7 Clever Ways To Better Organize A Small Apartment

Having a small apartment can be many things. It can be cozy, it can be cramped, and it may even be a tad disorganized. It’s not easy keeping all your cherished items neat and tidy when you have limited space to work with!

But have no fear — we’re here to tell you it’s not impossible to arrange things in your small apartment in such a way that keeps it both orderly and functional.

How?

Read on to learn seven clever ways to better organize a small apartment.

1. Multi-Functional Furniture Is Your New BFF

When outfitting a small apartment, it’s crucial to buy furniture with a purpose. It has to look good and pitch in with the organizing!

How so?

Think headboards for your bed with cubbies in the bedroom. In your living space, opt for ottomans that have both comfy seating and a nifty storage space interior. Don’t forget about coffee tables and side tables that have shelves and drawers for storing your knicknacks.

If you have a mixed living/dining space, be sure to spring for a room divider. It will not only feel good to have clear divisions between each area, but it may become your favorite organizational opportunity.

Just check out this rattan folding room divider with built-in shelving. Utterly genius!

2. Incorporate More Shelves

If there’s one thing your small apartment has, it’s probably plenty of wall space. Utilizing this space is a simple way to make more room for organizational features.

For example, you can make use of bare corners by installing corner shelves. Make sure you have permission from your landlord before you install a corner shelf fixture. As great as they are, shelving isn’t worth forking over your security deposit at the end of your lease term!

Besides corners, you can add floating shelves above sofas, cabinets, and doorways to display decorative pieces and books. It’s a smart and unexpected way to make use of blank space while helping you organize.

3. Bare Back Of The Door No More

Even small apartments have a few doors! Use one side of your closet, bedroom, and bathroom doors as storage space.

Door racks offer instant installation and numerous hooks for holding several items at once.

A sleek over-the-door rack for the entryway closet door can help you organize your hats, umbrellas, coats, keys, and even shoes. It can also serve as a towel rack, so place one on the back of the bathroom door, too.

Don’t forget cabinet doors!

You can add a hanging caddy on the back of your below-sink kitchen cabinet doors to hold cleaning supplies. Or hang a mini trash can for garbage or composting.

4. Add Vertical Storage To Countertops

Maybe your countertops are already packed, but have you considered vertical storage yet?

Use countertop organizers in the kitchen, bathroom, on your work desk, and pretty much anywhere you’re short on tabletop space.

These multifaceted items have shelves, hooks, and cubbies. Now you can easily organize kitchen tools, office supplies, self-care products, and so much more.

5. Stock Up On Hooks

When organizing a small apartment, hooks may be the simplest and cheapest tool at your disposal.

Worried about your lease agreement and putting too many holes in the landlord’s walls?

You can install hooks on your own furniture, like on the side of your desk to hang reading glasses and scissors.

Command is famous for its removable adhesive hooks that allow you to turn bare spaces into superbly organized areas. Be sure you buy the right hooks for the job, though. You don’t want to use a dinky hook in the kitchen that drops and shatters your favorite coffee mug!

Along with permanent and adhesive hooks, try S hooks. S hooks traditionally secure your shower curtain to its rod, but you can also use them around your apartment for various organizing tasks.

You can also use regular hooks and S hooks to string up lanterns or fairy lights and hang flower baskets from walls and ceilings. You never know when you’ll find an opportunity to use them around your home!

6. Put A Rolling Cart Beside The Fridge

Many fridges have a gap alongside it and the kitchen wall. Others just have a blank space that leads to a dining area.

Maximize this space by adding a slim rolling rack. The best ones have wheels and handles, making it easy to pull in and out when it’s in use.

Load up the rack with your favorite spices, condiments, cooking sprays and oils, and pantry goods. Then take a step back and marvel at your kitchen organizational prowess.

7. Leaning Ladder Rack Hack

Leaning ladder shelves are trending for their cute style and space-saving capabilities. But they tend to be relatively wide along the bottom to support all the weight they hold.

If your floor is too cluttered for one of these, opt instead for a lightweight ladder — one with a slim profile top to bottom.

Sure, it can’t hold much on its own, but slap on a couple of the aforementioned S hooks and a basket on its top rungs, and you have a unique new storage system. Place this in the bathroom to hold towels and shower gel or store magazines and DVDs in the living area.

It frees up your floor while adding more space to store and organize your essentials.

Conclusion

Small spaces aren’t for everyone. But you can make yours less irritating to organize by using a few of the ideas above.

You can find all these items on the cheap by browsing online. That way, you can set aside some money for a bigger place next time!

But who knows, maybe you’ll love your small place so much, and enjoy keeping it organized, that it will become your sweet little forever home! 

Author Bio

Elaine Chavez is the Business Manager at 625 Broadway. With over eight years of experience in the industry, she begins and ends each day loving what she does. She is passionate about helping people find the perfect place to call home and shines at building a community that everyone is proud to be a part of.