Share your home storage hacks with IKEA - £300 IKEA voucher to be won

[JustineBMumsnet]

Despite their size, children manage to take up more space in a home than many parents ever bargain for, making ample storage space an even more precious commodity than it was before children for many parents. With this in mind, IKEA would like to hear about the ways you make the most out of your storage spaces and how it’s made your life easier.

Here’s what IKEA has to say: “The house can often feel crowded after the festive period but a few small changes can make a big difference. Adding hooks and storage solutions at a lower height gives children the freedom to tidy things up by themselves. Remember children love spending time where you are so a small kitchen trolley can make a perfect mobile Art & Craft or play station that can be moved tidied away quickly.”

Maybe you have a creative way for storing lunchboxes or tips for fitting more into cupboards without them overflowing? Perhaps you swear by hangers on doors, boxes inside drawers or folding your clothes in a specific way? How have you used IKEA furniture or accessories to make the most of your space?

Whatever your home storage hacks, share them on the thread below to be entered into a prize draw where one MNer will win a £300 IKEA voucher.

Thanks and good luck!

MNHQ

Insight Terms and Conditions apply

[disneydreaming]

We use IKEA spice racks hung upside down as the kids dressing up rail. My sons superhero costumes looks great displayed in his superhero room they are just the right size to fit in the space as most clothes rails were too long .

[PeppaPigOinkOinkOink]

Kalax unit for toys (in boxes) and books. Tension roads for everything!

[alwaysataldi]

Winter clothes and coats in poundshop vacuum bags, and store in your loft or at the bottom of the wardrobe until they are needed next year. Saves lots of space on the coat stand and wardrobe and keeps them from smelling damp when brought out again.

[addyt]

We use the Flisat Table for EVERYTHING!

Messy play, storage of colouring items, dinner, crafts, small world play! I don't know where I would be without it!! I make everyone I know but one! (I'm a mum and a nanny and all the families I have worked for have bought it!)

[SilveryWrath]

As many others have said, multiple Kallax boxes everywhere. But first, clear clutter at least monthly, it really helps and stops the build-up.

[BarbaraManatee]

We have 3 trofast units in our house:

• 1 in our DD's room with a variety of different trays & some shelves for her toys & books & a small chest of drawers (also IKEA) bolted to the top for her clothes.
  
• 1 in our DSs' room with the shallowest drawers for their Lego. We glued some decorative edging around the top to stop bits rolling off & screwed casters onto the bottom so it can be moved around easily.
  
• 1 under our stairs with a butchered IKEA shelving unit on top. It's got drawers for hats/scarves/gloves & the shelves above have our first aid box, hoover & plenty of space for general dumping. It's probably my favourite piece of furniture in the house!

[Happierwithouthim]

barbara need to see pics!!

[Happierwithouthim]

I've been googling ikea hacks and the kitchen island made out a kallax with two butcher blocks on top is my favourite.
Plus the idea of a stuva for a pantry is on my shopping list for next house

[Jess827]

For me, it's having NO furniture that's just for looking nice.. it has to serve some useful purpose (usually storage) to be bought! Extra storage in stuff like the coffee table or the inside seat of a chair for example.

No point taking up space for 1 thing when you can do that plus storage too.

There are a few exceptions, for older furniture,but trying to buy stuff with that in mind for a few years has made a big difference.

[startalovetrain]

The ALGOT system has made the most magnificent walk-in wardrobe for me out of a room barely big enough to be called a bedroom. Compared with the mesh drawers, shelves, rods and a MALM dresser, it's not my favourite room in the house and fits all of our clothes, towels, bedding, shoes and accessories in. It's all so organised, and the best thing about it is that the ALGOT is completely customisable! When I needed more hanging space to hang a wedding dress, easy - just click and move.

So much storage and makes a small room usable for us!

[ChocolateTea]

Storage beds are a must. We all have ottoman beds now, and they are game changers. Teen boys in a shared room, the massive unit with pull out drawers separates the room and gives privacy, but allow light and space. And the draws are brilliant for toys, clothes, old toys. I wish they'd been one of the 5 x 5 units around when I was younger and had to share, I'm so jealous of my children!

[exLtEveDallas]

We have the Hol storage tables (x2) as sofa side tables that contain throws and cushions. We have another one next to the fireplace that holds logs for the log burner.

DD has recently had her room redone. It’s a ground floor room with a bay window. DH used our old Leksvik Coffee Table and turned it into a window seat with storage - the Kuggis boxes fit perfectly.

Her pride and joy was turning a Deltof into a hamster habitat, lying it on its side on top of her Kallax unit. He’s a very spoiled hamster!

