8 Ways To Practically Double Your Storage Space Around The House Using Vacuum Bags

We all have a finite amount of storage space in our homes, and unless you're willing to pay for extra storage in a detached unit, chances are you want to make the most of the room you have available. The best strategies for decluttering your home can help to free up storage room, but there are other methods and tricks to practically double your storage space around the house, namely using vacuum bags. 

Designed to suck all of the excess air from fabric and plush items, vacuum bags compress their contents significantly, cutting their volume in half in many cases. If you find yourself inundated by large items like pet bedding, winter clothing, duvet inserts, and extra bath towels, putting some quality vacuum bags to work for you can be a real game changer. In addition to enhanced storage, a side benefit of vacuum bags is that they can protect your contents, keeping them cocooned in a plastic bag that has an airtight seal for up to six months. By reducing the amount of space needed to store a variety of items, your closets and storage spaces can be better organized and less cluttered. 

There are few things more luxurious than a fluffy duvet insert or comforter, but when they're not in use, they can be challenging to store. If you have several large comforters that you keep for guests' use, or if you switch out bedding throughout the seasonal changes each year, vacuum bags can be incredibly useful for squishing down those poly-stuffed covers or feather-filled duvet inserts. While inserts are by far the most bulky part of a duvet system, you can also store duvet covers in a vacuum bag for ultimate space conservation.

Extra towels are an excellent item to have around the house — whether they are for overnight guests or you got them on sale and are saving them for the future — but they require a good deal of space to stay organized. If you want to keep some towels stored away for use at another time, place several in a vacuum bag and suck out the excess air with a vacuum, hand pump, or manual compression. When you're ready to use them, the towels can be pulled out, fluffed, and put right to use.

Sleeping bags are an absolute camping essential, but the reality is that unless you are an avid camping enthusiast, these bulky bags are usually in storage. If you're tired of having your closets, basement, or garage cluttered by rarely used sleeping bags, unroll them, fold them down to a size that fits inside a vacuum bag, and let compression free up significant space. This is also an excellent way to keep your sleeping bags clean and free from dust in between uses.

Is there such a thing as having too many throw pillows? While you and your partner may argue over the exact number on your bed, it's an indisputable fact that pillows can be tricky to store due to their size. In addition to being large and requiring plenty of closet space to store, they are also prone to tumbling off of a shelf when bumped. When placed in a vacuum bag, however, you can remove all of the extra air and store them flat. Use this hack for extra guest pillows and decorative pillows alike.

As a sentimental token, many individuals have baby blankets from their own childhood or ones that were made for their children's infancy. Precious though they may be, baby blanket collections can become overwhelming when crammed into a closet, especially if your children have outgrown them and they fall into the mental category of clutter. Maintain your baby blankets and keep them from getting in your way by storing them in a vacuum bag. However, it's not advised to store them in a vacuum bag longer than six months to protect your baby blankets for the long run.

While vacuum bags aren't ideal for long-term storage, they are fantastic resources for items that are only used on a seasonal basis. Winter coats, snow pants, and other bulky clothing items can safely be compressed down to a fraction of their original size and stored with ease until temperatures drop again. This will provide you with a smaller amount of winter wear, allowing you to find room in the closet for it. You may also find that decluttering your closet is much easier when you implement this simple rotation technique for seasonal items.

Baby clothes are tiny and adorable, but their small size means that there can be an overwhelming number of outfits to manage. An excellent option for small baby clothes that your little one isn't using yet or has recently outgrown is to store them in vacuum bags. To stay on top of your organizational game, you can even label the contents of the bag according to size and type, making it easier to find them when they are next needed.

You love your pets, but you don't love how much space their extra beds require in your closets. A properly sized vacuum bag with all of the air sucked out can help you better manage your pup's comfy pillows and beds. In order to prevent bacterial growth, be sure to thoroughly wash and dry your pet's bedding prior to putting it into a vacuum bag. If you want to ensure the freshest pet bed possible, you can try these baking soda hacks that pet owners swear by.