7 Clever Ways to Sneak More Storage into a Small Office Space

Natasha Palance|Sep 10, 2020

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When enough can always be enough!

If you think your home office doesn’t have enough space, think again. The following ideas will help you sneak some extra office storage for small spaces you probably didn’t even know about. If you don’t have room for bulky bookshelves, try using wall-hanging shelves to store your favorites novels.

Want a place to store your office shredder? Consider raising your desk. By implementing some simple organizational and design techniques like these, you’ll instantly improve the organizing potential of your workspace.

Having an organized workspace is essential to your productivity. It helps create an atmosphere of success that will inspire you to accomplish your goals. In fact, it has been proven that organization increases productivity. Workplace health has long been associated with many company cultures and strategies.

It was found that 70% of employers have recently made initiatives to improve workplace environments to encourage healthy behavior and enhance performance. This same logic can be applied to your home workspace. Organization should permeate every aspect of your career, including the space that you work in. Simple changes to the physical environment that you cultivate your career in can have an enormous impact on your efficiency.

Moreover, reshaping your workspace can even help to reduce distractions and improve your happiness. It’s exhausting to look at a mess, knowing that eventually, someone will need to clean it up. So much so, that research confirms that a messy atmosphere can negatively impact your ability to focus.

A tidier workspace will also help you to adopt healthier habits, like your time management skills. When your workspace is more organized, you’ll be able to accomplish tasks faster, which provides you with more time to dedicate elsewhere, such as to your physical and mental health. Overall, an organized workspace reflects a balanced and healthier present and future.

If you’re ready to make a change, here’s how you can set up office storage for small spaces that fuel your productivity.

1. Double your workspace with a height adjustable desk

If you’re not currently utilizing the space under your desk, you’re missing out on the chance to transform your home office at little to no renovation costs. Invest in this height adjustable desk that lets you customize the elevation of your desktop, enabling you to create extra space underneath free for small office storage.

Alternatively, consider using a set of risers that can be installed to your current desk. Once your desk is raised, you have the freedom to maximize the empty space underneath your desk.

Plus, having the option to raise your desk will benefit your physical health. When you look at your laptop, your eyes should be level with the top of the screen. If they are not, it could result in unwanted stress on your neck, back, and shoulders.

To keep your workday strain-free, you want to keep your laptop screen at a height and angle that lets you view it easily without having to move your neck too much. An ergonomic desk enables you to raise the screen higher while you are working if need be. Moreover, you can opt to work standing up, which is a great way to decrease strain and increase productivity.

2. Keep your storage options for small office flexible

As your life and career grow over time, you’ll need storage options that can accommodate these changes. Look for adaptable storage systems that can grow and be altered as needed. Even if you don’t anticipate any big life or career changes on the horizon, you still need to preemptively prepare for the unavoidable influx of bills and other documents that need storage space. With the option of added flexibility, you’ll be able to maximize available space according to your needs.

Consider using adjustable shelves that can be repositioned. This way, you can fit the shelves to your items instead of the other way around, and steer clear of any empty voids of unused space. Another great way to keep your storage flexible is to choose an open storage system that enables you to customize the use of space.

These often come with adaptive customizations such as pegboard panels, under desk drawers and cupboards, and magnetic whiteboard. And, if you have a magnetic filing cabinet, you’re in luck. You can use this to put up various organizer units to free up additional desktop space.

3. Implement modular design systems

If you really want to utilize every square inch of space in your home office for storage solution, don’t forget your walls! Modular home designs enable you to customize your workspace from floor to ceiling and everything in between. Designs can include pieces of furniture such as floating wall desks, smart desks, and height customizable shelving units.

What’s cool about modular design systems is that most of the furniture options can be easily moved or reconfigured. It’s best to use a combination of open shelving for nice storage boxes and bins as well as decorative pieces, in addition to cupboards to hide away tech accessories and other supplies that aren’t needed on a daily basis.

They can even include trunking and portholes to keep electrical cords out of sight. Ultimately, these systems create an atmosphere that enhances the flow of the room and creates more space. With a modular storage system, your options are limitless.

4. Buy furniture and decor with built-in extra space

To maximize space for storage in your office, it’s essential that all of your furniture double functions as storage space. Consider using storage side tables with baskets or slender and sleek designs that come with built-in storage spaces. If you’re not looking to invest in new furniture, consider transforming those bare walls with some corner shelves to free up more space.

Floating or mounted shelves are a great stand-in for items that might normally take up significant desktop space. You can even take it a step further to maximize storage potential for small offices with floating shelves that come with a drawer.

And, this is a great way to turn the necessity of storage into something beautiful. Decor can similarly double function to be both practical and aesthetically pleasing. A pinboard or corkscrew panel can be used to store documents and items as well as feature pinned pictures. The same concept can be applied to your open-storage systems. It’s good to incorporate a variety of storage options to accommodate all of your storage needs.

5. Digitize your paper storage

Sometimes the biggest source of office clutter originates from paper. Paper clutter can deceivingly take up a significant amount of desktop space—or floor space depending on your organization or lack-there-of system. The best rule of thumb is to just recycle everything—the less paper you keep, the better.

However, for those essential documents that require physical storage, small adjustments can still make a huge difference in the atmosphere of your workspace. If you haven’t already invested in a good filing cabinet, now is the time. Alternatively, consider scanning your documents to store virtually online. This will help save room in your filing cabinet for future documents that require physical storage and help clear out any paper clutter that may have gone unnoticed in your office.

6. Bundle up your wires and cables

While it may sound insignificant, wires and cables can both physically and visually take up a lot of space. On top of being visually unsightly, it’s also not great for the durability of your wires and cables if they’re constantly getting tangled and stepped on. To keep them organized and get more storage for your office, try finding ways to keep them out of sight. If you have a smart desk, consider installing a cable tray for a sturdy and easy storage option.

Another convenient way to clean up your wires and cables is to set them aside with velcro one-wraps. They’re multi-purposeful and won’t break the bank. Bundle up any visible wires and cables and secure them in place behind a piece of furniture or parallel at the edge of the wall. Zip ties and painter’s tape are also great alternatives. For added efficiency, a neat trick is to label them with printed labels or bread bag tags. Whatever works best for you, remember to be mindful of solutions that put too much stress on the chords, which could cause them to break or fray.

7. Prevent clutter from building up

People only leave things on their desks when they can’t or don’t want to get rid of it, when they’re too lazy to find a place for it, or don’t know how to organize your desk. Think again. Unless it serves a specific purpose related to your work, it shouldn’t be on top of your desk. This means that if the item doesn’t function to make you more efficient, productive, happy, or relaxed, then it shouldn’t be in your office at all.

Sometimes the best way to sneak more storage space into a small office space is to downsize your need for storage space.

Final thought

Once you’ve eliminated the non-essentials, consider where these items can be permanently placed. More often than not, the best place for something is right under our nose. For example, chargers should be in accessible reach but out of sight. Consider storing your chargers in a desk drawer, or affix them right next to your devices for easy access. If you’re still not sure, visualize some of the new spaces that have opened up in your office and contemplate the best place for each item. Before you know it, you’ll discover even more storage space in your small home office, leaving room for expansive growth and success!

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WRITTEN BYNatasha Palance

A NY-based journalist with an MA in International Affairs. Has worked with global brands and nonprofits, as well as UNESCO-accredited NGOs.

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