Meet the Other Phone. Flexible and made to last.

Meet the Other Phone.
Flexible and made to last.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Chat

Join the discussion and chat with other Mumsnetters about everyday life, relationships and parenting.

Do you live in a tiny property? Come and talk to me!

45 replies

CleanShirt · 19/06/2024 14:01

Hoping to complete soon on my "starting over" home - a tiny 1 bed basement flat with next to no storage!

It's just me and the cat so will be trying to keep clutter at a minimum, but please share any tips on how to maximise space / storage in a teeny flat!

OP posts:
Thread gallery
9
PinkSparklyPussyCat · 19/06/2024 14:03

Watching this with interest - DH and I live in a one bed flat and need as much help as we can get!

Congratulations on your new home!

Namechangetounload · 19/06/2024 14:06

Look for every option with storage. Ottoman bed is the main one, looks so neat but you can get a huge amount under particularly if you use vacumn bags. Sofa with storage if you can find a nice comfy one.

CleanShirt · 19/06/2024 14:07

Namechangetounload · 19/06/2024 14:06

Look for every option with storage. Ottoman bed is the main one, looks so neat but you can get a huge amount under particularly if you use vacumn bags. Sofa with storage if you can find a nice comfy one.

On that one! Have an ottoman bed ready to buy as soon as I get the keys, as well as a chaise sofa bed with storage. Vacuum bags are a great idea!

OP posts:
InterestQ · 19/06/2024 14:09

I did in my first flat! Divan bed with all four drawers, 4 ft wide, built in wardrobe either side and cupboards overhead. One with a a surface for a bedside table.

No lamps, just swing arm or built in sconces so you don’t take up side table space.

Storage Ottoman instead of coffee table.
small dishwasher, wall hung cupboards in kitchen, sofa bed (a good one) for having people to stay.

Namechangetounload · 19/06/2024 14:09

Vacumn bags are brilliant for storing winter clothes. No moth damage.

CheeseWisely · 19/06/2024 14:20

Hello from a small one bedroom flat housing 2 adults, a newborn and a cat!

Minimalism is key, along with finding storage wherever you can. Above a doorway can be a good option for a little bit of storage, we shelves like the attached picture in two places, one full of cookbooks in the kitchen and the other with some tins of cosmetics and bits I don't use every day in the bedroom.

I work on a 'one in, one out' basis for clothes now, having stripped my wardrobe back to basics, and genuinely find having less choice much more freeing than having racks and racks of things to choose from!

Do you live in a tiny property? Come and talk to me!
CleanShirt · 19/06/2024 14:22

CheeseWisely · 19/06/2024 14:20

Hello from a small one bedroom flat housing 2 adults, a newborn and a cat!

Minimalism is key, along with finding storage wherever you can. Above a doorway can be a good option for a little bit of storage, we shelves like the attached picture in two places, one full of cookbooks in the kitchen and the other with some tins of cosmetics and bits I don't use every day in the bedroom.

I work on a 'one in, one out' basis for clothes now, having stripped my wardrobe back to basics, and genuinely find having less choice much more freeing than having racks and racks of things to choose from!

That's genius! I have a chippy pal, going to show him this and hope he can recreate!

OP posts:
LandHo · 19/06/2024 14:27

Following. I am on a constant de-clutter mission - and there’s only me.

I know there’s minimalism but some things I need, must have eg. a hoover, clothes, kitchen stuff, car stuff, my books and papers, etc. I can’t see how I can get rid of much more than I have already tbh. Maybe I should be more ruthless generally? Maybe some clothes should go …. 😬

Maybe there’s a book on minimalism I must have? (I already read Marie Kendo, I don’t know how the Japanese cope with their very small homes). ALL these problems I believe would be solved if I lived in A larger home!

To be fair I am 60+ so have more than I did at 25 or 35.

CleanShirt · 19/06/2024 14:29

@LandHo This is one my my issues, I don't even have space for my compact shark hoover! Hopefully I can fit in in the ottoman bed.

OP posts:
Fivegodowntothesea · 19/06/2024 14:30

I'm in a house not a flat but it's probably the same square footage as it's really really small! For example I cant have an ironing board because there's nowhere tall enough to store it unless I either have it on display in my bedroom or flat under my bed but that's filled with storage boxes!

As well as a storage bed (or one with space for boxes underneath) I'd recommend a storage sofa. I've got an Ikea one that also pulls out into a double bed, it's old and shabby now but so useful for both hiding stuff and as a place for guests to sleep.

I love all the cupboard and drawer organisers you can get - Joseph Joseph are particularly good and you can often find them in TK Maxx/Homesense cheaper. B&M also have lots of useful bits.

My main rule is the old William Morris thing of only keeping things that you love or are useful, nothing else. I also try and do 'one in one out' on things like clothes but that doesnt always happen 🫣

bergamotorange · 19/06/2024 14:34

A bespoke bed with real cupboards underneath is great.
Benches with storage.
High level shelves.

Look at tiny houses and camper vans for inspiration!

daylilies · 19/06/2024 14:38

I have been looking at similar ideas for my daughter.
Shelves where you can - seen similar to this with baskets on the shelf.

Do you live in a tiny property? Come and talk to me!
daylilies · 19/06/2024 14:39

Thought this was clever use of space too

Do you live in a tiny property? Come and talk to me!
CJ0374 · 19/06/2024 14:43

DH and I were renovating for 2yrs and lived in a small static van in the garden. Prior to that in a small flat. I couldn't even stretch my arms up in the van before hitting the roof, so I felt like a sardine some days!

