Unique Home Storage Ideas

“A place for everything and everything in its place.” No one is sure who first coined that proverb, but we’ve been trying to implement it since at least the late 18th century. Here are a few DIY storage ideas that may make life in the 21st century a little easier—or at least a little less cluttered.

Bedroom DIY Storage Ideas

For the price of a package of shower rings and a hanger, you could potentially free up an entire drawer if you slip the shower rings over the bottom rung of a hanger and use it to store your scarves. Mount it to the back of your closet door and your scarves will be accessible and won’t get wrinkled.

A wooden hanger can become an ideal storage device for jewelry, especially necklaces and dangly earrings. Just add eye screws at small, even intervals and hook them through the eye screws.

Under-bed storage is always a great idea. While you can buy beds that come with drawers underneath, you can also create your own. Use shallow dresser drawers to which you’ve added wheels and you’ll be able to slide them under the bed. The wheels will make them easier to access when the summer turns to fall and you suddenly need to grab a sweater but aren’t yet ready to do the summer/winter clothing transfer. They’ll also make cleaning under the bed a lot easier, too.

Little wooden spice racks make both perfect displays and storage containers for perfume bottles, nail polish, or other cosmetics.

Bathroom DIY Storage Ideas

Unless you have one for every single family member, bathrooms can be storage nightmares. There are only four corners to a bathtub, and those corners fill up fast when everyone in the family likes to use a different kind of shampoo. Hang fruit baskets from your shower rod and store shampoos, conditioners, nail brushes, loofahs, and body sponges in the baskets. They’re also a great place to store small bath toys.

Pedestal sinks have been in vogue for a while now, and for good reason: their clean, elegant lines make modern sinks the bathroom focal point and they introduce a feeling of space to what’s usually the smallest room in a house. That said, everyone who’s bought a house with one or replaced an old vanity with a pedestal sink has been faced with the dilemma of where to store their bathroom cleaning products. The solution may be to create a shallow, narrow cupboard between the joists in your bathroom walls. Maybe even two, one on either side of the sink.

A large wine rack mounted on a bathroom wall makes for idea towel storage. You can build your own or buy one. Or you can mount a series of baskets to the wall and store towels, face cloths, and small appliances like hair dryers, curling irons, beard trimmers and electric razors in the baskets.

Don’t forget to use the space above your toilet and above your towel racks. Install floating shelves and use glass jars to store cotton swabs, facial wipes, makeup remover pads, hair elastics and bobby pins or hair clips.

Craft Room and Home Office Storage Ideas

An old muffin tin will fit nicely in even the shallowest desk drawer, and it automatically gives you a dozen small compartments to store paper clips, push pins, elastics, and USB drives. If the drawer is wide enough, add a kitchen cutlery tray and you’ve got storage for pens, markers, scissors, rolls of tape, and charger cords.

Revolving countertop spice racks with clear glass bottles are perfect for small craft supplies like pins, needles, buttons, beads, and sequins. If your craft room has a closet, take the door off and add more shelving. You can still use the curtain rod and pants or skirt hangers to hang folded fabric or scrapbooking supplies.

Pick up an old dresser at a flea market, paint it with chalk paint, and store crafting tools and supplies in the drawers. Dividers are always a good idea. You can buy them or make your own out of cardboard covered in wallpaper. Or you could invest in some more dollar store kitchen cutlery trays.

If your closet has a bifold door, don’t throw it out or store it in the garage. Mount it to the wall and buy some decorative hooks so you can hang scissors and other tools or rolls of ribbon from the hooks. There’s a reason those home workshop pegboards with tools outlined became so popular: they work. Not only can you see where your tools are at any given time, there’s also no doubt where they belong. Once you’ve analyzed the space available to you and the possessions you need to store, you’re well on your way to creating a place for everything. After that, keeping everything in its place will be a lot easier.

Article courtesy of Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate