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Ever wondered how you can maximise storage space in your storage unit? Good news: we have tips for you. With some strategic planning, you can now enjoy more savings by choosing the right storage size!

Let’s jump right in:

1. Storage Space Planning – Vertical vs Horizontal

If you fill up your storage unit without a plan, you’ll end up wasting valuable space. To stretch the usable space in your storage, remember to consider both horizontal and vertical aspects of the area.

Start by placing the heaviest items at the bottom of your unit. Like building a foundation, this will start you off with a solid base to work upwards with lighter and more fragile items.

2. Ensure Accessibility to Commonly Used Belongings

Are there any items that you need to access regularly? If yes, do please place them right in front of your storage unit. This tip will save you from the tiring hassle of moving items around in the unit, only to repack once you’re done. Imagine going through this routine every time you visit your storage unit. Oh, what a nightmare!

3. Create Walkway Your Storage

Maximising space usage also means thinking of ways to optimise movement and mobility within your storage unit. After all, being able to access your belongings is as important and storing them properly. So remember: During space planning, cater a little space for walkways. This will make accessing your items that much more convenient!

4. Fill Up Gaps in Your Storage

Still need more space? Time to get creative. Analyse the overall area in your storage unit. Look high and low for gaps of unused space. Can any of your items fill that space? Good. Now, fill it up. Think like you would when you’re playing Tetris – it’s not about how much space you have, it’s how you use it!

Making that ‘big move’ to a smaller home? Well, downsizing doesn’t mean you have to downscale your life.

Here are 5 quick tips to optimise your shift to a cosy home!

1. Space planning

If you have a certain design concept or furniture in mind but you find yourself asking, “I don’t know if I have the space,” then you should try out a space planning exercise first before anything.

Through this exercise, you’ll be able to get a better idea of your home’s total available area and also plan for a more functional home that suits your needs.

To get started, try a free space planning software online such as Smartdraw or Floorplanner to get an initial assessment of how much available space you have. Then, engage a professional ID or renovator to get an expert opinion.

2. Get organised with a timeline and budget list

With so many things happening at once, it can be challenging to get a full grasp of what is going on and how much are your total expenses. You don’t need any special tools to keep track. With something as simple as an Excel sheet or a Google Document, you can note down your budget and project timelines for renovation, moving dates and packing timeframe. This list will definitely help you avoid any lapses in schedule or overspending for a particular furniture. #lifehack

Moving can be a thoroughly enjoyable process since it marks a start of a new journey. Plan well and smart, and you’ll never be overwhelmed!

3. Make a list of what you’re bringing over to your new home

As you’ll be moving to a smaller space, bringing over everything can be a real challenge. Fret not, and start with a packing list. Create categories such as “Needs”, “Wants”, “Throw/ Donate” and “Box Number”. This trick will help you organise your items and make it clearer to sort them out.

When in doubt, just ask yourself these questions:

• “Do I need this item for my daily use or will I use it only once in a blue moon?”

• “Do I have space in my new home for this item?”

• “Do I have something like this which I just packed?”

• “Did I use this item in the past 6 months?”

• “Is this product energy saving and still working well?”

You don’t have to discard all your unwanted items. They can always be donated to people who need them more than you do. Visit The Salvation Army, 2nd Chance Hong Kong to find out more.

4. Adding multi functional furniture in your new home

With the limited space available, consider furniture that comes with built-in storage or designed with multi-function features which not only fit your interior design theme but also your storage needs.

For a start, you can opt for bed frames with storage space. This allows you to have more space to store your bedsheets, books or even shoes. You can also purchase a mobile storage trolley that is convenient to push around anywhere in your house, such as the RÅSKOG trolley from IKEA. Its streamlined form is designed to fit between tight spaces – the perfect piece for all your knick-knacks and accessories.

5. Storing items in a reliable self-storage facility

Self-storage facilities can be the storage solution for small homes. It provides space for you to store things that you may not need on a daily basis. This will not only free up space at home, it can also safeguard your personal and family items in a secure location where you can access any time, any day.

Extra Space Asia Self-Storage offers a wide range of storage sizes which you can choose from, depending on your needs. You even have the flexibility of increasing or decreasing your storage size!

Many of us live in a home with really small bedrooms. But! There are also people who live in bigger houses who just want to downsize too. The choice of downsizing could also be due to other practical or personal reasons.

Regardless of why, once you start living in a smaller home, you’ll definitely have to do some space planning and compromises to your home décor to fit everything perfectly! There are, of course, some simple methods to make a small space look bigger! #lifehacks

Keep scrolling to find out 5 simple ways to make a small home look more spacious.

1: Leaving empty spaces around

The first hack is really considering a suitable placement of furniture or big home décor pieces in your new home. #Didyouknow that you don’t have to place all of your items near the wall or squeeze them near to one another even though the space is small? Try setting your furniture at an angle with some surrounding space. This can quickly help create an illusion that you have a spacious home – a definitely must-try home décor hack if you have a small living room area.

2: Mirror, mirror on the wall

Mirrors. They can definitely help make spaces look much bigger as they reflect the illusion of depth. They are also able to reflect both natural and artificial light to make your home look brighter day and night.

For homeowners, there are many ways you can explore putting up a mirror in your home.  You can opt for a few small mirrors grouped together or a statement mirror that can give you the ‘oomph’ to your home and double up as a beautiful art piece too.

3: Explore the option of building floor to ceiling shelves

Consider having your home contractor install a floor to ceiling shelving if you’re looking for ways to elevate your home. These shelving units will make the ceiling of your flat look taller. Also, these shelves are also a great storage option for knick-knacks as well as the avid reader. Keep in mind not to over pack your shelves to its maximum load as it would clutter up your home. Try to leave some empty spaces for a cleaner effect.

If you’re looking for ways to further organise your shelving, consider purchasing small storage boxes and baskets. They can serve as small home décor pieces while neatly storing your items.

4: Choose light and soft colours for your home

Dark tones can make your home look beautiful and cosy. But they tend to absorb the natural light and make a space look much smaller?

Use light and soft colours like white, and you’ll make your living space look much bigger and brighter. Light colours will reflect light and make your living space feel more open. Paint your walls in soft colours such as light grey or soft pink, or other bright colours that go well with your colour palette and furniture at home.

Painting your home is definitely one of the fastest and most price-friendly ways as compared to a complete home renovation makeover!

5: Never stop decluttering.

Let’s be frank, when we live in a smaller home, there’s definitely lesser available space after placing all our furniture and home décor pieces. It’s key that we declutter our home once at least every three months. Decluttering every day is a chore, and nobody likes doing chores! However, step by step, little by little, we can maintain a neater look and truly enjoy a clutter-free living space.

Here’s how you can start: Plan to declutter room by room instead of just randomly selecting areas to work on. This way, you’ll be more organised as to where has been cleaned up. Next, donate items which you have not used for the past year. Because if you’ve forgotten about this item for one year, it means that you no longer need this item. You should also throw away stuff that is in bad condition.

Looking for extra space to keep your memorabilia, books or even clothes which are just lying around at home?

Here’s another idea: Why not try Extra Space Asia Self- Storage today where you can still access your items 24 hour, any time and any day. If you are unsure on how much storage space you might need and the cost of renting one, you can always call us.

Try Extra Space Asia today if you’re looking for more space at home.