Living Smaller – Go Vertical

Pots over the sink can be allowed to drip dry

Making a family of 5 fit in a small house or apartment isn’t easy.  It might not be what you imagined, it wasn’t what I imagined, but it is definitely greener. Through a series of posts on living smaller, I’m sharing tips that we’ve discovered to help us fit and keep organized.

Today’s tip: Go Vertical! 

Vertical lid rack fits between the window and built-in spice rack.

Stylish

Sometimes it’s very stylish. We’ve had people ask us where we got our pot rack and our lid holder.  

Ugly but Functional

Sometimes it’s ugly but organized.  No one has ever asked about the shoe organizer that holds our kitchen towels, cleaning rags, wash cloths, cloth napkins, produce bags, sandwich bags, plastic bags for reuse and it used to hold bibs. It’s not pretty.  But it keeps a lot of things organized in an otherwise unused space.

Shoe rack used for kitchen cloths

Refrigerator

The top of a refrigerator is a much over-looked space. Ours was a mess and then I got some bins to help organize the boxes and bags that we keep up there. I keep breakfast cereal, peanut butter, crackers and assorted things up there.

Food on top of the fridge

Bookcases

The top of our bookcase holds science kits that we’d rather the kids didn’t use without supervision,  platters we received as gifts, a few art supplies, the last of our candles and candle holders and a few other assorted things.   

Science kits and other things up high where the kids can’t reach (easily)

Breakfront

The top of the breakfront keeps our vases and the nutcracker I gave Jon when we were dating.

Vases on top of the breakfront to save space

What high places can you use?

Happy Greening,

Alicia

Our living smaller series:

• Fitting In A Small House
• Living Smaller – Organizing Small Cables
• Living Smaller – Go Vertical
• Living Smaller – What To Do With Clothes You Don’t Wear

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