17 Smart Ways To Use Tension Rods Around Your House

collage of photos showing various uses for tension rods

Tension Rod Hacks For Every Room In Your Home

one-size-fits-all solutions don’t really help much when it comes to organization, because everyone’s homes and needs are different. It may require a bit of creativity to solve your specific organization problems, but lucky for us, there are plenty of useful tools out there that can make it easier.

Today we’ll be focusing on one of those tools that happens to be a personal favorite of mine: the tension rod. These inexpensive rods are extremely versatile, easy to install, and can be used to organize nearly any area in your home!

Related:  10 Easy Ways To Solve Your Worst Holiday Clutter Problem

Today I’ll be sharing 17 of the most creative and useful tension rods ideas for all around the house. (And if you have any tension rod ideas that aren’t mentioned here, please share them with us in a comment!)

Check out these tension rod hacks in action in the video at the bottom of the post!

children's artwork hanging from a tension rod

17 Clever Uses For Tension Rods

1. Display Artwork

Thread several curtain clips onto a tension rod to create a quick and easy gallery display anywhere in your home! Clip up photos, momentos, or your kids’ artwork to put them on display, and change them out as often as you like!

Related: 11 Surprisingly Useful Things You Can Do With Shower Rings

2. Organize A Closet

Pairing curtain clips with tension rods can work wonders in your closet, too. Clip up hats, clutches, belts, shorts, and even boots! Add one or several more tension rods to quickly add storage space to your closet without making any permanent adjustments.

Related: 7 Clever Way To Get More Organized By Thinking Like MacGyver

comb, brush, hair ties, headbands, bobby pins hanging from hooks on a tension rod

3. Organize A Bathroom

Tension rods can help add additional storage to a small bathroom. Hang headbands, brushes, necklaces, and hair ribbons, and more!

4. Tidy Up Your Shower

Doesn’t it always seem like there’s never enough space for everyone’s stuff in the shower? Add a tension rod across your shower to quickly increase your storage options! Clip up loofahs, washcloths, body brushes, and more. Not only will it give you more space in the shower, but hanging your shower things will help keep them dry and free of mildew.

wrapping paper hanging from a tension rod

5. Hang Wrapping Paper

Keep your gift wrapping supplies handy by hanging them from a tension rod with a few curtain clips. It makes it easy to see what kinds of wrapping paper you have on hand, and you can keep your scissors, tape, and ribbon at the ready too.

6. Organize Spices

Install a tension rod in your pantry as a place to hang packets of spices and other dry mixes. You can also hang bags of chips, pretzels, and other snacks to keep them up and out of the way.

storage under a kitchen sink including spray bottles hanging on a tension rod

7. Add Storage Under Your Sink

For more storage space, use tension rods for cupboards! Put up an inexpensive tension rod near the top of the cupboard under your sink. It’s the perfect place to hang cleaning products, spray bottles, and scrub brushes! Plus, getting spray bottles up off the bottom of the cupboard will free up valuable storage space for other items.

If you have larger/heavier spray bottles to hang, be sure to choose a sturdy tension rod that can stand up to the extra weight.

8. Make A Valance

All you need is a tension rod and a fabric jelly roll to create a unique and beautiful window valance! It’s a quick and easy project that makes a great addition to any room. Get the full instructions at the blog post below!

Related: How To Make A Shabby Chic Window Valance In Minutes!

kitchen utensils hanging from a tension rod over a stove

9. Hang Kitchen Utensils

Use a tension rod and a few shower rings to hang kitchen utensils and dish towels in your kitchen. It’s a functional storage solution, and it looks great too!

10. Organize Jewelry

Make a useful jewelry organizer with a tension rod and a few shower rings. Clip the rings onto the tension rod and hang necklaces and bracelets from the rings. You’ll never have to contend with another tangled mess of jewelry!

Related: How To Get Command Hooks To Stick Just About Anywhere

plastic containers in a drawer that's been divided by a tension rod

11. Divide Drawer Space

Deep drawers can hold a lot of stuff, but they can quickly become a chaotic mess. Install a tension rod in the drawer to separate and organized the drawer to help keep the chaos at a minimum. :-)

12. Makeover A Desk

Hate the way all those cords look hanging out from the back of your desk? Use tension rods to hang up a few simple curtains around the sides of the desk! They’ll keep the cords hidden away for a more organized look.

window awning made out of some fabric and a tension rod

13. Create A Window Awning

Inspiration from Musings from a French Cottage

Want to bring the breezy feeling of an outdoor cafe into your home? All you need is a couple of tension rods and a bit of fabric to create this cute indoor awning!

14. Store High Heels

Inspiration from Lifehacker

Struggling with storing your extensive shoe collection? (It happens to the best of us!) Aisha from Lifehacker found a brilliant solution for storing her high heels by installing a few tension rods! Just hang the shoes by their heels to keep them organized and off the floor.

bookcase with some shelves hidden by fabric hanging on tension rods

15. Hide Bookcase Clutter

Inspiration from Better Homes & Gardens

Modular shelving units are a versatile storage solution, but they can easily become a cluttered eyesore. But this idea from BHG is a brilliant way to hide the clutter for a more organized look! Just install fabric “shades” using small tension rods to block the clutter from view.

16. Install Pantry Dividers

Inspiration from Martha Stewart

Pantry shelves looking a bit chaotic? Install a few short tension rods vertically along your shelves. They’ll help you store cutting boards, serving platters, and other items up on their sides to free up more of that valuable shelf space.

bed skirt hanging from a tension rod

17. Make An Easy Bed Skirt

Inspiration from Seagrass Interiors

Hide the clutter under your bed by using tension rods to install a simple bed skirt. It’s an easy and affordable solution that can make a big difference in the look of your bedroom!

BONUS: How To Use A Tension Rod

To position a spring loaded tension rod, twist the inner rod counterclockwise to adjust the length until the rod is about 1″ longer than the space you want to put it in. Press one end against the wall, then position the other end of the rod against the opposing wall. Make small adjustments by twisting clockwise for less tension or counterclockwise for more tension until the rod is secure.

Do you use tension rods for storage or organization in your house?


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