With no end in sight for the housing crisis and increasing pressure on Brits to downsize to more affordable homes, research from Boxman today shows how wasted space is actually costing households across the UK huge sums of money.

Indeed, with the typical British home measuring 96.8 meters[i] and costing £177,299[ii], Boxman today reveals that the cost of the average home (per square meter) amounts to a whopping £1,832. With Brits having an average of 16.58 square meters[iii] of non-utilised space in their homes, British households are collectively throwing away £802 billion[iv] annually.

Having investigated the ways Brits typically use space in their homes, Boxman can now reveal the extent to which Britain’s lack of industriousness at home takes its toll, with 90% of respondents claiming that their living standards have been seriously reduced due to living in an overcrowded and cluttered home.

But with many British households having enough free space to accommodate a standard double bedroom, it’s clear that most simply need to rearrange their homes or store unused items off site to create more space – this made apparent by the 51% that claimed that they regularly misplace items because they forgot where they stored them.

Revealing their appetite for utilising their space more practically, a third (29%) of respondents claimed that if they had an extra room, they would create one either to rent to a lodger or to accommodate visiting guests. Revealing the entrepreneurial ambitions rife amongst many Britons, 2 in 10 (20%) said they would utilise the space to create a home office.

Perhaps confirming a number of ancient male stereotypes, men were 50% more interested in creating a space for an au pair, with 7% claiming they would like to erect a bar.

Paul Stricker, Founder and Managing Director of Boxman, comments:

‘It’s been well publicised that Britain’s homes are the smallest in Europe, but it’s apparent that homeowners and renters in the UK aren’t making the most of the space they do have. It’s of course highly unlikely that most people have enough free space to create a whole extra room, but there are many alternative ways to creating more, such as throwing out clutter that is rarely used, adopting a more minimalist lifestyle or by putting things into storage with services like Boxman.

‘We have worked out that the average British home has around £30,000 worth of space that they aren’t utilising, which essentially equates to them throwing money down the drain. We estimate that it takes around 10 Boxman boxes to clear out a room completely. This equates to £1.50 a day, which is less than buying a cup of tea – meaning that Brits could actually be getting more from the cost of their property by housing unused items offsite. For anyone interested in freeing up space or making some money by renting to a lodger, there is a genuine opportunity for Brits to bring in additional income by making use of the space they are currently wasting.’