The Ultimate Way to Add Storage Space

Vertical storage at its best.I’ve lived in some tiny places, where there were no closets or shelves of any kind. And I’ve lived in some relatively large places, like my current house. We have closets, but our storage is sadly deficient. Nowhere for CDs, books, dog stuff ...

Even mansions can somehow find themselves lacking appropriate places to put things -- who wants to store their cotton balls and Q-tips in a 400-square-foot walk-in closet?

There is a solution though, and it’s so simple that when you hear what it is, you’ll slap your forehead and utter an authentic Homer Simpson “D’oh!”

All you have to do is ... go vertical.

Look around your room right now. How many vertical surfaces can you count? Did you also count the back of your door, side of the fridge, and even tiny little widths of wall? Add them to your tally -- they can all be used for storage and organization.

In your kitchen, mount a paper towel holder on the wall. Individual corner shelves can give you extra levels of counter space in otherwise unusable spots -- like under that weird single cabinet. Elevate pots and pans with an overhead rack and you’ve opened up at least an entire cabinet! Use magnetic containers to turn the side of your fridge into a spice rack.

The back of a door is often forgotten -- in all rooms. In the bathroom, use hooks and towel bars to keep everything off the floor. A simple over-the-door shoe holder can be perfect storage for playrooms and offices alike. Any space can be fitted with wall-mounted bins, and narrow bins can be perfect for an odd wall angle that can’t serve much function on its own.

Make your bed work for you. Using risers or lifts of some kind create instant storage space for totes or even repurposed drawers. You may want to invest in an extra-long bedskirt so that you can hide away the totes as well as the risers themselves.

And of course, your walls. With a little imagination, you can create vertical storage space on almost every wall.

• Corner shelves come in all shapes and sizes, from tall wooden ladders to minimalistic glass pieces to wrought iron. You will be amazed at the effect of just one corner shelf, even if all you do is move your plants from the window sill to the shelf.

• If you are book or music lovers, lining an entire wall with shelves is the perfect way to store your collection and show it off.

• Invest in an entertainment center that includes shelves around it.

• Frame a door with shelves for a unique look.

• If your closets don’t have shelves, put them in! Add a shelf or two above the clothing rod and below the bottom hems of your clothes.

• Use brackets and shelving to create a single long shelf that runs around the room, about a foot below the ceiling. These shelves can be used to store stuffed animal collections, decorative kitchenware and glass collections, and books and music.

The thing to remember is that any vertical surface is potential storage space. You may have to think creatively, but it can be done. Just think, “How can I get this up there?”

Do you use all your available space when you need extra storage? What other creative ways do you find storage where there is none?

Images (top to bottom) via Remodelista, Storage Rack, Apartment Therapy