Like most people, I live in an apartment. Always being on the go means that things must be readily accessible around The House. Living in a smaller space, also means that things must be tidy and organized. What are some items that make your life easier? Where do you buy them? How do you get the best price? Please share your thoughts... Thank you very much!
My husband and I lived in an apartment for five years before purchasing our first home. I must admit, we miss having the ability to call the apartment handy man if something went wrong, instead of shelling out the time and money to fix something on our owned home! I found that the best way to save money on organizational items for our apartment was by shopping at stores like Big Lots and Family Dollar. These stores have many different types of laundry baskets, ironing boards, wall hanging organizers, under-the-bed storage containers, closet organizers, and bathroom organizers to choose from, and they are generally inexpensive. Living in an apartment usually means less storage space, so I recommend utilizing door-hanging organizers and coat racks, as well as under-the-bed storage containers (which can also be stored under the couch or futon). Also, when shopping for furniture, look for furniture that also provides storage, such as an end table that also acts as a cupboard, or a coffee table that can store items underneath. Also, to save money on lamps, furniture, artwork, and organizational items, shop thrift stores!
I make sure the furniture is the right size to fit the apartment. This seems like it should be obvious, but I've known a couple of people that had a huge sectional sofa or big dining table in a small apartment. I just live with my daughter, so a loveseat is plenty big enough for us, we don't need a massive sofa. Another way to have more space in a small apartment is to buy bed risers. They are little feet that lift your bed frame up a few inches so that you can fit storage totes and boxes under your bed. A bedskirt hides everything you have under there. Plus, a high bed looks more expensive and romantic.
Ikea is another good place to get what you need in an apartment. When my son recently got his first apartment...he furnished most of it from Ikea. He is good at building things so he and his girlfriend bought furnishings and put it together. They have all sorts of things needed for the home, and good prices a well. I would go there first if I was going to furnish and Apartment. Walmart, Target and Bed, Bath and Beyond are good as well.
Using furniture in your home that serves two purposes is one way to say organized in a small apartment. Storage is always an issue in a small place. Another thing is to remember to throw out what ever you are not using. You do not have room to storage or hold onto things that serve no purpose. Learning to make things that you buy work during something else helps also, like sing containers that food comes in for storage in your refrig instead of purchasing a set of bowls that are going to take up valued room.
My sofa bed is what I consider one of my better purchases for my apartment. I've always been hesitant about these things but some are well made that it's at least a little bit comfortable in both forms. I worried mostly about these things not being comfortable either as a sofa or a bed because from experience I find that things that try to be too many things end up being too mediocre in all of them, but modern sofa beds are actually pretty nice and well built and designed actually so I consider myself a convert and now I would recommend it to most people.
I think a sofa bed is essential, tables that fold up and chairs that stack or fold up. A toaster oven or microwave are handy too, if the kitchen is small. I had a small apartment and in the kitchen I would hang as much as I could due to small cupboard space. I bough the hooks and wire from Ikea and hung pots, mugs and anything with a handle on. I also bought over the door hooks to hang things on like towels in the bathroom and the bedroom. It keeps things neat without having to drill holes.
