As a professional “clutter therapist” these past 45 years, I’ve spent most of my time helping people cope with living in small to teeny spaces. And one thing I know for sure, it’s not what you have, it’s what you do with what you have that makes all the difference.

I also know for sure that BIG isn’t better, it’s just BIG. Small can be experienced as cozy, inviting, and efficient, if spaces are managed well. This thought leads me to the point of this article.

I recently had an experience with helping a homeowner living in less than 400 square feet, make the most of her spaces. After she removed every thing she didn’t like, use, need, want, or have room for, we were ready to put her spaces to best advantage.

So what do I mean by “making the most of her spaces” and “putting her spaces to best advantage?” It’s about one simple technique: you HANG AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE, to free up horizontal space for things (keepers) that can’t be hung. For instance, here’s an example of how a homemaker coped with very minimal drawer space. She hung her measuring spoons and cups to make room for things that couldn’t be hung. Affixing a cork panel to the inside of her cupboard door made it possible.

Another excellent example of how this works is with your colander and strainer. The colander tends to be on the big side and the strainer is just clunky—shape-wise. They take up a lot of space when sitting in a drawer or on a cupboard shelf. So hang them up instead.

And since they’re used at the sink, it’s smart to hang them at the sink. To do this, use those heavy-duty stick-on hooks (see photo). If the hole in the handle of the strainer won’t fit over the hook easily, then tie a string through the hole and hang the strainer from the string.

You’ll notice that most kitchen utensils do have holes in their handles that make hanging them possible.

Here’s another example of increasing horizontal space by hanging things. Consider inserting screw hooks into the underside of a cupboard shelf so you can hang your mugs and cups. This frees up extra space for drinking glasses, which can’t be hung.

I’ll close with another example of how hanging things frees up precious horizontal space. I helped a client in Jackson, WY, make the most of his one-wall kitchen. You can see from the photo what a challenge he was up against.

After pairing down his possessions to the best-of-the-best (thinking quality over quantity), and eliminating everything he didn’t like, use, need, want, or have room for, we turned this nightmare of a situation into what he now calls “The best kitchen ever—a true step-saver and visual delight!”

We hung his two coffee mugs and four soup mugs under the shelf which held his place settings drinking glasses, butter dish, and bread box. Initially he was concerned that the lack of upper cupboard storage was going to be impossible to work with. But he continues to report back that the system is serving him well.

Today’s media continues to send out messages that we need “new and improved,” that we need more, more, more,” and that we absolutely need “bigger!” I’m here to tell you these are LIES. Small will serve you perfectly well as long as it’s only holding things you like, use, need, want, and have room for, and if you hang as many of your keepers as you possibly can.

Research shows the majority of people throughout the world live in small spaces, so perhaps you can pass these ideas on to a small-spacer (if this information doesn’t apply to you). In the meantime, let’s all be glad for the space we have and raise a glass to small spaces! They’re AWESOME!