With the recent increase in rent prices, many tenants have decided to move on to a different area or change properties. A steady trend shows that more and more people are choosing to downsize when moving properties to keep or improve their quality of life.
This, combined with the work from home, the rapidly increasing amount of household items, and new and better products that make our lives easier, certainly leaves people struggling to find space for everything.
So how do you create and maintain space in a small rental apartment?
Declutter as Much as Possible
The easiest way to ensure you have enough space for all your belongings is to have fewer items that you keep. Let’s face it, there are numerous things just lying around that you don’t need or use but keep just in case.
Luckily, the end of your tenancy is the best time to declutter. Go through your belongings and only pack things you like or plan on using. Anything extra that you have kept for the sake of having it, you can donate, sell, or just throw in the bin.
Getting rid of all those unnecessary items will free up a tremendous amount of space in your new home and give you better access to the things you use. It will save you money on removals, and if you use expert end of tenancy cleaners, the whole process will be much easier.
Use Vertical Space
Now that you have managed to get rid of all unwanted or unused items, it is time to set up your space properly to fit in as much as possible.
When you move into a smaller apartment, you first notice the limited floor space, especially once you bring in your furniture. To make the most out of what you work with, you should explore the vertical area of the property.
What does that mean, you may ask?
It means that you have vast amounts of unused space on your walls. You can hang, store, and arrange things out of your way. You can install hangers on the walls to keep small or light items that will otherwise take up important space.
Floating shelves are another great idea. They can pretty much be installed anywhere on the property, allowing you to store books, magazines and toys.
Use boxes with similar shapes or sizes to store away your things. This will allow you to stack them on top of each other safely without risking something falling and breaking. Remember that the heaviest boxes should always be at the bottom when stacking items.
Store Possessions Based on Needs and Use
To ensure you use most of your space, you need to use it all. That means that most of the time, some stored items will be hard to reach or buried underneath other stuff.
Save yourself valuable time and effort by prioritising what you use the most. Items that are seasonal or you use once or twice per year should be tucked away below and behind the things you use daily.
Examples of rarely used items could be holiday decorations. They should never get in the way of accessing house cleaning supplies or clothing.
While on the topic of clothing, you may want to arrange your clothes for the different seasons and rotate them based on which ones you need for the current time of the year.
Invest in Double Duty Furniture
Nowadays, it is easy to find furniture with more than one use. Examples can be:
- Ottoman with underneath storage;
- A floating desk can become a dining table;
- Lamp with shelves;
- Murphy bed;
- Sofa bed;
- Coffee table with storage space;
- Portable laptop desk.
Pretty much any big or small furniture can have a compartment for storage space that will allow you to utilise the area fully. A general rule of thumb is to keep the storage spaces manageable, especially if you plan to move the furniture around.
Remember always to empty all compartments before moving the items to prevent damage.
Implement Under the Bed Storage
Beds with storage are amazing for keeping your sheets, pillows and towels. Usually, beds come with three separate compartments, which you can take full advantage of.
Use one side of the storage to keep your new and washed bedroom sheets and covers. You can keep pillows, bathrobes and fresh towels in the middle section. For the last third of the storage, you can store away seasonal bedding such as duvets and blankets.
Stay Organised
When it comes to small rental apartments, you can not afford to have stuff everywhere. It is vital to remain organised to ensure that you take advantage of all the available space.
Dedicating the storage area to items specific to the room you are keeping them in will allow you to easily access them whenever you need them without causing too much chaos in the process.
Also, messy apartments usually look full and cramped, while clean and organised homes can highlight all your space.
Additional Tips for Creating More Storage Space
If you have a lot of stuff you simply can’t let go of, then you may want to look into some alternatives that will help you save space.
Renting a storage unit works great when you have many seasonal items or ones you don’t use daily.
With the boom in facilities, you can easily find 24/7 storage that is close to you, which will guarantee you have all the space in the world in your home while being just a few minutes away from your priced possessions.
Conclusion
Moving to a smaller apartment can pose many difficulties and get used to, especially when you don’t have the free space you used to have.
To make the process smoother, do not hesitate to reduce the number of personal belongings you take and either donate, sell, or throw away anything you don’t need or want.
Any seasonal items or ones you rarely use can be safely stored in a facility near your new home.
You can store away all the remaining items using the extra compartments of modern furniture and the vertical space in your new home.
