Today I'm wrapping up Apartment Tour Week here on This Styled Life with a few tips & tricks that I used when downsizing to my new, smaller, apartment.
1. Bring pantry items out in the open. When you have limited cabinet space, you have to get creative. Because of a lack of storage, one of lower cabinets in the kitchen is being used for "utility" storage, like my toolbox, Berlioz's food, etc. I knew that once I put dishes away in the cabinets and started adding pantry items, I'd run out of room. So I selected a few things to keep on the counter, and found little jars to store oats, chia seeds, and flax seed powder. I use these things nearly everyday anyway, so keeping them out in the open & accessible is also very practical.
2. Be smart about bathroom storage. Going from a large "master" bath in my apartment last year to this small thing was definitely a big step. I had accumulated a lot of extra products because I had the room for them, and I got used to being able to have a lot of things out on my counter. First, I went through everything and got rid of all the extra products I didn't need. Thankfully, my apartment had a built-in medicine cabinet, so that solved the problem of all the stuff on the counter. I got new under cabinet organizers (my preview ones didn't fit in these smaller cabinets) and ended up only needing one because of how much I had gotten rid of! I used command hooks to hang my hairdryer, straightener, and curler on the door to free up space & for easy access. '
3. Think duel-purpose & space saving. Here, you can see that my makeup roll I used for traveling this summer is still in full use. I keep it rolled up in my medicine cabinet for easy access, and when I'm doing my makeup I just unroll and go. It saves space, as opposed to having everything played out on the counter, plus when I go see Kyle for a weekend it's already packed up!
4. Track what you use. After living out of a suitcase this summer on a limited wardrobe, I realized that I don't need all the clothes I do. This closet is smaller than my last one, so I'm taking advantage of that as an excuse and a need to slim down. I went through and have donated or consigned a lot of things, but with what remains I decided tot rack what I actually wear. I spun all the hangers the opposite way, and every time I wear something the hanger gets spun back the right way. This way, after a few months, I can see what I actually wear and what I don't.
I hope you enjoyed the This Styled Life Apartment Tour this week! If you missed it, make sure to check out Monday's Decorating From Existing Pieces Post, Tuesday's Living Room Tour post, Wednesday's Bedroom Tour post, and yesterday's Gallery Wall How-To post.
I've got a weekend full of homework planned, but hopefully you're doing something more exciting!
Happy Friday!
--Caroline
I'm still trying to figure out how to keep everything organized. It's a little different because we moved from a small apartment to my boyfriend's parents' large townhouse and we have lots of space to fill and walls to cover. I've been obsessed with finding clever ways to organize so when we move back to California, and into a tiny place again, I'll know how to organize things in a way where everything has a place without looking overwhelming. I need to hang my hair dryer under the cabinet too! That's a smart idea.
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