Maximize Your Space With Some Clever Contraptions by Christine Brun on Creators.com

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Maximize Your Space With Some Clever Contraptions

A brand new year is a good time for fresh ideas. There are dozens of gimmicks for how to save space, ranging from rather goofy to very inventive. This is a perfect time of year to spend some rain- or snow-days indoors rethinking household organization and perhaps considering some space-saving items. It's also a good time to sort through belongings and mount an effort to create a little more room in your home.

No matter how clever a device might be, the only place to begin an honest effort is with purging and eliminating unnecessary items. Unless you have an illness and are a genuine hoarder, be ruthless. If you have not used something in more than a year, ask yourself if you even have to own a household or clothing item.

Laundry is one thing we cannot really eliminate, and somehow both the dirty laundry and the clean always seem to take up more space than it should. The process of what to do with the clean clothes is the most frustrating, but I found something that could save a little bit of room. From Lillian Vernon, the venerable company that's been around for 60 years, a magnetic portable ironing mat that fits on top of your dryer! It is 32.5 by 19 inches and sells for just under $15. Magnets keep the heat-resistant surface in place for quick touch-ups on collars or sleeves.

Organization is the critical aspect of making more space. Check out the triangular-shaped Hanger Hamper, which is 13 inches wide by 13 inches long by 10 inches deep and tucks into a free corner of a closet or laundry to neatly store household hangers.

If you have no laundry room, try to convert your bathroom on occasion and consider a drying device — for instance, the Stackable Laundry Dryer that neatly fits over a standard bathtub. Dry hand-washables with no stretching or rod marks.

In my opinion, everyone should have a wooden drying rack that folds up to dry hand-washables or clothes that shouldn't really be tossed into the dryer. The Vermont Country Store carries sturdy wood racks made of smooth birch dowels that will not snag any delicate item and have been made in New England for over 50 years.

Choose from one that is 24 inches wide by 34 inches high that offers 16 feet of drying space, or the larger 27-by-50-inch drying rack that provides 25 feet of space. These range between $30 and $40. Both are very lightweight and fold easily for compact storage.

No floor space at all? No problem, if you buy the window-mounted clothes rack that attaches to the glass with suction cups and sells for less than $50. If you prefer outdoor hanging, check out the aluminum Portable Umbrella Clothesline that offers some 64 lineal feet of hanging and collapses into about 6 by 74 inches. This sells for less than $80.

I have included the Platinum Wonder Hanger in my column before, and just because it is so awesome and effective I am featuring it again as a real winner! You can make more room for your wardrobe by loading up the device and then releasing one side of the bar. The upgraded model features chrome-finished iron for ultimate durability. Each Wonder Hanger holds six wood, metal or plastic hangers and will support up to 30 pounds. This is an easy and affordable way to create space in an average closet.

If you live with a roommate or in a tiny studio, you value closet space even more, and siblings sharing even a generous closet can always use more room. Check out the hundreds of hanging storage items available for shoes and handbags from resources such as IKEA, The Container Store and Rubbermaid, whose products are sold at home improvement stores. Many designs hang over doors and are excellent for small multiples such as socks, under wear or ties. For larger clothing items, be sure to remember that stacking boxes come in hard plastic, wicker, heavy cardboard and wood. If you select boxes with decorative exteriors, they might be stacked in plain sight and be attractive to leave outside of a closet.

Christine Brun, ASID, is a San Diego-based interior designer and the author of "Small Space Living." Send questions and comments to her by email at christinebrun@sbcglobal.net. To find out more about Christine Brun and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.