How to Store Your Stuff in a Small Apartment
Living Pretty Ep9: Small Space Storage Ideas for a Stylish Little Apartment
Looking for small space storage ideas to help you create a stylish little apartment retreat for yourself? Sure, you want to know how to decorate a small apartment and make it look pretty, but what about the small apartment organization ideas that will help you keep everything tidy?
In this video, I’m sharing the small space storage solutions I’ve been using for years, starting from my days of living in tiny apartments in New York. These are very easy small space storage ideas that may not be clever or creative, but they work!
If you’re looking for storage hacks for small apartments, how to decorate a small apartment, and small apartment tips, watch this video along with the rest of my Living Pretty episodes for studio apartment inspiration and more!
Watch the video now!
↓ Wanna read the episode? ↓
I’ve made some slight edits in the transcript so that everything makes more sense in text form. But overall, this is almost a word-for-word dictation of what I say in the episode. I’m a much better writer than this, I swear, haha.
Creative storage solutions, clever storage hacks… these are common phrases thrown around by decor magazines, HGTV, blogs, YouTube videos… everyone’s talking about being creative and clever when it comes to storage.
Which is awesome. And entertaining. But are you actually wanting to be creative and clever when it comes to storage? Or do you want it to be quick and simple so you can move on and get on to the fun part of styling?
I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to spend a ton of money on storage, and I don’t want to do an effing DYI project just to have a creative and interest storage solution.
I want to get storage over with. It’s boring!
So in this post, I’m going to walk you through the storage solutions I’ve been actually using for years since the days I lived in tiny shoe box apartments and dorms in New York all the way up until now.
That’s 12 years of storage in small space living from New York to LA and now Seattle. Nothing clever or creative here - just efficient and useful.
So when you ask me for my storage solutions (which is one of the most requested topics I get asked to cover), I’m going to give you my real answers.
I’m not trying to be cute here. I just want to help you store your shit.
So let’s get into my down-to-earth, easy storage solutions that you can actually implement today with a simple sit-down with Amazon.
Speaking of Amazon, I’m going to be linking some options for these storage solutions below this post!
Also, I have, like, a ton of free workbooks that will help you with your interior styling, specifically for small spaces. So I’m linking those here. Lots of free workbooks to get you started!
1. Alright, so this first item I swear got me through six years of living in New York, and that is bed risers.
They’re not just for dorms! I used bed risers for years after I graduated from college, and when you’re living in a tiny space, they’re a godsend.
Luckily, I don’t have to use them right now, but I’m telling you, I used them consistently for 6 years in New York. And you can store all kinds of things under your bed using bed risers. It gives you all this real estate in your tiny apartment.
I would put plastic tubs underneath my bed, which was raised up by the bed risers, and I would store tons of clothes in there. I stored, like, and entire wardrobe’s worth of clothes underneath my bed in plastic tubs.
2. Speaking of plastic tubs, that leads me to my next storage solution, which is even more basic than the first. And that is plastic tubs.
I’ve been using plastic tubs for years and I still even use them. They’re a very cheap and easy to have some extra storage in your space.
My one caveat with this one though is to do your best to make it so that they are stored away somewhere, like in a closet or underneath your bed if you have bed risers. Because they’re not very attractive, and I will fully admit that.
But I’m talking about just if you are in a bind and you need some extra storage space and you just have some extra clothes or extra shoes that you just want to store away, then just buy a plastic tub, store that stuff in there.
I still to this day have a plastic tub in my closet. I just keep shoes in there that I don’t really wear much but I don’t want to get rid of, and it’s just a nice cheap and easy way to have some extra storage without buying an entire dresser.
It’s uper efficient for space saving and it makes things just look really well put together and organized. Even though it’s in not-so-attractive plastic tubs… But again, I recommend storing those away if you can!
And if you can’t store your plastic tubs away, there is a way to make them more attractive. You can cover them with a nice throw or cloth. Um, there’s even some cool, beautiful stickers that you can buy - which I know because I went through a random bullet journal phase that didn’t pan out - but I now have all these stickers that I think would look cool if you needed to make your plastic tubs look prettier…
You just slap a few stickers on an otherwise ugly plastic tub and you’ve at least improved the situation. It may be slightly like putting lipstick on a pig, but… pretty stickers!
I told you I wasn’t going to do any DIY stuff in this video, I’m sorry. I mean, anybody can just slap a few stickers on a plastic tub though, right? That’s like barely a DIY project.
I love how the Moda Misfit version of DIY is “just put stickers on it!”
