Terri Ramsey Beavers Are you maximizing your space under your bed? If not, you’ve come to the right place. Today I want to help you make use of a space we often forget we even have.
Storing belongings under your bed is not the greatest of strategies, especially if getting down on all fours is a difficult task, however, if you live in a small space such as an apartment, you are probably looking for ways to maximize storage space. I have a few tips to help you do that don’t require as much getting up and down as just pushing some boxes under your bed.
1) Remove
This part is not going to be fun if you already have a bunch of junk stored under your bed. During the pandemic, I let the grandkid help me store some products I stocked up on, but by the time I needed them, they had gone home. Everything in my above photo plus about 10 times more, ended up under a bed on one of my guest room beds. It was a mess. I have two beds that are not platform beds and for some reason, I crammed everything under one. I didn’t maximize my space smartly. After several attempts to find what I needed, I knew I had to remove everything and maximize my space in a way that didn’t require bending and lifting. I’m going to help you do the same thing.
To begin this step, take out all the stuff that sits under your bed, from old photo albums to shoes, sets of sheets, out-of-season clothes, and even documents (or stored pandemic goods if you had to use every inch of extra space as I did). Take out everything. You need to take an inventory of all your stuff and determine which things are due to be trashed and which things do not belong there in the first place. Get rid of old, broken, or damaged stuff, sort through your clothes, and dispose of the items you don’t wear.
2) Clean
Now, before you put everything back, give the area a good clean. Don’t skip over this step if you want to keep moths at bay and also ensure your belongings smell fresh. Let the kids help. Vacuum the space under your bed if you have carpet (a robot vacuum is perfect for this chore), and mop if you don’t (plus spray with an all-purpose cleaner, then wipe away all remaining dust or grime using a microfiber cloth). It might be better to move the bed away while you do this. If it’s too heavy, just leave it and do the best you can.
3) Organize
There are a few benefits of under-the-bed storage. One is that your stuff is out of sight and it doesn’t really matter how it looks as long as it is organized. Another benefit is that you can use a variety of storage bins and you don’t even have to match them because, well, no one can see them anyway.
- Rolling bins are your best bet. They can be easily taken out of the bed and put back where they belong in the blink of an eye. They are easy to move around even if they hold bulky and heavy items. If you can get your hands on some rolling bins, that will be great.
- Go for see-through bins. If you can see what’s inside your containers, that’s would be great. That way you don’t have to rummage through your bins to find that item you are looking for. There is an astonishing supply of transparent plastic bins at stores that cost next to nothing. If you have to shop for containers, just hit the dollar store and you’re good.
- Put the items you use more frequently close to the perimeter. There surely are things that you use on a weekly basis. You don’t want to lay face-down to reach them. Keep out-of-season clothes and other stuff that you rarely use at the back of the space or more toward the center.
If your under the bed space is larger such as with a queen or king bed, keep the things you use on a regular basis closer to the easiest side to get to and the rest in the back. Remember, always arrange your stuff in a way you can access it without having to bend over too much.
If you like to keep out-of-season clothes under the bed, you can go for big suitcases or large plastic bins. Walmart carries the perfect size to fit under my beds.
Also, it’s best to place a few scented sachets which you can buy or make yourself, in the containers so that your belongings smell fresh.
Last but not least, don’t ever use presentable or pretty bins to hold items under your bed. Beautiful storage containers should be kept out on display. That’s what they were meant for. As long as under-the-bed space is concerned, you want to use the cheapest containers you can find. And the best thing is, the colors don’t need to match at all.
And that’s how you can keep your under-the-bed space organized and neat. Roll up your sleeves and start reorganizing.
