As your family grows, you may find yourself running out of room for all your stuff. You know what we mean – kitchen appliances, linens, books, knick-knacks, kids' toys, and more. There are a few savvy ways to find room for your family's expanding storage needs without making your home look too cluttered. Here are eight tips for creating room for all your necessities without sacrificing style.

1. Under-the-Bed Storage

One classic way to save space is to use the storage space under your bed. You can buy handy plastic storage containers made for this, with wide dimensions and only a few inches of height.

Of course, it's a pain (sometimes literally) to get the items in and out from under the bed, but it's a great solution for storing seasonal clothes and you'll only have to do it twice a year! Under-the-bed storage is a smart move if you don't have a closet spacious enough to keep all your clothing organized year-round.

2. Closet Hacks

The first closet storage hack you’ll want to consider is organizing your hanging clothes by height. When all the short skirts, blouses and other items are grouped together, you'll have room beneath for a shoe rack. There are also convenient cubbies that make it easy to stack shoes one atop the other.

Adding a short chest-of-drawers to the closet is another way to add room. This also provides a surface for hats, scarves, jewelry and other accessories.

3. Linen Closet Tip

Because these closets are often the “Tupperware cupboard" for linens, order is key. For starters, If your linen closet has widely spaced shelves, one simple trick for making more room is to fold towels and sheets tighter and stack them higher. This eliminates the wasted space above, leaving room for other items like bathroom supplies or makeup and hair products.

Keeping item-specific shelves (i.e. towels only, sheets only etc) is another way to organize your linen closet efficiently.

4. Storage for Shoes

A mud room is a joy when the weather outside gets nasty. If you don't have one, however, there's a workaround.

Place a short bench against the wall in the entry area of your home. Add a long, narrow tray underneath and use it to organize your outdoor shoes. Not only does it keep them out of the way and leave the floors and carpets cleaner, but you'll have a place to sit when putting on or removing your shoes.

5. Kitchen Clutter Buster

One way to organize under-the-sink clutter in the kitchen is to use a short curtain rod in the cabinet. Hang it halfway up and hook cleaner spray bottles there, leaving space below for dish soap, cleaning brushes and other kitchen supplies.

You can even use one section of the curtain rod for hanging wet dish towels to dry before throwing them in the towel bin. Group similar items together underneath, and store them in plastic tubs to make it easy to find what you need in a jiffy. Other kitchen storage hacks include utilizing wall space with additional shelving and incorporating spinning storage inside cabinets.

6. Bins to Eliminate Clutter

You want to find room for everything without making the house seem cluttered, and one good technique is to use bins. Instead of a coffee table, you can position an ottoman with a hinged lid in front of the sofa to store throw blankets and toys out of sight until you want to use them.

Pull the sofa a few inches from the wall and add a behind-the-sofa-table for drinks and other items. For hiding small toys, magazines, TV/stereo remotes and other clutter in the living room, try using decorative baskets.

7. Seasonal Storage

As we’ve all come to learn, garages are handy for storing a lot more than just our vehicles. That being said, it’s easy to max out storage space in the garage with a growing family.

Try storing extra items in the garage overhead. Built-in rails are a great garage storage solution as they can hold slide-in storage boxes for Christmas ornaments and other seasonal items. You can also consider building wide hanging shelves against one wall, just beneath the ceiling.

8. Sports Equipment and Tools

Installing a few pairs of heavy, anchored hooks in the ceiling will keep bikes up off the garage floor. Pegboards can also be the handy person's best friend. All of your tools and most of your yard equipment can hang from this sturdy board on the wall of the garage.

Depending on how much of a do-it-yourself type you are, there are plenty of hacks for adding additional storage space to your home. Of course, it would be a lot easier if you could just add more space without all the effort. In that case, it may be time upgrade to a larger home better suited to your changing needs.

A larger new home build will not only offer you more room to breathe but will help you maximize your storage space with options such as mudrooms, flex rooms, built-in shelving, walk-in closets and much more. Because a good builder will always work with you to meet your unique needs, this may be the perfect solution for you.

Photo credits: kitchen sink, linen closet, workshop