There is nothing worse than clutter for spoiling an otherwise perfectly beautiful home. Too many ornaments occupying the shelves, piles of papers and magazines lying on the table, boxes and bags filled with all those bits and pieces that don't have a home, books overflowing on the book case and so on. Clearing up the clutter and transforming your home in the process needn't be a nightmare. If you think you haven't got enough storage space then think again. The following space saving tips and techniques will help you to change the look of your home and create a harmonious atmosphere that is not only pleasing to the eye but calming for the mind.

If you don't need it, ditch it

The first step would be to gather absolutely everything that you don't need and get rid of it. There is no point in hanging on to things that you haven't even looked at for several years, just in case one day you think you might. Invariably, you won't. It can be hard to let go of some items, particularly if you have a tendency to hoard things, but the sheer exhilaration of clearing out the junk is more than worth it. Give items away, donate them to charity, sell them at a car boot sale or take them to your local recycling centre. One mans trash is another man's treasure as they say so pass it on. You may be quite surprised at how much you can gather in only a few years so make a point of having a clear out regularly. It's well worth it.

Now that you've got rid of all the extras it's time to look at how you can display and store everything else.

Walls can be space savers

Walls are often underused when it comes to saving space. Just look at the amount of wall space there is in your home and start thinking about how this could be better used. For example, shelving is relatively inexpensive and yet a few corner shelves can be of immense value when it comes to finding a home for everything. Make your motto "a place for everything and everything in its place".

If everything has a place then of course it will be much easier to keep your home tidy and uncluttered. Shelves placed high up on the wall can be used for displaying items such as photographs, ornaments or plants or anything else that you want to be able to see but don't need to use. For items that you don't want to see, consider putting them behind a closed door in a cabinet or a cupboard.

If you have a flat screen television then why not consider having it mounted on the wall. Televisions and stands can take up a great deal of space in a room so having it on the wall not only saves space, it is easier to view too. Other items that can be wall mounted can include spice racks, soap dishes and dispensers, electrical equipment, shoe racks, just use your imagination.

Behind closed doors

Cupboards and cabinets can hide a multitude of sins but what you don't want is a cupboard that you're scared to open in case the contents spill out on top of you. You can buy clear storage boxes with lids very cheaply that you can then label with the contents and stack them on top of one another. This way, when you open the cupboard to put something away you will know where it belongs and it won't be a nightmare, or a health risk.

Using the furniture

If you are choosing new furniture spare a thought for any space saving aspects it might have. For example, a coffee table with a couple of drawers, a bed that can accommodate under the bed storage, a display cabinet with closed cabinet space too. If your current table has space underneath it, think about investing in a good quality tablecloth that reaches the floor, not only will this act as an attractive feature in your room, it can hide videos or CDs or anything else for that matter underneath.

Other ideas

There are always ways to maximise the use of available space in any room no matter how small it is. Take a look round your home and identify any area that can be better utilised. Look above eye level to the ceiling and below to the floor, and remember to look underneath pieces of furniture too. You will be pleasantly surprised at the amount of wasted space you already have and when you've made the effort to rectify this, you can sit back and enjoy your new and uncluttered surroundings.