
- Store The Things That Don’t Belong In Your Room
Sort Everything
First, go through your closet, under your bed, and on top of and inside your drawers. Seriously sort through everything you own. When you don’t have a lot of room, it is imperative that you use the room you do have wisely.
As you sort through everything, put them into the following piles or boxes:
- Throw Away – Anything that is ripped, unusable, or basically trash.
- Give Away – Something you’d buy from a 2nd hand store. Don’t give them something you wouldn’t touch either.
- Place In Storage – Things in this category might not fit in your room, but you want to keep them in storage somewhere else.
- Keep in Bedroom – These are the things you are going to store in your bedroom. Keep this pile as minimal as possible.
Throw or Give Away Items
Part with as many items as you can. When you live in a small house or have a small bedroom, storage space is a rare commodity. Save the storage space you have for things that are sentimental or that you use regularly.
Find Other Storage Places
Finally, find some storage places for things that don’t belong in your bedroom. The goal of organizing your bedroom is to create a peaceful oasis. You want your bedroom to be a place you can go at the end of the day and just relax. Chaotic piles inadvertently create stress, even if you don’t realize it at the moment.
Put away things that belong in other rooms. Find some bins or tubs with lids and store them somewhere else like the basement. Only keep things in your bedroom that you use in your bedroom.
Now that you only have what you need in your bedroom, let’s go through some surprising hacks that will help you store it all easily.
18 Surprising and Genius Storage Ideas for Small Bedrooms
This list has a ton of tips that will help you tidy up and find more space in your bedroom. Stop suffering in piles of chaos. You can finally live in a clean and organized bedroom without much effort at all.
1.) Use Hanging Organizers
The first hack is storing as much as possible in hanging organizers. You can either store these hanging organizers in your closet or hang them from the back of your bedroom door.
The best thing about hanging organizers is that you can store a lot in them without taking up much space. Plus, you can see everything at a glance and find what you need immediately.
Here are some of the most popular ways to use one:
- Scarves
- Accessories
- Tank Tops
- Belts
- Ball Caps
- Office Supplies
2.) Store Extra blankets And clothes in Bags
Next, utilize under your bed for extra storage – but do it smart. Don’t just shove things under there. Use protective bags to keep things sorted and safe from dust.
Look for storage bags that have handles, a place for labels, and see-through panels so you can see exactly what is inside.
Some ideas for these bags include:
- Extra blankets
- Bed Sheets
- Out of Season Clothes
- Shoes
- Boxes of Sentimental Items
3.) Loft Bed Storage
If you really want to maximize the storage area under your bed, make it a loft. When you do this, you can even fit an entire desk and office area underneath your bed.
Be careful when buying a loft bed for a small room. Choose only modern furniture with a slim design. If you buy a boxy bed frame, you risk taking up more space in the room and making it feel more stuffy.
4.) Floating Book Shelves
Keep your books in your bedroom by installing floating book shelves. This leaves lots of room around the floor area. If you have enough wall space, you could even install a large number of floating book shelves.
5.) Use Storage at The Foot of the Bed
This next tip is only valid if you have extra space at the foot of the bed. If you do, add a storage chest or an ottoman with storage in it. This is a very smart purchase – it’ll give you more room to keep things like books, letters, electronics, and blankets.
6.) Get a Bed-Desk Combo
Another space-saving hack is to buy a bed frame that has an attached desk with it. As you can see in the example below, it gives you lots of extra work space.
The best thing about this idea is how much storage space it provides. There is a table top of pens and books, cube storage above the bed, and another shelf on top of that.
7.) Use Bed Pockets or Bed Caddies
To add a little bit more storage for things that seem to be taking up space on your night stand – or if you don’t have room for a night stand – use a bed caddy.
The one in the image below was handmade. You can find lots of different options from other companies too. Bed caddies have pockets and they attach to your bed frame.
8.) Install Built-In Bookshelves
As you can see in the following Instagram picture, a built-in bookshelf also gives you lots of room to store things.
9.) Purchase Custom-Fitted Furniture
If you have a particularly difficult room with a strange area, consider buying custom-built furniture.
The photo below is the perfect example of when custom furniture can make all the difference. That odd-shaped ceiling was instantly turned into useful storage space.
10.) Store Things to the Ceiling
Another hack – use that vertical space. Ladders make excellent shelves for holding baskets, books, or toys.
Abby from Just a Girl and Her Blog discovered this hack. As you can see, there is a ton of extra space in the floor for playing now.
If you do decide to do this, anchor it to the wall. Little ones will be tempted to climb it (and why not? It is a ladder, after all!).
