It’s hard having a small flat and as we are renting to save for our own home, sometimes storage is a nightmare for me and Gary. As we both have a huge amount of DVD’s and clothes(more me than him), trying to be creative and find places for things to live can be tricky but lucky for me, we have found some clever products to help make our lives a little more easier.
The Bedroom

We have a fairly small room and once the double bed has marked its territory, there isn’t a huge amount of space for anything else!  As I had to give up having my own draws due to us having to move the room around, I opted to buy these great shelves that are easy to assemble and affordable from Argos. With the option of buying storage boxes also, I moved all my jewellery, underwear, tights, gym gear and other random things to these shelves and now it is so easy to access anything I need. I also bought these great Kilner jars from Sainsbury’s which I use as storage for my jewellery and I love the retro Vintage feel they give to our room.

Necklaces were a huge problem for me and as I have so many they would end up being hung on door handles, hangers and anywhere that they didn’t get tangled up. After trying to come up with a solution, we had a little wander around our local Wilkos one weekend and stumbled upon these great towel rails that were only £4 each. They looked pretty sturdy enough and the rails were really easy to install too! Gary just swapped the screws given for some much longer ones to improve on their grib to the wall and after marking and drilling the holes, the rails were up and ready for my necklaces! If you are going to do something simular to this, just remember to cover your bed if you do any drilling near by and have a little hoover up afterwards. This is a great and clever way to store your necklaces and I am so pleased this moment of genius happened upon me in wilkos and for only £4 it is a complete bargain and saves so much hassle!The Living Room

As our living room and kitchen is open plan, we are limited on the amount of seats we can have in the whole area.  If we host a party, there is sadly not enough room for everyone to have a seat so lucky I found this amazing bean-bg amp from Flamingo Gifts! I love how life-like it looks and it has fooled a few of our guests already when they have come over for dinner and drinks! It’s really strong and it perfect if you have a house party and need an extra seat for a mate or 2.

We are a little techie when it comes to our entertainment so with that comes lots of remote controls! We would normally just lay them anywhere we could fit them but thankfully Flamingo Gifts stocks this great controller tidy!  With 4 spots and even room for one in the middle, this has definitely made our TV/MUSIC area look a lot tidier and it also keeps the remotes in good condition too.  I love having my books on display especially as it reminds me that I should be reading more! As they were originally hidden away in the only cupboards we have, I tried stacking these crates from Wilko and cleverly created a fun book shelf. For only £3 each, these crates are normally used for shoes in our flat but I love how the books look in them and it has definitely inspired me to read more and write more of my own book too. 
I hope some of these little tips and ideas may help you if you live in a small space especially if like us, you don’t fancy spending loads of cash on products to helps you only in the short term.

Images by Lois Spencer-Tracey