Living in a small space or a small home may seem like a net negative.  After all, we all seemingly have a human want or need to have more space and generally more square footage, but the reality is that if you’re purchasing a new home or you’re just starting out, then going smaller may end up actually being better.

Small spaces aren’t always forever, and there are quite a few things you can do to maximize the space you have and optimize the way you store things and function in a smaller space.  We’ve put together our list of ways you can maximize small spaces in small homes.

Declutter

Clutter in a small space will quickly add up, and there’s nothing more frustrating than tripping over clutter while you’re trying to use the space you have no matter how limited it is.  One way you can quickly optimize the small space you have is to declutter and get rid of or consolidate the belongings you have.

The easiest way to declutter is to make three piles: trash, donate, and keep.  Go through small sections of your space and do your best to ruthlessly categorize your belongings.  You’ll find very quickly that there are lots of things you’ve hung onto either unnecessarily or for longer than you should have.

Categorize and Organize

Once you’ve eliminated some of the things you don’t need in your home, it’s time to find places for the things you’ve decided to keep.  In all likelihood, you’ve already cleared up some storage space by eliminating some things you held onto in the past.  What’s important now is finding a home for the things you’ve kept and organizing them in a useful way.

Use bins, boxes, and shelves to tastefully organize your things into categories where you can easily find them when you need them.  There’s nothing worse than going through a decluttering step only to chuck everything in a bunch of bins with no rhyme or reason.  Doing some organization now and dedicating the time to it will help you keep your sanity in the future.

Swiss Army Furniture

Small spaces can often mean that certain rooms will often have multiple uses.  For married couples without kids, a spare bedroom can easily serve as an office space, workout room, and storage area.  For other families, a second bedroom can not only serve as a bedroom but also as a family or gathering room.

For multi-purpose rooms, it makes sense to have multi-purpose furniture.  For small bedrooms used as combination guest rooms and office space, murphy beds, murphy tables, and portable desks can be a godsend.  During the week, deploy your office space as needed but easily put away your desk in favor of a guest bed as needed.  Having furniture that can serve multiple purposes will easily optimize your small home.

Focus on Quality

Starting out in a small home can often mean cutting corners on furniture quality or other aspects of your home as a means to get started in your new space.  While this may seem like a good way to go and get started, it’s probably best to focus on purchasing higher quality furniture instead of buying inexpensively only to upgrade in a short period of time.

You don’t necessarily have to break the bank buying nice quality furniture either.  Chances are, you can find some steals with quality furniture in local classifieds, by piling through Craigslist, and checking out your local Facebook Marketplace.  Check these local listings before you head to a big box furniture retailer.