5 Tips for Organizing Small Spaces
If you live in the Boston/Cambridge area, you’ve likely lived in some small or awkwardly-designed spaces. If you’ve rented in the area, then you definitely have. I currently live on the third floor of a three-family home, AKA in an attic. It’s honestly the perfect size for me, but it certainly came with some challenges to make it feel cozy and clutter-free. If you relate, read on for my best tips on how to tackle small spaces.
1. Only keep what you absolutely need
Time to purge! Look at your new space and see what will fit. If there are only four cabinets, you probably shouldn’t stuff them with all ten coffee mugs and that never-ending water bottle collection. Try picking two or three of your favorites of each, store the others away, and see if or when you find yourself needing more than that. If you’ve forgotten about the others, it’s time to say goodbye.
2. Make use of wall space
Shelves and hooks are your new best friend! Using wall space is very necessary in a tiny place. Get creative! Store hats on pegs instead of in your closet, hang oven mitts on hooks, and mount your vacuum or brooms on the wall to get them off the floor. I have a super small kitchen and ended up buying this pot and pan organizer that mounts to a wall to free up some cabinet space.
3. Use every inch, everywhere
We mean it! The back of every door, the back of kitchen cabinets, floor to ceiling shelving - it adds up and makes a big difference. We always recommend this Elfa over-the-door rack. We’ve transformed coat closets, cleaning closets, pantries and laundry closets with this easy to install item. Speaking of laundry, take a look at the spacing and consider shifting the machines to one side or stacking them. This frees up the excess space where we often add shelving or holders like these to hold brooms, mops, etc. We use these bins a lot too on the inside of kitchen and bathroom cabinets, great for bonus storage!
4. Be extra creative
Some other space-saving hacks I’ve used in my own apartment are using corner or floating shelves as nightstands, multipurpose furniture like an ottoman with storage, swapping out the bathroom mirror to one with a medicine cabinet, and using a magnetic spice organizer like this. If you’ll be staying for over a year, it’s worth the peace of mind to not live in chaos. A lot of custom changes like the nightstands and medicine cabinet my landlord has seen as an improvement for the home and agreed to pay for.
5. Declutter frequently
It’s a simple fact that people collect things. Even if you’re an aspiring minimalist, stuff accumulates over time. Gifts, mail, free things you couldn’t resist at an event; the list goes on. Set aside a Sunday once a month to go through your space and make sure you’re only keeping the necessities.
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