a peek inside at some of our enclosed storage

Let’s talk about what we are really storing in our small spaces. This comes up for me over and over again. It comes up in my home and it comes up when I am helping others with their small spaces. Usually we have enough storage in our spaces. I find everyone is asking how they can add more storage to their small space, but when asked what they are storing in their current cupboards or cabinets, things get a little fuzzy.

Let me use myself as a specific example. Our kitchen is tiny and sometimes I feel like I can’t fit everything I want in it. But there are few drawers or shelves that are storing things that we NEVER use. Or they are storing too much. Like a drawer in the far right corner that holds produce bags, some random jars and a bread bag. All of which I never use. Why don’t I clear out this drawer that I never use and actually store some things that would help my kitchen and life function better?

Another example, is our small bathroom started to come undone when a subscription for an excema body wash got out of hand and we had 3 new bottles under the sink. Our tiny shared bathroom can’t handle 3 unused bottles of anything. The subscription was quickly canceled and it took us a year to get through all that body wash and reclaim that space that was really needed for skincare, toilet paper and facepaint.

Here are some multiples I’ve noticed in people’s homes (and ours).

multiple bedding sets
multiple towels
back up shampoo, soap, facewash etc
back up cleaning supplies
clothing multiples (when 1 or 2 would suffice)
shoes!!
toys!!!!!

So I’ve shared this for many years but we just have one set of sheets per bed in our house. When we wash our bedding we need to dry it and get it back on the beds, the same day. This alone frees up alot of storage in our very few closets. Then we only have 5 bath towels (4 in the bathroom and 1 in the closet). Adding a towel warmer has really helped with our bathroom with poor circulation (this is our towel warmer but there are lots on the market). We wash the towels, dry them and hang them back up ready to be used again. I will add that I think having good quality items makes it easier to have less, for example our bedding is 100% linen so it works for all seasons and is naturally hypoallergenic (from Last Light who are sadly closing up but we have been so happy with our linen. Another brand I think is great quality is SomnHome). Our Japanese towels are thin and quick drying HERE. After 10 years I think it is time to update them. I am considering re-buying the same brand or looking at these or these for a pop of colour.

As for storing multiples of soaps, shampoos, cleaning supplies, we just generally don’t do it. If it has happened by accident I find myself so annoyed by the extra laundry detergent on the shelf and can’t wait until we are back to only one bottle. I have friends who use refill stores and I think that is even better! Anything we need is minutes away in the city so there is really no need to be hoarding supplies. I can understand if you live remotely but even then I think a bit of planning can mean the new product is arriving once the old one is running low.

Think of the precious space that is freed up if we aren’t storing things just in case! It could be clutter removed from the floors. Less multiples could allow you to remove an extra shelf that is never tidy and always overflowing, because those items now fit neatly in the closet that was previously filled with bedding that was never used. Or maybe you have space for a new hobby!

I recently took up sewing with a thrifted sewing machine and I cleaned out two small shelves in my narrow bedroom closet to fit the machine, kit and one bag of fabric. I honestly can’t tell you what I removed from those two shelves but I can tell you that I don’t miss it. And I can tell you this new hobby that I told myself, I never had space for before, has brought creativity and joy to my life. I thought I didn’t have space for sewing in our 600 square foot apartment but looking back I know I could have made space if I had removed a bit of excess in our up-high storage.

Anyway just wanted to mention this storing of multiples in case you could reconsider what you store and make space or add something that really enhances your life!

inside some of our enclosed storage , and favourite crates

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Are you storing multiples in your small space?