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Less is more and major organization. We have about 1,700sq ft., up from our previous 900sq ft. When we moved all of our old stuff into the new place it felt, and still feels empty! We had to buy a few pieces of furniture, but that's it.

Maybe you should do a big summer cleaning and get rid of old clothes, old toys and anything else you don't really use. Sell or give away furniture you don't like or need. Have a garage sale if you can!

I stopped hoarding things like the ones you mentioned and it's definitely a good feeling to be free of a bunch of junk. We still have a few areas that need to be tackled, but I feel like our place feels very spacious.

I also compartmentalize, but first, I like to see what I have, and then buy the containers. You know which ones I am obsessed with...the Martha Stewart canvas pop up cubes that you can get at Home Depot. They're less than $7 per piece and they are fabulous. I need to get another dozen or so, because I use them everywhere, especially for small stuff and also when we travel.

Here's a home tour of a family of 4 in a 500 sq ft apartment!
http://ohhappyday.com/category/my-home/

I would first recommend taking inventory of all the categories of stuff that you have (gift wrap, linens, medication, toilet paper, etc) and then find a useful storage area that stuff in that category would go (linen closet, master closet, under the bed, etc). Then figure out how much space you can reasonable afford to dedicate to that purpose. Then - even if something is on sale - only buy it if you have room to store it in it's designated category. Don't let it overflow to another place.

You have to make sure you are using the things you buy and not just building up a stockpile. Things will always go on sale again, so you just have to have enough to get you to the next sale.

I think part of the trick is thinking creatively about storage- for example in a former apartment we used our laundry room as a master closet and the master closet (which was really awkward) as over flow storage for luggage, extra paper goods etc. If you have the space it wouldn't be unreasonable to keep extra office things and filing in a child's room. I know a family who bought an armoire for their daughter and the Mom uses the closet pin the daughter's, room. They love picking clothes together in the morning!

I used to really struggle with the "what if I need it someday" mentality. Honestly, the biggest help was that our financial situation changed but it helped when I tried boxing up things that were in that gray area for me. I would revisit it 6 months later and I could usually get rid of half without remorse.

I love flylady's tactic of the "27 fling boogie" where you go through and get rid of 27 things. I have no clue why she picked that number but it is not daunting and I can usually do that a few times a week. Trash and donations both count. Try doing it in each room of the house.

Finding resources for things you sorry of want to get rid of helps too. The library has books and DVDs so thin your collections. If your family out a friend has lots of things for entertaining ditch some of yours. Also, many kids are ruthless when it comes to thinking their toys, explain you will donate them to help the less fortunate and they will probably chose to get rid of twice as much as you. Likewise get a friend to help you go through your closet and kitchen. If you are embarrassed for them to see your collection of holey tshirts that you are keeping "just in case" it might make you think twice about keeping them

@T.H.O.U.: I like her approach, it helps me get on track. I love having a list and she breaks things into chunks. Good luck!

We have a split level home with 3 bedrooms (1200 plus basement) for me it is all about organization and doing a deep purge every year. Everyone gets in that mood when you want to "reduce and eliminate" well take it to the exterme and do it. Get rid of those old decorations you will never use again, serveware you got for your wedding still in the box, get rid of it, ect! It's a great feeling, I promise

I would say get rid of anything you haven't used in a year. Unless it's baby stuff you're saving for the next one. DH has the same philosophy as you - buy stuff and keep it around just in case it comes in handy. We're reconfiguring our house for the baby, and I've made him seriously reconsider all the stuff he's been holding on to.

I also think it can help to limit yourself space-wise for certain things. I had DH buy a big tub to put all his mementos in (things that were sitting in boxes) and he can fill up the tub with whatever's most important, but once stuff stops fitting, he needs to eliminate things. Maybe do something similar for all the stuff you tend to hoard. Find a reasonable amount of space and limit yourself to that.