3. The next storage solution that I’ve been using for years is… cute storage.
Cute baskets, cute containers. If you just make your storage cute, then unlike the plastic tubs that I mentioned before, you can have this stuff out and actually have it be a part of your decor.
Underneath my TV, I have these galvanized metal drawers from World Market as well as this thing that literally says storage on it - which, as you can see, I don’t actually use it for storage. It just has a bunch of dead lavender in it.
I’m also a big fan of wire baskets that kind of go with the rustic industrial look that I love in my apartment. I got these wire baskets at Target and I just store blankets in them because I have a sick addiction to blankets, I can’t stop buying them, someone please help me.
I know I’m not the only basic millennial who is addicted to throw blankets. I know you’re out there. We’re in this together.
These pieces are decorative themselves, so while they can serve as useful storage, they also contribute to the decor of my space because… they’re cute.
4. Also, speaking of attractive storage, buying furniture that doubles as storage is awesome as well.
There are coffee tables that you can buy that unfold into a secret little storage container. There’s also little pedestals and foot rests that you can actually open to reveal some extra storage.
I have this end table right there that actually opens. You can lift that marble top off and inside is some extra storage. I guess in that way, this video has a little bit of a clever idea in it. 🤷
So as you’re shopping for coffee tables, ottomans, side tables… try catering your search for things that also double as storage. Because there’s a lot of really stylish options out there, and if you’re living in a really small space and storage is a huge concern for you, you might as well buy things that will double as storage.
5. And the final storage solution I wanna talk about is actually a little bit of a bonus one because it’s not something that I’ve used, but I would if I had to. And that is a kitty litter cabinet.
I’m telling you, if I didn’t have a walk-in closet (*kiss* thank you) I would use a kitty litter cabinet. There are a whole bunch of options on Amazon, and they’re basically little cabinets that look like normal cabinets - you wouldn’t be able to tell that their sole purpose is to house a litter box. They have a little doorway on the side that the cat can come into, and that is totally what I would use if I didn’t have a walk-in closet.
That’s one of the number one things that people ask me about - my litter box situation. And I’m very lucky in that I have a walk-in closet. But to any of you who don’t have the luxury of a walk-in closet and you want to get a cat, but you’re worried about living in a small space, then look up cat litter box cabinets on Amazon.
And I’ll link to some options below on what I think are the cuter options out there, but that is hands down what I would recommend if you needed a storage solution for a litter box in a small space.
So those were my storage solutions for small space living, and like I said, these are things that I have actually used for years - except for the kitty litter box cabinet.
Not the most clever and not the most creative solutions, but the work. And like I said earlier, at the end of the day, do you really want to get clever and creative with your storage? Save your cleverness and your creativity for the fun stuff, then fun part of styling. Like choosing throw pillows.
Unless you’re into storage, in which case, godspeed! I wish I were more like you.
Tell me in the comments below, what are your storage solutions? What is your saving grace in your small space? Tell me in the comments!
For more small space living inspo, follow me on Instagram @moda.misfit.
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And remember, your apartment is destined to be pretty and you are pretty powerful.
↓ SHOP THE STORAGE ITEMS IN THIS POST: ↓
NOTE: This post contains affiliate links that allow you to find the items mentioned in this video and support the blog at no cost to you. While this blog may earn minimal sums when the viewer uses the links, you are in NO WAY obligated to use these links. Thank you for your support!
BED RISERS:
Black: https://amzn.to/2U7nlDB
Wood: https://amzn.to/3126ELb
Light wood: https://amzn.to/2O2CTok
Light wood 2: https://amzn.to/2Gw0h9O
PLASTIC TUBS:
Clear with black buckle stackable: https://amzn.to/2tO5UgQ
Gray stackable: https://amzn.to/36AHGUz
White stackable: https://amzn.to/2uCVu3u
CUTE STORAGE:
My wire baskets from Target: https://goto.target.com/3KZBk
World Market galvanized metal bins: https://bit.ly/2GxB7r4
FURNITURE THAT DOUBLES AS STORAGE:
Industrial style storage bench: https://amzn.to/2GxQmAh
West Elm drum coffee table that doubles as storage: https://bit.ly/2t4YPYF
CAT LITTER BOX CABINETS:
White wooden litter box cabinet: https://amzn.to/2Gsr7zx
Espresso wood litter box cabinet: https://amzn.to/38K19DF
Espresso wood litter box side table cabinet: https://amzn.to/2RBpeXm