Look around your bedroom, what do you see? Is it getting quite cluttered? Do you still have space in your drawers and cabinets? Are you running out of storage options?
The space under your bed when used properly, can be a fantastic hidden storage solution for your less often used belongings like winter season clothes, for example.
Whether it’s your dorm room, a kid’s room, a small bedroom or even a spacious one, keeping it clean and free from clutter will make your bedroom a more restful and stress-free environment.
Continue reading to see tips on how to maximise your under-bed space with different storage ideas and solutions.
Why Use Your Bed as a Storage Space?
Not everyone has the luxury of a spacious bedroom with lots of shelving and places to store things. For some reason, we all forget about underneath our bed and the mass amount of space under there for storage.
You might think that you can’t fit much under your bed since it’s just a small space, but you’d be surprised at how many things you can fit.
Likewise, if you keep it empty, the floor space under your bed would just be home for dust bunnies, so might as well utilise it as extra storage.
What to Place in under the Bed Storage?
One of the great things about under bed storage solutions is that it’s hidden from plain sight. It’s a great place to keep the belongings that you use less often.
Under-bed storage would keep them out of your site and would declutter your storage spaces while still giving you easy access to them when they’re needed.
Off-Season Clothes
We all know how bulky winter clothes are and how much space they take in our closets, so it isn’t the best idea to keep all our clothes in just one storage space.
Your extra clothes that don’t get much use can also be kept under your bed frame – this keeps your main wardrobe just down to your seasonal essentials.
Using your under-bed storage allows you to cycle your wardrobe better while keeping your off-season clothes hidden when you don’t need them.
Luggage
Owning a set of luggage is essential, especially when you’re the type who enjoys travelling around – but they’re often big and bulky, and we often don’t know where to keep them.
The space under your bed is a great place to stow them to keep them out of plain sight. Likewise, you can also store things inside your luggage as an added free storage solution.
Beddings
Storing beddings, linens, pillowcases, and sheets in storage bins under your bed is a great way to keep them protected from dust and moisture.
Likewise, having them just under your bed gives you easy access every time you need to change your sheets.
Toys
One of the most cluttered spaces in a household is usually the kids’ room. You have to factor in clothes they’ve grown out of, all their toys including the ones that don’t get much play anymore, books, school materials, and much more.
Even though kids’ beds are relatively small compared to adults, they still offer enough storage space underneath – it’s a great option to hide storage boxes for toys and books.
Having your kids learn to stow away toys and books after playing is also a great way to start learning how to organise their bedroom at a young age. It’s also a great way to avoid stepping on a Lego brick in the middle of the night. Ouch!
Shoes
One of the bulkiest items you can store in your closet are shoes. They take up lots of space, and when you don’t have shelving or any shoe organisers, you can only place a few inside.
You can purchase purpose-built under bed shoe storage solutions for your footwear, especially those that don’t get so much use (i.e. boots, formalwear, etc.)
If you don’t want to look into shoe storage, you can also just keep them in their original shoe boxes and slide them under your bed.
How to Store Things under the Bed
If it isn’t obvious, we don’t just stuff all our things under the bed (you technically can, but it will be a giant mess), so we look into storage solutions.
The most ideal is bed storage boxes that are really designed for being low-profile and allowing you to stow them underneath your bed.
The under bed storage boxes are usually fitted with wheels so you could easily pull them in and out of your bed. You also want something with a lid, so the items don’t gather dust.
Picking storage containers that are designed for storing things under your bed instead of random plastic bins would increase the functionality and make organising much more effortless.
DIY Bed Storage Ideas and Tips
Your Luggage
Making use of what you have is a fantastic way of organising your belongings and also saving you money.
As mentioned earlier, you can use your old luggage as a way to store clothes that are off-season. Not only do luggage bags have ample space for items, keeping them under your bed can protect them and increase their longevity.
Vacuum Storage Bags
To utilise the most space possible, use vacuum storage bags when stowing away your off-season clothes.
Vacuum sealing your clothes not only flattens bulky clothes like winter jackets, but they also keep them away from moisture. This solution isn’t just space-saving, it also guarantees you that your clothes don’t smell off when you take them out.
Flattening your clothes in vacuum storage bags allows you to store more clothes in your storage baskets and bins while making them more organised.
Use Old Dresser Drawers
If you have an old dresser drawer lying around, don’t throw them away! The drawers can be repurposed as under bed drawers.
The only problem is that their tops are open, and you’d need to keep your belongings in storage boxes so dust won’t cling on to them.
Use a Bed Skirt
A bed skirt is a piece of fabric placed underneath your mattress and dangles over your bed base.
Having a bed skirt essentially hides everything under the bed from plain sight, and will also help keep some dust bunnies away, keeping your belongings much cleaner.
Pick the Right Bed for the Job
When picking a bed frame, ensure that your bed allows for under bed storage solutions. This saves you the hassle of having to use bed risers just to stow belongings under your bed.
The Ecosa Timber Bed Base has 20cm of clearance underneath, which gives you plenty of space for under bed storage solutions.
Just make sure you measure storage boxes before purchasing, so you know it will be the right fit.