Small Apartment Tips

Living in a small apartment is nothing more than an exercise in priorities and organization to put a point on it. Stuff fills available space. If you have too much room you probably have a lot of things that you really don’t need. If you’re living space is small say 400 to 800 square feet you need to become adept at organization and utilizing every square inch including your wall space. Let’s touch on a few prioritizing points before we get into organization.

Living in an apartment means that you do not have to worry about the exterior circumstances that develop like snow, raking leaves, etc. so things like snow shovels rakes and those type of items are not necessary. So put that out of your mind. Then there are other things that you do not have to take ownership of, but you may need from time to time. This could include a carpet cleaner or scrubber, a dehumidifier for the summer months, and possibly a humidifier, and such for the winter months. All of these items can be rented. Going beyond that, have you ever gone into a home and seen piles of books and magazines? Somehow people feel that these give them a connection to the past of some sort, and there’s always the thought that I’ll read the other articles when they get to it down the road. But generally speaking, they sit there gather dust and wait to be disposed of. Believe it or not there are places called libraries where you can access almost every single magazine and newspaper and book in the world and when you’re done they stay in the library. Also there’s a huge range of books, magazines, etc,. available online and there are digital devices for being able to view them. All of this reduces clutter and makes more space available for the really important things.

Next you need to look at furniture. Big bulky overstuffed sofas, love seats, and such are definitely out. Slim Scandinavian type furnishings that have stick legs and have a modern look and are space efficient are probably a good choice. Even something like substituting small end tables for a coffee table, which sits in pretty much the middle of the floor and takes up a lot of space, will go a long way towards making the room more livable and making the available space more workable. Another space hog is a stand alone television. With today’s inexpensive and very viewable flat screen televisions it’s simply a matter of mounting the television on a wall with a wall mount bracket to get it up off the floor and out of the way so that it frees up additional space. Utilizing wall mirrors, especially large ones, is another great idea. Although they do not expand the square footage, they certainly give the impression of increased space and roomyness. Another good idea is to use folding tray tables in place of end tables and coffee tables. When not in use these can be conveniently put off to the side or in a closet. Organization of storage space is another important element for making a small living area workable. In this respect no stone should go unturned as there are numerous organizational and storage opportunities. Even in a relatively small space you should never neglect spaces above furniture, the backs of doors, corners, closet opportunities, and storage underneath sofas and beds. Here we should touch on just a few things that can make small apartment life much more manageable. It’s hard to imagine somebody in a small apartment not having some of the basic cleaning tools. This of course would include a mop and a broom. These can be clumsy and awkward things to store. Stuffing them under a bed is probably not the best idea because that negates using this storage area for more important items. The best thing to do is to have an organizational rack that will hold these securely against a wall or behind a door, someplace that’s out of the way and keeps them vertical and secure so they don’t become clutter is a great idea. There are numerous racks that can do this and one that we like the best is made by Tech Team https://techteamproducts.com/ Their Item Number 720 https://www.amazon.com/TECH-TEAM-Cleaning-Hardware-Included/dp/B07CV2H2X9/ref=sr_1_34?ie=UTF8&qid=1539524698&sr=8-34&keywords=tech+team and it’s the perfect item. It’s a neutral gray color, mounts directly to a wall to the back of a door, and securely holds mops, brooms, and other long handle items in place.

Another area to look at is laundry. Typically, in a small apartment you will not have a washer and dryer which means you’re going out someplace else to have laundry done and invariably you’re going to have to put money into the washing machine and dryer to get the job done. You absolutely must use the washing machine to get the clothes clean. But as far as a dryer is concerned, putting the extra money and using energy, which is environmentally objectionable, and having to wait the additional time for the drying process to take place can all be avoided by drying your clothes in your apartment. This can easily be accomplished by using a drying rack which is available from big box retailers such as Wal-Mart, Target, and online from retailers like Amazon. Sticking garments on hangers and hanging them from the shower curtain rod or using a retractable clothesline which is a neat little device that has a nylon line that retracts into an attractive canister and can be pulled for as far as 15 feet to anchor in a bracket on an opposing wall are great ideas. They give you a line that can be used only when you need it and then retracted to become almost invisible when you don’t. Once again these are made by numerous companies and are available at retailers such as Wal-Mart and Target in their housewares department, or you can buy them online. The one we like the best is made by Tech Team https://techteamproducts.com/ Item number 758 https://www.amazon.com/Tech-Team-Retractable-Clothesline-Hardware/dp/B07JMWDKQH/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1550178391&sr=8-1&keywords=tech+team+retractable+clothesline It’s an attractive item, it’s priced fairly, and it does an absolutely excellent job.

Now there’s another area that you need to take a hard look at and that is under the bed. A king size takes up a lot of room but also affords a lot of space underneath it if you use the space creatively. The key here is to raise the bed high enough so that you can access workable space underneath it, and to do this you can use a bed riser. The riser is a device that we place under each one of the feet of the bed and elevates it anywhere from 4 to as many as 12 inches. There is a huge variety of risers available, one of the ones we like the best is made by Tech Team https://techteamproducts.com/ Their item number 740 https://www.amazon.com/TECH-TEAM-Reinforced-Standard-Installation/dp/B07D4358F2/ref=sr_1_80?ie=UTF8&qid=1539524785&sr=8-80&keywords=tech+team This is an inexpensive very practical way to raise your bed. Simple remove the existing feet or casters and install this riser and it will elevate the bed four inches. It is constructed of attractive plastic with a steel reinforcing band. The extra height will provide enough extra room to give you additional storage options. There are a lot more ideas for making the space in a small apartment more useful and workable but we’re running out of time here.