How to make a small home feel less cluttered?

[Lovemusic33]

I live in a small 3 bed with my 2 teen DD’s, DD1 has a single room, it’s almost a box room and due to it having 2 windows and the airing cupboard it’s not a great room, it fits in a single bed and wardrobe. Dd2 has severe ASD and is in what I would call the smallest box room, her single bed only just fits in, a small chest of drawers and enough floor space to open the door (though at the moment I can’t hardly open the door), she spends a lot of time in her room as she struggles being around people, she has no space to really do much in there. Dd1’s room is a typical messy teens room, she also has ASD and will not let me decorate or change anything, I haven’t decorated since we moved in, I hate going in there as she just has too much stuff which makes it look cluttered and messy, she won’t part with anything.
My bedroom just fits a double and a chest of drawers, it has a built in small wardrobe where I chuck everything and this room also has windows on 2 walls so no room for shelves.
The bathrooms so tiny that you can wash your face in the sink whilst sat on the loo 🤣.

I know I’m lucky to have a 3 bed house, I love downstairs but upstairs is always cluttered and messy. The living room is the only nice uncluttered room.

My house is not mine, it’s a council house. I can’t afford to buy and no one will allow me to rent privately as I claim some benefits due to being a carer to dd2 and only working part time. I wouldn’t really want to move as we are in a lovely area. I just wish I could make the house more usable, especially for dd2.

How do people make their small houses feel bigger and less cluttered?

Could you look at better storage for dd2 as a chest of drawers is really hard to fit much into?a cupboard with shelves can be much easier to find stuff in and also holds more volume. Also going higher with storage, so although she'd lose the top of the chest of drawers could she have a shelf put up that could hold her toiletries etc. It doesn't sound like dd1 wants her room any different so I'd probably just shut the door....

Is there any landing space you can use?
I agree re the chest of drawers, perhaps look at open storage instead? Loads of option at IKEA (often on FB marketplace or Gumtree second hand).
Are you using the walls/back of doors etc?

Get soemthing like these for hanging on the backs of the dds bedroom doors.

Do you use the airing cupboard or does she?

Add shelving above their bedroom doors for books or small boxes for their jewellery or nicknacks

Some good ideas on the IKEA site
Here
www.ikea.com/gb/en/rooms/childrens-room/gallery/keep-cool-in-an-organised-teens-room-pube68c2351
and

www.ikea.com/gb/en/rooms/childrens-room/gallery/high-tech-low-key-looks-pube835e681

The storage beds are good ways to add some storage, perhaps add cushions along the wall to make it more like a day bed?

Underbed drawers instead of chest of drawers, or buy IKEA beds with built in drawers . Hooks on walls for hanging things. Declutter bit by bit (drawer at a time etc) Reward kids agreement to chuck stuff out - e.g. if we bin these things, we will go to X place next week.

We have a 3 bed house too, the downstairs is spacious but the upstairs we have hardly any landing , small bathroom like you say you can wash your face whilst sat on the loo !! We have found that furniture from Wayfair is the best as you can get amazing storage and they make some cabinets narrow so they fit tightly against the walls and don’t stick out too far . We have one box room, then the nursery (well what will be the nursery in August) is a funny L shaped room so we got all our furniture from Wayfair for there too. I highly recommend and as PP have shown, you can get hanging storage for the backs of doors which we’ve put in the wardrobe that had the old boiler in for more storage for baby things .

Also peg boards are a great way to add some space to pin up pics/cards etc or to store accessories/headphones etc etc
www.hobbycraft.co.uk/pegboard-76-x-56cm/641957-1000

Dd2’s room can’t fit anything taller than a chest of drawers due to the window.

We have storage on the landing but it looks so cluttered.

Love the ideas of shelves above the doors but I’m very short and couldn’t reach them.

