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Do you ever feel like you just don’t have enough storage space in your home even though you try to be organized? Even if storage space in your house is tight, chances are you could make at least some improvements. From my experience I’ve noticed specific areas in our homes that most of us could use better. Here’s how to organize the most underused storage spaces in your home:

1-) Walls

If you have bare walls and stuff all over your floor then it’s time to get creative and use that wall space! While open or floating shelves are the most well-known way to use wall space for organizing, you can also add hooks and filing organizers to your walls. And if you don’t already own one, setting up a command center on the walls in your entryway or kitchen is a great way to help organize your whole life!

In addition, if you have bookshelves against your walls consider how well they are organized. Can you donate some of your books and designate some of the shelves for other items that need to be organized? Brainstorm all the possibilities!

2-) Closet floors

If I had a nickel for every closet I saw that wasn’t using the ground space effectively I would be rich 😉 ! But in all seriousness, many of us avoid maximizing our closet storage because we can forget about it when we close the closet door. However, this habit eventually catches up to us and our stuff becomes disorganized and starts spilling into other areas of our home.

Counteract this issue by actively working to maximize your closet storage. I recommend starting with the floors because they tend to be the worst culprits. You can improve your closet floor storage by adding adorable baskets, containers, or even a hamper! If you have a lot of shoes you can also purchase a  simple shoe organizer to keep them neatly arranged.

3-) Under the sink

I think many people find organizing under the sink intimidating because the plumbing makes it more challenging. Nonetheless, under the sink provides valuable storage space that’s not for wasting!

My favorite solution to organize under the sink is stackable shelves designed for under the sink. If you have plumbing under the sink, first measure to make sure they will fit. However, I have found that most of the time at least a single shelf will fit. If you have a large space under the sink you can stack two shelves to maximize the available space.

In addition to the shelves, small storage containers or mason jars are super useful for containing small items (such as makeup). I even keep Ted’s electric razor and its charger inside an open mason jar under the sink. It makes a nice little storage space to keep the pieces together, and it takes up less horizontal space than just laying the razor flat!

4-) Under the bed

Everyone loves the idea of using under the bed for storage, but most of us don’t really use it effectively. The biggest problems with under the bed are a-) it’s hard to see under the bed and b-) it’s hard to reach under the bed (especially towards the middle). So how can you make maximal use of the space without it being a big hassle?

One good method is to use extra suitcases you have as storage. They slide nicely under the bed, and the handles make them easy to grab. If you don’t have extra suitcases, you can buy storage bins designed specifically for under the bed. These tend to be large, so depending on your needs you may prefer to buy bins with dividers to keep things from sliding around inside them.

If you need additional storage, bed risers will lift your bed up so you can store even more underneath. For short people like myself, having the bed raised too high makes getting in tricky ;), but if you’re of normal height then this will be a great way to improve your storage situation!

5-) Junk drawers

Y’all, just because you have a “junk drawer” doesn’t mean everything should just be shoved in it! First of all, let’s be clear on what a junk drawer is before we discuss how to organize it:

A junk drawer should hold items that you use/need but that don’t have a specific home-YET. It is NOT for items that you don’t need/don’t know what to do with…we call that trash!

Now that we got that out of the way, let’s discuss how to work a junk drawer…

Most of us put things together by category in most storage areas of our homes. However, the stuff in junk drawers don’t normally fit in any particular category, so you will have to be creative. I normally organize items in junk drawers by size, but you can also organize it by purpose (i.e. what you use the item for). And as stuff builds in your junk drawer make sure you start to organize/categorize the items in it! Ultimately this will be the best way to keep your junk drawer organized.

And that’s how to organize the most underused storage spaces in your home! Do you struggle with maximizing your space in specific areas of your home? Which ones? Let us know in the comments and we’ll help you out!

For more organizing advice, check out How to Get Organized: 9 Attitudes You Have to Change and How to Organize a Small Pantry