Having a small apartment means you have an opportunity to get creative with your storage solutions. Integrating your storage into your decor and styling it throughout your space can make for fun, easily accessible storage.
If you find you don’t have a lot of counter or cabinet space, utilize the walls in your kitchen! Hang your spice racks and utensil holders. The ceiling can be the perfect place to hang pots and pans, rather than shove them into your cabinets.
If your rental unit allows the installation of a pot rack, go for it! If your kitchen has windows over the sink, you can purchase suction-cupped shelving that attaches to the window, and can hold soaps, utensils, or other commonly used items. That small bit can free up an entire drawer for something you use less frequently.
There is only so much you can stack upwards in your kitchen cabinets. A great way to utilize space and keep things organized is to purchase risers. Risers can allow you to put plates underneath, with bowls on top—without toppling all of your dishes as you grab them.
You can also organize your pantry, or lack thereof, by placing cans and jars underneath, with lighter bags and boxes atop some cabinet risers. Take these from Target, for example, they easily blend into the background and your cabinets will look so sheik and organized.
Apartment bathrooms may end up suffering the most when it comes to not having adequate storage. So it’s important to utilize what space you do have and make the most of it. Purchasing an over-the-toilet shelf is a great way to utilize unused space.
You can find them in white, chrome, wood—whatever your heart desires! Use that space to roll up towels for easy access from the shower, or extra toiletries like toilet paper, kleenex, or makeup.
To keep things clean and decluttered, simply add some small baskets or plastic organizers on the shelving to keep things neat and tidy! You’ll be able to save your cabinets and bathroom closet, if you have one, for things you don’t access on the regular.
Storage in and around your bed can be your best friend. Especially if you live in a studio apartment, where your closet may be used for both clothes and other storage, find yourself a bed frame that either has or allows for under the bed storage. Whether it be built-in drawers or containers you can slide underneath, that space is often completely underutilized for storage.
You can also put a cube or box shelf behind your headboard, or at the foot of your bed. It can help divide your room, but also make your headboard a dresser with pull-out box storage that doesn’t need its own wall space!
A lot of people who live in studio apartments may have a nice see-through shelving unit at the end or on the side of their bed. It can be multi-functional as a side table, clothes storage, or even a room divider with a place to put your favorite knick-knacks.
If you’re going to have a room divider, you may as well make it shelving so you can add even more storage to your apartment, while also making it functional. IKEA makes some super affordable, easy to assemble cube storage units that come with an array of inlets and drawers that can go in each cube. Or leave them open and keep them organized yourself!
If you didn’t see the adorable Netflix series “Tidying Up with Marie Kondo”, you missed out on an ingenious way to fold your clothes. You can watch a video on her basic folding method here.
There is a method of folding clothes that not only takes up less space but allows you to open your drawer and see everything in it with ease. Folding t-shirts, for example, would have the logo or design on top, and the shirt actually stands upright, rather than lying flat. When storing things it’s always a good idea to store vertically, rather than horizontally. This leads us to our next storage idea.
For the most part, your apartment may not have the floor space for storage, but it definitely has higher ceilings! If you have a pantry or closet, for example, install more shelves so you can continue storing less-used items above everything else.
In the kitchen, utilize the tops of the cabinets with cube storage units—you can always use a step ladder. Hanging pot and pan holders, and using pegboards to store small utensils or measuring cups keeps them out of your drawers and cabinets, freeing up space for other less-used items.
If you are able, store your bikes or scooters up off the ground. You can purchase easy-to-install hooks that can hang your light road bike on the wall or upside down on the ceiling. However, many apartments do come with storage units that can allow you to easily store your bike out of your foyer.
In your small apartment, you probably have one or two closets that could legitimately be used for storage instead of an outside storage unit. You can keep things like seasonal items or clothing that you would like access to, but don’t necessarily need all the time.
Purchase storage bins—for everything. Using clear storage bins, with easy-to-read labels on the outside will allow you to stack as high as you need, while still being able to stay organized and have easy access to the things you need.
The options are endless when it comes to fun DIY projects for small storage. We’ve seen some pretty unique ways people have utilized their small space and would love to see what you come up with! So check out Pinterest, check out home magazines and blogs, and get creative! All of our apartments include floor plans so you can brainstorm your storage solutions before you ever move in—check them out here.
