Many folks feel that they don’t have enough space in their apartment home. How can we combat that feeling, start by taking a close look at what you have. Are there items you no longer need or use? These can be donated or discarded. Be sure to look for furniture that can give you storage space too. Although many apartment communities offer storage spaces in their buildings inquire about the cost for this service. Generally this is a wonderful way to have a place for the belongings you have that may be seasonal or used just a few times a year. Read our tips for making the Most of Storage Space in Your Apartment.
Making Space in the bedroom of Your Apartment
- You can put your bed on risers. This will create 6 to 8 inches of space underneath your bed. Use plastic storage boxes that slide under your bed to put clothing, shoes or off season clothing.
- In your closet, make use of the space above your closet shelf. There are stacking boxes that can fit here to extend your storage right up to the ceiling.
- The back of your bedroom door or closet door can be a storage area too. Using a shoe organizer helps to store shoes, jewelry, scarves, gloves and other small items. If you have 2 organizers you can place one above the other to create an entire door of storage.
- If you are buying a new headboard for your bed, look for one with built in shelving for storage. A headboard with built in side tables is a good option too.
Look for Ways to Maximize your Kitchen Storage Space
- Pots and Pans take up a lot of space. Invest in a ladder that can double as a pot rack. Lean it against the wall. All you need are some hooks and your pots are now on display rather than in a cabinet.
- Spices don’t have to be in a cabinet either. We’ve seen some cool magnetic spice racks at IKEA that you can easily attach to the area under your cabinets to store spices.
- Free up a draw that holds your utensils. Put them in a decorative basket or ceramic crock on your counter. Not only will they be more accessible when you are cooking but it puts your counter space to good use.
- An over the door shoe rack works in the kitchen too. Use it to store pantry items, cleaning products or cooking tools.
- Use baskets on open shelves to store pantry items. Avoid buying food in bulk.
- Sort through the items you never use and donate or sell them. Do you really need 4 salt and pepper sets? This will free up space too.
Storage Space in Your Living Room
- There are lots of furniture pieces that can serve as storage pieces. Try a few cute ottomans and coffee tables that have drawers for storage. Place your TV on a cabinet that has shelving for storage.
- Books look nice in a living room. Look for tall bookshelves to hold double the volumes. Use these for your cookbooks too. This will add to space in your kitchen.
- Many sofas have hidden compartments. This is a great place to store blankets, sheets and towels.
- Look for storage bins or baskets that will coordinate with your living room color scheme. These are great to store games, toys and stuffed animals.
The largest thing you can do to make more space for yourself is to look at all your stuff and keep only what you use and truly need. Correspondently a good rule of thumb is that if you haven’t used something for over a year, you probably don’t need it, lastly think about giving it to a friend to use, sell it or donate to a good cause.
Apartments Designed for the Way You Live
When you are apartment hunting think about what kind of furniture you have and the how it will fit into an apartment. If you plan correctly you can fit your belongings into your new place. If you someone who works from home choose an apartment that has space for your work space.
Need a spacious apartment to call home? Red Oak Apartments in Southern New Hampshire has many options for you to choose from. We even have space saving cloud bed apartments that add space as the bedroom/living room serve dual purposes. Many locations have on-site resident storage spaces to rent for a nominal fee to help you keep track of your belongings.