Tiny Home Storage Ideas

 

 

Tiny homes are by definition, tiny. If you’re not prepared for this change in lifestyle, it may be difficult to find places to store all of your items, including needs and wants. You have a few options for storage ideas in your home, which we will go over here! 

Of course, if you end up with extra space or want to save some items for the future, you can always rent out a storage unit. This gives you freedom to slowly sell, purge, gift, or keep anything that you want – especially bulky seasonal items that you may not have room for in your tiny home! Storage units are perfect for winter clothing, recreational items and vehicles, and pool/beach items as well! 

Without further ado, here are our top tiny home storage ideas. 

Interior Storage Ideas for Tiny Homes

If you’re invested in tiny home living, then you know how clever some of the storage options are. There are hollow pieces of furniture, drawers built into steps, dressers built into bed frames, and so much more. 

Before you create storage, though, you need to know what you’re going to store in your tiny home. 

Categorize your possessions into three lists: essentials and non-essentials. It can look like this: 

Essentials (Needs): 

• Two cooking pans
• One skillet
• Utensils
• Four plates
• Four bowls
• Four glasses
• Two coffee mugs
• Coffee maker
• Bedding
• Clothes 
• Three pairs of shoes (each)
• Pet supplies
• Bathroom supplies
• Computer

Non-Essentials (Wants):

• Books
• Television 
• Couch/chairs
• Kitchen table
• Knick Knacks and decorative items
• Standing picture frames

Once you have your list, sit down with it and look them both over. Is there anything you can downsize or do without? Do you really need a television if you’re planning on being out in nature or if you have a computer? Do you need all of your book collections? Can you transfer your photos to your computer? Can you downsize to a laptop instead of a desktop computer? 

Ask yourself all of these questions and then update your lists as needed. You can always come back to it as you may have more storage space then you initially thought! 

Hidden Places to Store Items in a Tiny Home

We mentioned a few already – hollow pieces of furniture, drawers built into steps, dressers built into bed frames – but you have a few more options too. You can always create a crawl space on the floor to store larger seasonal items and shoes, and add shelves and cabinets along the walls to help store books, kitchen utensils, and other necessities. 

Most tiny homes do not have a closet, so utilize under the bed for clothing and bedding storage. You likely will have to reduce the amount of clothes you have to fit everything, especially if you’re living with your partner. 

If you want a washer and dryer in your home, you can either store it in the kitchen (though you lose cabinet space) or purchase a portable washer that you can store almost anywhere. 

Don’t forget the outside too! If your home is on a trailer, you can get one with built in storage too! We recommend keeping weather-safe items in there, like handheld tools, jumper cables in bags; things like that. 

Tiny Homes are also getting more and more innovative. Some of the luxury ones have built-in grills and outdoor kitchens that expand and collapse with ease! These are great options to free up your kitchen and to help you enjoy the outdoors without any worry of bringing along a little grill. 

When to Get a Storage Unit

If you live in a tiny home, you do not need a storage unit. We always recommend first-time tiny home buyers to have one, however. It is a huge lifestyle change and getting rid of everything you own to make the switch may be too much of a culture shock at first. Ease yourself into it and see if you like it before you ditch a majority of your worldly possessions. 

Even if you are used to living in a tiny home, we recommend getting a smaller storage unit to keep the following things safe. Self-storage is an affordable way to have a minimalistic, low-cost home without losing any valuable items.

Store Important Documents

Important documents, such as passports or business-related forms, typically aren’t needed on an everyday basis.  However, they are still essential to keep. Depending on your lifestyle, you might have only a few documents or a drawer full of them. You can keep them in a fire-proof safe in your tiny home (which is recommended for papers that have personal information), or you can store them in a secure unit or bank safe deposit box.

Photo albums and love letters are great examples of what you can keep in a safe deposit box or storage unit. 

Big or Heavy Objects

Some hobbies, like skiing or camping, require equipment that does not easily fit into a tiny home. Camping, fishing, and skiing gear might be large or unusually heavy – a problem for tiny houses with a weight limit.

If you only have a couple of sentimental items, you might be able to keep these in your house without any inconvenience. 

If you’re in need of a storage unit, give us a call at (505) 294-8884 or visit our website. We’ll be happy to help you!