Ditto on buying smaller sized furniture that is appropriate for an apartment. Go with sleeker, low profile couches and chairs that will work better in smaller spaces. It will also make it much easier to move in and out of your apartment. That was one of the big mistakes I made when I first moved out. I bought a big, puffy, deep sofa and love seat set that, although comfortable, was near impossible to get up several flights of steps, let alone through the doorways. We had to take the wooden legs off the bottoms of the couches, and it was still a near impossible fit. Then, once we did get it all in, along with the coffee tables and end tables, there was barely enough room to walk around them all. Fortunately, now that flat screen TV's are the norm these days, you don't need a huge entertainment center either, and can save a lot of space by simply mounting the TV on your wall. Closet organizers are easy to install (some apartments already come with them these days) and they work really well to fit a lot of stuff into small closets. But beware, because they actually work a little too well, and when it comes time to move again, you will be shocked at how many boxes of stuff you will be packing out of them. Try to get into the habit of regularly cleaning out your closets and cupboards, getting rid of stuff you don't really need or use. You don't need large appliances meant for a house either - a simple low profile stick vacuum is often just fine for your carpets and floors and won't take up much space. Pair down the appliances on your counter as well. If you don't really drink coffee that often, for example, don't bother with a coffee pot. Maxwell House actually makes coffee in individual "tea bags" now, so you can just warm it up in the microwave in a cup of water. If you don't have a dishwasher, avoid recipes with lots of pots and pans, so cleanup is easier afterwards. Dollar Tree is great for household cleaning products - you can't really beat paying only a buck for each of those items, such as window cleaner, all purpose cleaner, fabric softener sheets, dish detergent, etc... You can also save money by brewing your own iced tea instead of drinking soda. A box of iced tea bags is like $2 and will make 6 gallons of tea. Plus you're not having to lug cases of soda into your apartment, and have trash cans full of 2 liter soda bottles or cans. I was blowing about $10 a week on pop, vs. like $4 a month I spend on tea.
I live in a house, but it's a small house, and there's very little storage space. Almost every door has a hanging system, whether it's for towels, robes, shoes, purses, etc., because the closets end up being used for other things, such as holiday decorations, suitcases, etc. I do have a high bed that I need stairs to get up onto, so there's plenty of room under there for fairly large rubber/plastic containers, or even a trundle bed, if I wanted one. I don't have storage benches or ottomans, but I do have room under my benches to store some items in containers. One thing I like about this house is that the ceilings are high, so I've learned that tall thin chests help with organization. I have a small CD holder in the front hall that I use for shoes, library books going in/out of the house, items that will be coming up or down stairs, and another CD holder in the bathroom that holds 5 rolls of toilet paper in a compact and attractive way.
It was probably in the late 90s, size of newly built decreased, while size of furniture increase, particularly when it comes to manufacturing bulky sofas with a suppose approach of increasing comfort; to have a sofa the width of a bed, I'd better use to bedroom, supposing I would have a bulky bed. I must say that I lived in the large mansion of my parents until five years ago, what means a whole life living in there, and therefore wanting to have my own space into their home in the inability then to move away. So that and while living there, I transformed my bedroom into a studio apartment, and therefore I learned the basics that today serve me to have an efficient home living actually alone in a small loft-style apartment. Back in time, first thing I did was taken out my old bedroom bed and got into a stylish hide-a-bed sofa looking much like this, which adjustable back could be reclined or make it flat to lie down, and having storage space for bedding underneath the seat cushion Today is pretty hard to find something that isn't monstrously big, I foundLog In, which is the largest investment I have made to furnish my new home, but doing the trick saving both physical and visual space because is flat and serves the dual purpose of being the main feature in my living room area, but my bedroom space by night. Other than this $350 sofa from Amazon, all my other furniture have come for free, whether from neighbors discarding them or found in my way down the streets, but yet selecting only light, folding furniture, if not reusable stuff that has been converted into furnishing things, like those milk plastic crates often abandoned outside the farmers market. From my experience, the best you can do when having a small space is giving it visual space to look bigger, and this is usually achieved with the aid of folding items, dual-use items and, above all, light colors and slim lines, characteristic of minimalist decoration.
It was a huge decision for me to downsize my beautiful library to one large bookshelf. But since making the decision to 'go green' meaning to have more of our books on e-book format, I have not regretted it. I guess I should say I have rarely regretted it. I love a big library and my books are precious to me. But the reality of it is when you have a small apartment like we do, it becomes a huge waste of space and an even bigger dust collector. Much like an adoption agency, I made sure to find an appreciative heart to take my lovely library. But afterwards I have tried not to look back and even harder is not to collect more!
