Stylish and game changing organization/storage ideas
An IKEA entertainment center with basket drawers and floating shelves makes our living room very organized.
Spring is almost here! The temperatures are getting milder and the days are becoming longer. It is my favorite time of year to clean and organize our space. When moving into our new apartment last summer, I did a ton of research on ways to decrease clutter and keep everything organized. The first thing I did was buy Marie Kondo’s book: “The life-changing magic of tidying up: the Japanese art of decluttering and organizing.” This book helped me to organize our things for our move. There was so many things that we held on to that we no longer needed. You can also watch her series on Netflix for inspiration.
I believe that everything in your household should have a place. When I see our apartment start to get cluttered it is really a reflection of what is going on internally. When your living space is cluttered, your mind is cluttered and it makes it hard to relax. I can feel myself become restless and anxious. Once I have cleaned and put items in their designated place I feel at peace and I’m able to enjoy the present.
The following tips were game-changers for me and it keeps our space looking spacious and clean:
Create a drink station
Tea Towels are my favorite! I found this Brooklyn Bridge illustration tea towel on Etsy. The command hooks and a small curtain rod makes a cute nook to hang your tea towels!
My husband and I love to drink an assortment of teas and coffees. We utilized an IKEA kitchen cart to store all of our appliances, mugs, teas, coffees, and condiments.
Creating a drink station in your space is a stylish and functional way of organizing your drinkware and coffee/tea boxes. I created our tea/coffee station with an IKEA kitchen cart. We placed our wine opener, Keurig, and tea kettle here to keep our beverage appliances all in the same spot. Inside the drawers are: coasters, teaspoons, condiments, wine stoppers, and Keurig accessories. Adding baskets at the bottom made storage for our mugs and tea cup saucers. There is also a tea box that holds all of the individual tea packets. This cuts down on clutter by getting rid of bulky cardboard tea boxes that would pile up in our cupboards. If you don’t have the space for an actual cart you can always designate a nook on your counter top to hold all of your drinking appliances/supplies. You can also utilize wall space and hang a wall rack to hold your coffee mugs.
Expand storage in your cabinets
A Lazy Susan allows you to find all your spices fast for yummy recipes!
Maximizing cabinet storage is so important in NYC apartments. There is always a limited amount of storage space. I love to buy shelf organizers for all my drawers in the kitchen. It makes the cabinets look nicer and makes it easy to find things. I purchased my organizers from Burlington and Amazon.
small apartment hacks
Expandable table from Target
This table comfortably seated six people
I love convertible furniture, it makes it so much easier to furnish small spaces. My husband and I do not have guests over frequently but when we do it’s helpful to have furniture that can accommodate our guests. Wayfair, IKEA, and Target have great options when looking for convertible furniture. I purchased the one pictured above from Target. We hosted a friendsgiving last year that was able to seat six people comfortably at this table.
Command Centers are fabulous
Commands centers are best in visible areas like the kitchen or near the doorway
Command centers are so important in the household. It is an information hub and is a great tool for families. Our command center consists of a calendar, to-do list, and mail trays. We keep track of appointments and important events on our calendar. We also have a space where we can write notes, shopping lists, and use pushpins to hang coupons. There is also a mail tray where we can sort bills and junk mail. It keeps the entire household organized and “in the know” so you don’t miss a beat!
Go vertical
Utilizing wall space can help a lot with your organization. Inside our storage closet I utilized Command hooks to hang our broom, swiffer mop, and duster. In the past, I’ve always just thrown my cleaning supplies into a messy closet. We also made an investment to not put our shopping bags inside of a large shopping bag inside cabinets anymore. We purchased a Simplehuman bag holder that holds our plastic bags very neatly.
DIY a mud room
Does your entryway look blah? Create your own mud room! Working in a hospital and taking the NYC subways have made me leery of what we carry on our shoes. When we walk into our home the first thing we do is take off our shoes and change into house slippers. In our mud room we have shelves to store our shoes that also serves as a bench to sit on. I also have a bucket to the left of the bench that stores our umbrellas. We purchased the mirror, hat rack, and bench from IKEA.
Glass Canisters are sustainable
Glass containers purchased from Target
We store all of our dried goods in glass canisters. Getting rid of plastic food containers was a priority for us. BPAs can harm the food contents that are in plastic containers. Switching to glass containers also cuts down on rodents. Cockroaches are attracted to the glue adhesive in cardboard boxes. Glass containers can also help you to buy in bulk. We consume all types of nuts, grains, and legumes and these glass containers keep them fresh!
Happy spring cleaning and I hope these tips were helpful.