3 Things You Can Do Instead of Moving to a Bigger Apartment

Feeling like it’s time to size up your space? By all means, do it. But know that it’s going to likely require a bigger investment month-to-month, and probably drain your change right now as you scramble to pay for moving costs and the other expenses that inevitably creep up when you decide to pick up your roots and settle down in a new spot.

But if you like your apartment right now and are looking for creative ways to make the smaller space work for your growing needs, here are a few ideas:

Yep, step one is always getting rid of some of your stuff. It’s like reverse-downsizing: Imagine you’re in the bigger apartment, but you want to move to a smaller one (like, hey, the one you’re living in right now). What could you part with to make it work? (Need some help? Here are 20 things you can get rid of right now without a second thought.)

If your main motivation for moving is because you need a bigger number next to your floor plan, see if you can squeeze the utility you need out of your current 1/1 (or 3/2.5, or 0/1-ish–you get the idea). Make room for the new baby in his big brother’s bedroom. Or merge the dining room into the kitchen and you’ve just earned yourself an office.

Find yourself with just too much stuff still? With some of the extra money you’d spend on rent for a bigger place, you can afford to rent out a storage unit. This way you don’t have to get rid of anything, but you can free it from your grips for a while while you make your current space work for you just a little bit longer.

What strategies did you employ to avoid moving to a bigger space?

Re-edited from a post originally published 5.10.2016 – LS