The airing cupboard needs to be sorted, at the moment it’s hard to get into as dd’s bed is in the was, she has a bunk bed which I would like to replace with a single with storage underneath but at the moment she refuses to let me change anything (her ASD makes change hard to accept). Idea

I want to gut her room and rethink the layout making more storage.

Here’s my dodgy drawings of dd’s rooms.

Does DD2’s bed fit under the window? That would allow you to put a wardrobe drawers combi on the other wall and maybe a bedside table. Otherwise some storage drawers under the bed would be useful.

I agree move the bed under the window if space. Perhaps show DD some pics of beds with drawers under so she can see before anything is changed?
Could the door be re-hung so it opens outwards?
Any pics you can share?

For DD1 how about moving the bed to go on the wall opposite the airing cupboard? Move the wardrobe to where the drawers are and put the drawers under the window (opposite the door)as they can also act as a bedside table. Then you can access the cupboard and max out this space.
Again can the door be re-hung to open out?

No, it doesn’t fit, it literally just fits where it is, the width of the room is a few inches less then the length 😢

That post was for dd2’s room 🤣 no room to move the bed.

Dd1’s room the bed could be moved, I want to get rid of the wardrobe, it’s a double wardrobe which she doesn’t really use, it’s just full of her stuff that she never touches.

Can’t get any photo as it’s a total mess, dd2 has spilled out onto the landing with her lego and I can’t get into her room 🤣

Its hard to advise without seeing it. But it might help if you tackle the landing or your room first and make the space sleek/uncluttered and the DDs might see the benefits. Rather than try to persuade them if they are hesitant.
I struggle with clutter and the areas I have cleared and organised feel SO much better and when things have a proper home its so much easier to keep on top of it.
i did see some good tips and examples here of making the most of small spaces
www.ikea.com/gb/en/ideas/home-visit-5-super-small-space-tricks-to-try-pub0d6b5c31

It sounds like you should tackle your room first - get it so it's how you like it.

Agree totally that chests of drawers are a bit wasteful of space. Floating shelves are the bees knees above beds, would you be able to put those in? And lights that you touch to turn on/off?

Also sounds like ++ planning would be needed for your dds rooms - they will need to have the changes talked through loads of times before they happen. Would be easier to be able to take everything out and try things, but it sounds like that wouldn't be tolerable for them.

Could you build lego models of their room, as accurate to scale as you can, and play with the bits to work on the layout?? Or at least squared paper, or a planning tool like the 3d Ikea one - might they enjoy playing with that?

For various reasons (not ASD) it took DH and I almost a year between starting to get the kitchen done and it finally being built. We replanned so often on squared paper and a graphics package. The result was 100 x better for being worked on so often tbh, I'm glad it worked out that way. When I think of our original plan, I shudder - it would have been so much less functional than what we have.

My eldest has asd and a tiny room. I brought a mid sleeper bed so he can have his toys and bookshelf in the space underneath. He then has a chest of drawers for clothes and a small plastic set of drawers for school uniform. We also have a hook thing on the back of the door for jackets and coats

Can you buy single beds where you lift the top up and there is storage underneath? I know you can get doubles like that, not sure about singles though

Hi Op!

For the smallest room, what about turning the chest of drawers round so that they are opposite the bed rather than facing the door iyswim? Then you could put shelves above them to create more space.

Have a look at the Ikea Eket system which could go on the wall above and next to her bed which is slimline but provides great storage.

A hanger on the back of the door for shoes/Knick naks would work too.

Could you get a shorter bed for dd2s room that would fit under the window? Although a little more expensive, plenty of beds are available shorter than a standard single and I'm sure she won't miss 2 inches off the end if it makes her room more usable

Wall shelves or storage boxes from IKEA. I have a shalf above the door in the bathroom for towels. Bet my bathroom is the same as yours OP. Mine is an ex council house and you couldn't swing a cat in the bathroom.

Are you near an IKEA? You could take your DDs and look at the room set ups there and see if there are any which appeal.