11.) Hang Up Shoes on the Back of the Closet Door
If you have a small bedroom, chances are you have a small closet too. Curbly discovered a really smart IKEA hack. You can install towel racks on the back of your closet door. Then, just use shower hooks and hang up your shoes.
This also works for hanging up scarves, belts, and basically anything that can be attached to a hook.
12.) Store Things in Wire Baskets
If you have more wall space than closet space, hang up some wire baskets on your wall. You can store almost anything in these baskets. Here are just a few ideas:
- Scarves
- Books
- Purses
- Hair and beauty products
- Electronics
Keep loose accessories in one place. Want to know how she attached the baskets to the wall? Check out Heather’s post.
One more bonus? You can even spray paint the baskets to match your room’s theme.
13.) Install a Floating Nightstand
Trying to find room for a nightstand can be a pain in a tiny room. Instead, anchor a box to the wall and create your own DIY floating nightstand.
Not only will you be able to store things inside of it like a mini-bookshelf, but it frees up space below it too.
Check out this video that has a complete tutorial so you can make your own.
14.) Create Hidden Storage Under Your Desk
Lots of people use desks as nightstands. But if you have a really small room, you’ll want to choose a desk like the one below that has hairpin legs. This is because hairpin leg are so thin that they create the illusion of more space.
If you have a desk like this one, you can actually create more storage space by installing a basket underneath the desktop. The Carpenter’s Daughter has a really helpful tutorial.
This IKEA hack is also genius! Bulky desks take up a lot of room. So choose a mid-century modern table top desk to give the impression of more space. Then, just install this IKEA hack for more storage.
15.) Stack Suitcases for Storage
Search thrift stores for vintage suitcases, then use them as part of your decor. They look so beautiful at the foot of the bed or stacked in the corner.
You can refurbish them or leave them looking weathered – it’s up to you.
There is so much storage space inside for any extra linens you need to store.
17.) Built-in Desk with Rainbow Books
Doesn’t the photo below just look stunning? A little hint: painting things in light colors will make them appear more open and spacious. So if you have a smaller room, try to avoid dark furniture.
If you don’t have room for a built-in desk, you can always convert a closet into a little study area.
18.) Maximize Closet Storage
One of the biggest space-sucks in a bedroom is the dresser. To free up more space, make your closets more usable by creating DIY shelves in them.
This tutorial on the DIY Dreamer is fantastic and so easy to follow. Look at her picture below. You can just imagine all the things you can store on those sturdy shelves.
Room Tour Video – An Organized Small Bedroom
Need more proof that you really can have a very tiny bedroom and still keep it clean? This room tour video is eye-opening. Her bedroom is the size of some people’s walk-in closets.
How to Keep A Small Bedroom Organized For Good
Now that you know how to create storage hacks for your small room, let’s talk about how to keep it that way for good. These four tips are vital if you want to maintain a tidy room.
1.) One In One Out Rule
The one in, one out rule will help you keep things tidy. When you bring something new into the room, take something out. So if you buy a new pair of shoes, donate a pair.
This one rule will significantly cut downtime going through and purging when you do your spring cleaning.
2.) Make Storage Solutions You Will Use
Next tip – only set up storage systems that you will actually be able to keep using. If a shelf is too high to reach, or you have to stack boxes in a tricky way, you won’t keep putting things away.
Also, consider where you are storing things. Keep your books near your bed and your beauty products closer to the bathroom.
3.) Make Things Do Double Duty
If you are going to bring furniture into your small bedroom, choose pieces that can double as more storage. You can add a little bit of seating and a place to keep your jackets and blankets all in one piece.
4.) Utilize Wasted Space
Finally, when you have a small room, take inventory of any “wasted space” and use it. Find some shelves you can hang up near the ceiling. Use corner shelving. Make your wall space double as storage space.
Frequently asked questions
The best way to make more floor space is to get rid of things you don’t need. Use less furniture in your bedroom and hang up as much stuff as you can. Instead of a bulky headboard and footboard, use a bed on a thin frame.
Store as much as you can in a dresser by organizing the drawers. Use under the bed as storage as well. Buy a thin metal clothes rack and only hang up things that you don’t want to get wrinkled.
IKEA sells some fantastic under the bed storage products. Use our Clutter Keeper® Deluxe Storage bags too. They fit under your bed and have a place for labels.
Small Bedrooms Can Have Maximum Storage
If you are suffering through a tiny bedroom and drowning in all your stuff, there is hope. Just follow these tips and maybe utilize a few of the hacks. Discover more room and finally breathe easy again.
Struggling to get motivated? Sign up to get our FREE guide, The 30-Minute Organizing Secret, and discover easy ways to overcome the chaos of clutter – even with kids at home!
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