Do you live in a tiny property? Come and talk to me!
CleanShirt · 19/06/2024 14:45

@CJ0374 that's an amazing idea - the teeny kitchen stresses me out the most. Thank you! My chippy friend will be busy.

OP posts:
Xiaoxiong · 19/06/2024 14:51

Well I lived on a houseboat for years...there are lots of storage tricks, clever internal carpentry you can do on a boat etc but the biggest game changers are (1) smaller amounts of stuff and (2) a smaller and simpler lifestyle, to be honest.

You have to pare back your possessions to the truly barest minimum, never buying anything if you can borrow it or rent it, and simplifying our lives so we don't need to store things eg. no hobbies that require stuff or different clothing, no holidays that require equipment like camping or skiing, etc. For a while I had only 1 coat (a raincoat) and just wore layers underneath it for the winter, and 1 pair of shoes at home - trainers for the weekend and commuting, and then I had 1 pair at the office to change into (so no wellies, sandals, etc). I remember once we had to go to a wedding and I bought a dress and shoes from a charity shop and donated them straight back afterwards. We did regular small half-loads of washing as we didn't have many clothes eg. I had one week's worth of pants and socks and that was it.

We shopped for dinner almost every day on the way home so seldom had anything in the kitchen, tiny pantry so no Ottolenghi style recipes with 100 ingredients, couldn't do a weekly shop or buy in bulk as no space eg. you're not going to find room for a giant box of toilet rolls so we would never have more than 2 or 3 rolls in the bathroom. Cleaning was one "multipurpose" bio spray but that was fine as it was all going into our greywater tank through thin plastic pipes so we never used bleach.

I know one of our neighbours who downsized onto their boat did something quite clever (though needing iron determination) - they rented a storage facility for a year and moved onboard with one suitcase each as if they were moving into a holiday let for a week. Then when they needed things they'd go to the storage to get it, and at the end of the year, whatever was left in the storage facility got sold, donated or chucked.

CleanShirt · 19/06/2024 14:53

@Xiaoxiong all great idea, thank you. I got rid of A LOT when I moved out of my marital home (12 bin bags of clothes and bedding went to charity!) but definitely need to be careful with coats etc.

OP posts:
CheeseWisely · 19/06/2024 14:59

@Fivegodowntothesea Our ironing board lives on a hook on the inside of the airing cupboard door. Any chance you could fit in behind a door somewhere?

drowninginsick · 19/06/2024 15:00

Wall mounted storage. Wall mounted everything. Fold down table from ikea that collapses to nothing!

Do you live in a tiny property? Come and talk to me!
CleanShirt · 19/06/2024 15:04

@drowninginsick I've been looking at butterfly tables and chairs to save space but hate the chairs so trying to figure out how to get around that!

OP posts:
Fgfgfg · 19/06/2024 15:06

These are amazing.
https://www.secretbookcasedoors.co.uk/

Xiaoxiong · 19/06/2024 15:06

I would think of an approach similar to a holiday let - if you imagine what you'd expect if you arrived in a small holiday let for 2 people, that's generally a good place to start. You wouldn't expect to find masses of books and board games, any kitchen appliances besides the basics, for instance, or anything stored in bulk.

If the kitchen stresses you out, just eliminate cooking that you will just not be able to do eg. I never did any baking on the boat which meant no need for mixing bowls, measuring spoons, different kinds of tins and sheets etc. I had no appliances except for a stick blender for soup so no slow cooker/air fryer/hand mixer/food processor/blender... we didn't have a microwave as no counter space, we reheated food in a steamer basket inside a pot on the stove, in a pot with some water, or in the oven.

Even things like an ironing board! We never ironed anything and hung everything to dry on hangars and if we did need to iron eg. like when we went to the wedding, we spread a towel on the floor and borrowed an iron from one of the neighbours.

BuggeryBumFlaps · 19/06/2024 15:09

Pinterest / TikTok is brilliant for ideas. Lots of people use ikea flat pack and make storage ideas for tiny spaces. Some of them are ingenious.

GameOfJones · 19/06/2024 15:29

My first property was a tiny one bed flat. Off the top of my head what really helped was:

Ottoman bed, loads of storage underneath that! I had a 4ft one so smaller than a double but plenty of space for me. That gave me room either side to have two small chests of drawers as my bedside tables so there was extra storage there.

I really cut back on stuff. E.g. ruthless with clothes and I would do a wash every day so I didn't need lots and lots of pairs of socks or knickers etc. I think I had about 5 days worth and that was it. I'd put a wash on every day of whatever I'd worn (or hand wash it in the sink with the hand washing laundry detergent you can buy for holidays if just a couple of items) then hang it on the drying racks that go over a radiator. It meant there was never lots of washing hanging around the flat taking up space and things dried quickly as it was only a few items at a time.

I had a sofa bed as my main sofa so I could have guests (one that had enough space when folded that I could store the bedding and pillows for it underneath.) Mine wasn't that comfy tbh although I think you can get better ones now so I also had a comfortable armchair.

Over the door hangers with plastic pockets are really useful (like the image) I had one inside my wardrobe door for shoes, hats, gloves, scarves etc and one over the bathroom door for toiletries, and cleaning products. I agree with a PP about just having one multipurpose spray cleaner for kitchen, bathroom etc.

Do you live in a tiny property? Come and talk to me!