When you live in an apartment, you rarely have enough room for everything you want. There’s just not enough space on the floor.
In the worst-case scenarios, you wind up with no space at all. Possessions clutter your living quarters, preventing you from using your home how you’d like.
If you feel like you’ve tried everything to free up apartment floor space, then this post is for you. We explore various methods to open up rooms and help you live in a more peaceful, relaxing, and happy environment.
Hang Baskets From Doors
One option is to start hanging baskets from doors. These help you use more vertical space in your home and provide somewhere to put odd items and trinkets that refuse to fit in your regular spaces.
The best baskets are those that hang over the top of the door and are stable when opening. These have the most storage compartments, allowing you to transfer more of your possessions from the floor area. However, you can also get smaller baskets that hang from the door handles, though these aren’t always as reliable.
Use The Space Under Your Sink
If you’re not using the space under your sink effectively yet, then you’re missing out. Most apartments have large cubby holes here, providing you with ample room for all your kitchen and bathroom cleaning products. You might also have room for odd items you no longer want cluttering up your limited countertop space.
Try not to force items into your under-sink area. You could damage the delicate plumbing hanging below your sink.
Use Your Corners More
Another approach is to use your corners more for storing items. Leveraging them should help to make your rooms feel less crowded and more like living spaces instead of storage areas.
Again, focus on ways to use all the vertical space. If you can, buy corner cabinets and shelving that you can push right up against the wall and maximize the use of space. Ensure that any furniture you purchase has sufficient depth to keep everything you want safely contained.
Add Boxes To Bedrooms And The Bathroom
You can also try adding various boxes to the bedrooms and bathroom. Stackable tubs are an excellent option for storing toys, books, and DVDs if you don’t have space built into your accommodation.
These days, you can get attractive stackable boxes, so you don’t need to fill your apartment with ugly plastic tubs. These generally look like furniture but give you more room than conventional storage solutions.
Look For Hidden Storage Opportunities
Another option is to look for hidden storage opportunities leveraging the dead space in your apartment. For example, you might have a wide hallway you could use for clothing rail double shelving units if you’ve run out of closet space in the bedroom. You can add shelving and extra cabinets to your bathroom for toiletries, candles, and cleaning supplies.
Use Storage Inside Existing Furniture
Another option is to add storage to existing furniture to reduce the impact of solutions on existing floor space. For example, you could explore ways to maximize under-bed storage if you’re not using it already. You could also modify sofas to add storage at the rear.
Your coffee table is another storage option you might be failing to leverage adequately. Many products now have storage beneath the main table surface you can use for magazines, remote controls, and accessories.
Choose Slimmer Furniture
Another option for freeing up apartment floor space is to choose slimmer furniture. Buying furniture that’s suitable for the size of your rooms can help them feel dramatically more comfortable and welcoming.
Slimmer furniture options are ideal for your sleeping and sitting arrangements. For example, you might opt for benches instead of chairs, or a single bed instead of a double if you sleep by yourself.
You could also experiment with slimmer sideboards or chests of drawers in your hallways. However, you’ll need to balance this against the need to store possessions. If you don’t have that many, then that’s okay. But if you have more, then it might not be an option.
Look For On-Site Storage
You can also try looking for on-site storage to keep your possessions close by but not inside your unit. Many apartment complexes, for instance, have areas where you can keep your bicycle. You might also be able to access lockers where you can keep bulky clothing items nearer the front entrance, such as coats.
If you’re not sure what on-site storage is available, speak to the concierge or members of the renters association. They may have information or tips you can use to best leverage the available space.
Use Furniture With Wheels
If you’re really stuck for space in some rooms, using furniture with wheels can be an excellent option. These pieces of furniture let you move items around to free up space when you need it.
For example, you could opt for rolling shelving units you can push together when you want more space. You could also put some existing furniture on rolling carts if you’re on a tight budget.
Use Multifunctional Furniture
Another popular tactic for freeing up apartment floor space is to use multifunctional furniture. Combining beds and sofas or tables with chairs can be an excellent way to generate more space.
Dining tables with extendable leaves are another option. These give you the flexibility to host multiple guests while folding away neatly and taking up less room when you’re not using them.
You can also try storage ottomans, as mentioned earlier. These also function as storage containers while keeping everything you need close by when enjoying your living room.
Vacuum Pack Clothes
If you can’t bring yourself to throw out any of your clothes, you might consider vacuum-packing the ones you rarely use to free up volume in your home. Sucking all the air out can reduce the space they take up by a whopping 75 percent, which should hopefully help you fit more in your closet.
So, there you have it: some of the experimental methods you can use to free up apartment floor space.