1> Store off season clothing in luggage. Luggage needs to go somewhere, now it's useful. (Use damprid or dryer sheets to keep things from smelling musty.) When I "pack and unpack" anything that was not used the whole entire season gets donated.
2> Bed risers and extra long bedskirts gives you extra storage under the beds. Large rubbermaid tubs fit now instead of the flatter under bed containers. (Now, so does your luggage )
3> Buying the extra slim velvet hangers doubled our closet space.
4> Every single closet door has some type of rack or hooks on the back (Coat closet over the door shoe pockets=hat, mitten and scarf organizers. Bathroom closet over the door shoe pockets=sunblock, lotion, extra toiletries organizer) We also put hooks on any free wall space in closets to hang things out of the way.
5>In a couple of closets we were able to install an additional higher shelf closer to the ceiling for rarely used things (Just label them clearly so you can tell what is in the box before you go through the trouble of getting it down.)
6> Everything should have more than one purpose. If you have two things that do the same thing, get rid of one of them. (No need for two vacuums, etc.)

We have 900 sq ft and honestly I feel it's a good amount of space for us. I do wish we had an extra closet because as a result our bedroom has turned into storage as well which isn't all that pretty or romantic.

It does force us to be less cluttered. We had to do weekly or monthly declutter sessions where we just go through stuff in a given room and get rid of it. It's actually really nice to be forced to live more minimally instead of just shoving everything in a box and putting it into a closet. All of our space is precious space that we need, so we try to maximize it.

We tend to think more along the lines of what are essentials for home living, and what do we not really need? When making furniture or purchases for the home, it's easier to be accountable because we ponder purchases and where we'll put it for months before taking the plunge.

I am a crafter/DIY etc so it's important I keep craft stuff and that's probably my biggest amount of clutter. I had about three boxes full of scrapbooking, sewing, stamps etc and it's sitting in the corner of my room. I really want to get decorative storage options like a trunk... but still looking for the right one!

We live in a split level home and storage is a major issue for us, we've had to get creative with storage solutions!

- we pack away summer/winter clothes and store them in the attic
- all Xmas/Halloween/holiday decor are stores in bins in the garage
- wrapping paper & gift bags are on a shelf in the crawl space in our basement. Some is in my office.
- we installed closest systems in the bedrooms
- bookshelves + baskets + ikea = amazing. I love ikea!

@bamblm: Even though we are not short on space, I am able to store some of my luggage together like a nesting doll set. I also use the larger, less used pieces for storage, too.

I am also in the process of finding/ creating an over-the-door spice rack to save storage space in the pantry/ cabinets . . . every little bit helps!

For me it comes down to stuff you need vs stuff you want or have just collected. We don't collect stuff!

We have 2 adults, a 20 month old, and a labrador living in 760 sq feet... It's tight, but it works! (Do I win a prize for having the smallest home in this thread?)

@Bamblm had great suggestions. And a lot of the stuff we do to make 760 sq ft work has already been mentioned.

For us, the biggest thing is really thinking through what is a "need" vs. what is a "want". We also do a big purge about once a year, and we think hard about bringing in any new thing. Where would it live? Would we use it often? Is there a smaller version available that works just as well?

We also have a storage shed, and a large laundry/utility room, and those 2 things are really the main reason we're able to make this house work.

Last thing-- IKEA!!! I was stressed about how we were going to fit a new baby in our old apartment (700 sq ft, 1br), but we spent some time at Ikea, got some ideas, and it worked out well.

Following this one! We have an 1800sqft home but the rooms are small & award, there is little to no storage & we only have 2 legal bedrooms. We will make it work for the twins while they are young but I'm worried about storage!

@red_seattle: YES on Ikea-I got lots of ideas from them, even if I buy the things elsewhere.

1400 sq ft sounds like a lot of space to me! I grew up in NYC and we didn't move into a 2BR (800 sq ft) until my sister and I were in HS.

Layout is more important than sq footage. Stop hoarding (wouldn't the $5 you spend on discount gift bags look better in your bank account? there are always gift bags on sale somewhere). Wall mount as much as you can (hooks are awesome). Try to buy things that do double duty. Always be tidying up.