In our old home we had a large hallway with two hemnes hat racks on the wall for adult coat hanging with hemnes shoe storage underneath, and a row of coat hooks on a side wall at DD height for her coats and school bag. DDs playroom had loads of plastic boxes, stacked to keep her stuff tidy but so she could still see what it was inside. I think they were meant to be underbed boxes, but they worked really well.

[meow1989]

We have multiple kallax units in 2 bedrooms and the kitchen/diner/playroom. One is the long thin one which we have up on its side- the top 3 slots are full of toys in red boxes and the bottom is a cupboard with all nappies etc in, so much neater than when we had them out.

We also have a little peg that fil made for ds to hang up his coats and put his wellies under and door hangers on the back of wardrobes and the bathroom door.

One thing I would recommend (though currently dont have) is a play tent like the circus ikea one - doubles as a toy store once the toddler is in bed!

[GalileoGalileo]

We've recently done our DC's nursery and filled it with Ikea furniture! We've utilised a KALLAX in the bay window to use as a reading seat, and storage for toys. We've then used the BEKVAM spice racks as book shelves. Just read someone else's idea of turning them upside down and using as clothes rails and may have to do that!
We've got the STALL unit in our hallway to store our most frequently used shoes, and a smaller KALLAX unit under the stairs to store hats/gloves/scarves.
I want another trip to IKEA now after reading this thread as there's been some great tips!

[brimfullofasha]

Like everyone else we love Kallax in our house. We also use the draw dividers and have Trofast for Lego storage. We use a wire curtain rail and clips for displaying their art work. We also use the Skadis peg board for pinning school letters, certificates etc.

[allthingsred]

My daughter's share a room & will be looking at kallax units for there to separate & give storage.
Both of their beds already have storage which Is soo needed.

[theswordthatdangles]

Mine use the Ikea SMULA trays for arts and crafts. They are brilliantly washable. They are used for lego building because they are large and the kids are building small things.

The old Kura beds were marvellous. We still have 3. Being able to create a den space in shared bedrooms has meant that our SEN children have dedicated space for themselves. It was easy enough to string curtains up using netting wire and fairy lights stuck inside completed the sanctuary.

We also have the Hot table/boxes. With the addition of a foam cushion they make a brilliant seat. The kids have their games stored in one and DH and I have one either side of the sofa for our things as well as using them as coffee tables. Best of all, when they get marked we just sand the marks off them. If we need additional seating they have been used for extra guests.

Our sofa is an Ikea one with matching, storage footstool. This is comfortable and practical as I store sewing stuff in it. Out of the way but easy to access.

To be fair, we have had a lot of Ikea furniture over the years. I love the practicality of it. Most of it is dual purpose, like the coffee table storage boxes, footstool with storage space, expedit/kalax which can be used either upright or laid down depending on the space you have.

My absolute favourite is the Billy bookcases though. We added half heigh pattered doors onto a tall one so we have a half height cupboard as a drinks cabinet, a full length glass door to a tall thin one as a display cabinet and wooden doors to a half height one as a cupboard. It's been set up as one unit and doesn't look dated 13 years after we first got it because it is a simple colour and design.

[Stuckandsadintheupsidedown]

Soft covered ottomans everywhere 😊make everywhere look cosy and also bonus of doubling as chairs when we have extra visitors or thrones for the cat!

[BookishKitten]

Using a HEMNES shoe cabinet for file storage in the study. Fits LOADS!

[BookishKitten]

Can I "hijack" this thread to BEG IKEA to come up with nice boxes that fit the iconic BILLY Bookcase in width and depth? Say, something with 38/39 cm wide and 26/27 cm deep.
This would fit the wider Billy (80 cm) and the narrower Billy (40 cm), and there are loads of people on internet with the same problem - that they want to hide the clutter but in a nice way (sorry, but the Samla and Tjena just don't cut it.....).
I mean, those boxes would sell like hot cakes...! Like the boxes for the Kallax. Come on, IKEA!
Thanks! :D

[fastliving]

Ikea wicker baskets everywhere.
Got few storage units in the loft for camping item etc that we don't need very often, but need to know where they are so packing isn't a nightmare.

[Slightlysurviving]

Bit of a specific one but I sew and have big bags of stuffing , wadding etc to store. Last year I bought some IKEA cushion covers and filled with my wadding / stuffing and they sit on my bedroom armchair. Works really well as attractive storage and I just dip in and grab what I need when I need it. Once used up I fold it up until I open the next bag.

[YesThisIsMe]

Two little storage solutions I’m quite proud of.
I’ve just worked out that the perfect place to hang my kitchen hand towel and tea towels is on the side of the fridge: the hooks are attached to neodymium magnets so they’re unshiftable.
And a bunch of little brass hooks screwed into the side of my pine IKEA bookshelf makes a rather nifty necklace hanger.