Ah! that's another point that is nowadays making possible to live in small apartments and yet make them comfortable. and with all what we need on hand; the digital era. I had a large bookshelf in the past, holding magazines, books, newspapers, and a ton of printed recipes I got from here and there Today, I have a shelf hanging on the wall, which has less than a dozen of books; those which are my very, very favorites to have them in print and virtual version. Everything else is in digital format. Similarly I had literally thousands of movies (Beta/VHS/DVD) and vinyl records, which occupied a whole room in my parent's home, and to which I gave up for their digital version, which occupy a small external hard drive on my desktop, and yet there is space for more.
If you are even a little bit handy, you can make some great stuff. Pallet furniture and shelving comes to mind. You get lots of wood for very little money. The best part is that you can use a large part of each pallet as is, in a lot of cases, or cut down a section leaving most of intact. It's simple furniture, yet solid. You can create the perfect size for your space. You can often get pallets for around $3 or sometimes even free. Check out Pinterest for some really great ideas on what to build and also for tips on how to select good pallets.
I just had a small area at my living room where I wanted it to be made tidy with the necessary furniture's alone rather than making it messy by simply buying in all the unwanted things and crowding up the area. This is when I had called up a professional in town who could help me out with the right furniture's at the right place and believe me, they charge their products somewhat reasonable and it is almost affordable by all. If u stay in Canada, you can approach them through,Log In
I like prices at Walmart for appliances unless there's a sale at CVS/Longs on an item I need. Furniture Walmart online has surprising low prices and free mail delivery when you buy over I believe it's $50 now. Only thing is the furniture can be flimsy, so check reviews on items you want to purchase. Food I like our weekly sales of local supermarkets we have. They are online like Safeway, CVS and Walgreens all have weekly sales, all need cards to take advantage of some sale prices and get points with for cash to pay at register for your Walgreens card. All free cards, all have online accts. for more coupons too. Check online for your favorite supermarket and see if they've weekly ads. Clothes if you don't mind second hand the cheapest is thrift stores. Walmart has pretty good prices to on clothes and food.
I find there are so many kitchen appliances that are bulky and take up space. You can find items they have multiple uses. I have one of those in door grills. I love it. It can easily cook meat on it, make paninis or even waffles. They have machines for each one of those but it is a waste to get all three. Another great item is the glass storage containers. Not only can you keep left overs in them but you are able to cook in them as well. These items save a ton of space.
We had rented an apartment for 2 years and I'd say I am lucky that we have our house now because we have saved money instead of paying the rent which is not ours. But in fairness to the apartment, any maintenance is the responsibility of the landlord. Like the big rats that were inhabiting the ceiling, the owner had to hire the pest control to get rid of the more than 10 rats. And maybe another good thing is the concern of the landlord for us, they have treated us like a relative.
Make use of wall space. Cabinets, shelves and anything else within immediate reach. Most places like Target and Ikea sell sets that are easy to assemble and cost little. There is a store called AKI Home that is really good for finding shortcuts that make apartment living easier. This company is based out of Japan and the average Japanese home is small so the layout are made to accommodate a lot of items,
What are some items that make your life easier? I also live in a small house, it's almost like just two rooms put together. Anyway, I think having a divider is a great way to maximise space. You can close it when there are guests in the house and open it when you want to the house to be spacious. I'd also suggest a bed with some drawers underneath it. This is certainly handy because it's a space-saver and at the same time, the design looks quite good. Instead of standalone electric fans, try ceiling or wall fans. This way, they are out of the way and you can save space. Where do you buy them? I usually just buy them at our hardware store, furniture store and department store. How do you get the best price? I try to buy them when they're at a discounted price.
I am an interior designer since 2012. My favorite fabriks and all furniture brands are all from the USA and of course from Italy. Italian brands are also very elegant and have a very stylish model and color. So, here are my tips : -You must use a sofa-bed instead of a bed; - Use light colors, longitudinal stripes and mirrors to expand the room; - Make the hidden shelf in the closets. And as already Vera sad I recommend you this nice shop where you can buy a sofa-bed with fashionable and universal colorLog In
