How To Get Your Apartment Organized

Getting your own apartment is exciting. You have the freedom to decorate it in any way you choose--to make it your own space and by extension, to define who you are.

The vast majority of apartments are not large, even though when you first view that empty space, you think you couldn’t possibly fill it up. But it doesn’t take much for an apartment to start feeling crowded. The trick to creating a comfortable and aesthetically pleasing apartment is to be very organized. There are clever ways to do that without sacrificing space.

Because space is at a premium, making everything in your apartment do double duty will free up a lot of space, and help you keep every room tidy. Having everything organized will also mean you know where everything is and you won’t waste hours of your time trying to locate anything you need.

If you don’t own furniture that can do double duty, plan on replacing the furniture you have with pieces that will help you organize your possessions:

• Sleeper sofa or futon that can be used as a sofa and a bed
• Hinged ottoman that can be used for storing magazines, books, and games
• Entertainment center with cabinets or drawers that can hold DVDs, CDs, remote controllers, and video games
• End tables and a coffee table that have drawers or shelves
• Pole lamps that have built-in shelves
• Book shelves

Kitchens are notoriously known for lack of cabinet and counter space. Use these organizational tips to keep your kitchen more spacious.

• Use plastic organizer racks so that you can more easily stack your dishes. Using a rack means you can stack dinner plates on the base of the cabinet and stack saucers or bowls on top of the rack. You’ll be able to easily access the dish you want. Racks can also be used to “double-stack” glasses.
• Buy dishes that nest, such as a set of bowls that all fit inside the other.
• Hang a spice rack on the inside of a cupboard door or on the wall near the stove.
• Use drawer organizers for all of your kitchen utensils, or hang the larger utensils on the wall nearest your cooking space.
• Hang coffee and tea mugs from cup hooks; screw the hooks underneath a cabinet, or hang a mug rack on the wall and hang all of your cups and mugs on it; this frees up space in your cabinets.
• Use a plastic cleaning caddy to store all cleaning supplies and dish soap. The caddies come in all sizes, you are sure to find one that fits underneath your kitchen sink.
• If possible, get a kitchen table that has one or more leaves that can easily be extended should you have company.

Bedrooms and closets in apartments are usually small, so organization is a must for this room.

• Use plastic storage tubs that can slide underneath the bed. You can also use cardboard boxes, but tubs with lids will keep everything dust-free. Use these to store seasonal clothes, shoes, and anything else that you don’t use on a daily basis.
• Hang double rods in your closet. You can buy a heavy duty spring rod and place it below the existing rod; hang shorter garments on the top rod.
• Use shoe racks or pocket organizers on the inside of the closet door. The ones with pockets are great not only for shoes, but socks, belts, caps, and other accessories.

Featured images:

•  License: Creative Commons image source 

Derek is blogging for BLNYC, an NYC apartment match site that helps people find the apartment of their dreams. He enjoys offering apartment tips, real estate help, and home decor advice.