Tiny flat - storage solutions

top_drawer_2

Hello,

I've moved into my first flat, its extremely small and I am still trying to settle in as I simply cant fit in everything I have had in my last (shared) house. There is no built in storage space to store things like the hover (dont actually own one just yet), mop buckets for kitchen and bathroom etc and I am sure there is more issues I have yet to find.

I am looking for storage solutions, any ideas would be hugely appreciated.

Thanks

richardw

Is there a cupboard off the hallway for the vacuum cleaner and a kitchen cupboard for the mop n bucket?

mazy_m

Do you have a garden? We're also in a tiny place and are thinking about getting one of those outdoor storage things that are waterproof etc to store some bits in. We're going to put stuff into plastic boxes then put it into the garden storage place.

Hope this helps a bit

Maz

Katexx

For the mop/bucket, could you get some kind of mini mop to keep under the kitchen sink? Personally I've not had a mop in either of the 2 flats I've had and I survive! I clean the kitchen/bathroom floors with a cloth and whatever random cleaning stuff I have for surfaces to be honest, then just chuck the cloth afterwards. Does the job!

Boxes to go under the bed are good. I've also got one of these which is quite narrow so can fit into a fairly small space.

Thankfully in my current flat my hoover just about squeezes into the airing cupboard, but in my old flat we kept it behind the kitchen bin (which was in a gap originally meant for a washing machine, but only one or two extra small expensive ones would actually fit so we never bothered getting one).

For coats/jackets/hoodies I've got one of these hooked over the most out-of-the-way door (airing cupboard in my case) which frees up more space in our wardrobes and gets in the way a lot less than a coat stand does.

If kitchen cupboard storage is an issue these can come in handy.

Can't think of anything else right now but hope some of the above help! I'm sure the ones I linked aren't the cheapest btw, they were just the first ones to come up when I searched

top_drawer_2

No cupboard in the hallway. The front door opens into the lounge with the bedroom to the right and the kitchen at the back of the lounge, bathroom on the otherside of the lounge.....

I dont have any outside space of my own.

I have a kitchen cupboard so considering a colapsible mop bucket (camping thing) but then no-where for the mop.

Casati

Do you really need a mop? I never had one, just got down on my knees with a dishcloth or a scrubbing brush every now and then, dried it off with an old clean towel, it was never really a problem.

Kernel_Sanders

top_drawer wrote: »

There is no built in storage space to store things like the hover

top_drawer wrote: »

I dont have any outside space of my own.

So why are you considering storing a mower there?
:rotfl:

oz0707

Spare bedroom? Get a cabin bed. I've built them for people before to solve storage probs

emg

I am in a very small flat and agree you dont need a mop. I just use floor wipes and prefer to do it on hands and knees as I can see that it is really clean from that distance!

If you really want a mop, you can probably get one where you can store the head of it in a cupboard and detach the pole to store somewhere else (down the side of a wardrobe/under the bed).

I also used to have an ironing board that I stored under my sofa. I never really used that either so I gave it away and got one of the little tabletop ones from ikea instead which is much easier to store. (I now keep my folded clothes horse under the sofa).

A small cylinder hoover will fit in the bottom of a wardrobe or in kitchen base unit with the shelf removed.

My two tips for living in a tiny flat with no storage are

1) decide what you can live without and take the minimum stuff you can bear when you move in

and 2) make sure all your furniture is as useful and does as much storage as possible (I chose to put my tv on a chest of drawers as i could put more in there than in a normal tv stand, I chose a coffee table where the top comes off and you can fill the inside, etc).

skint_chick

If your kitchen's small then you prob don't need a mop - I use wipes every couple of days or if I spill anything. I have a little £30 bagless cylinder that fits in one of my bottom kitchen cupboards. Ironing board goes between side of fridge freezer and wall. Iron's mounted inside of undersink cupboard with 1kea iron mounter.

If you have to have a mop will it go in the corner of your wardrobe? My friend has her vaccuum under her coffee table in the corner with a homemade curtainy thing to disguise it. Reduce your stuff before you try to plan storage - nows the time to Gumtree/ebay/donate stuff that isn't totally essential it makes life so much easier and frees up time and space to do what you really want to rather than mopping! (Unless you love mopping??)

top_drawer_2

Hi,

Thanks for all the great advice! I didnt realise just how much junk I have but I am sorting through it steadily - given 4 boxes of stuff away which I know has all gone to good homes.

I guess not having a mop + bucket will not be the end of the world, particularly since I will need two (one for b/room and another for kitchen), there is a tiny floor space so a cloth will be fine.

I wish I did have a spare bedroom! lol

I am adjusting to looking at furniture with a new perspective; how else can I use it?

Maybe we should have a new sticky on this type of subject because I cant be the only person who has had to move into a less than ideal sized house (rents are skyrocketing in my area; £350 pcm for an unpleasant walking distance to city hamster cage!).