Organizing & Storage

Cleaning out your closet is a really big task. There’s a lot to unpack, pun slightly intended, when you determine your wardrobe needs sorting—just deciding to get rid of a few pairs of jeans might send you on a tailspin through everything from sentimental memories to body image issues.

Living small has its disadvantages—and the biggest one just might be how a tiny apartment seems to magnify your mess. If you’re going to be a small-space dweller, you have to be ruthless: sorting through your things on a daily basis, deciding with a swift hand what stays and what goes (and most of it should go). If that daily practice has escaped you for, say, the last several months—It’s OK.

Get these 10 things out of your car, wallet and drawers and into a safe place—literally. A fireproof safe will make sure all the documents protecting you, your assets, and your loved ones are secured in case of almost any catastrophic event, as well as allow you to keep all your important info in one convenient, private, burglar-proof location. And if you’re not currently in a position to acquire a heavy, high-quality safe, I’ve got you covered!

Have you heard of bullet journaling? The latest trend in list making, it really just requires a notebook, a pen, and maybe a ruler if you’re a stickler for straight lines. Part planner, part diary, all bullet journals start with an index, and the rest is up to you. You can add yearly overviews, monthly calendars, daily habits, shopping lists, class notes, doodles—you name it.

With just a few weeks until the official end of summer, the clock is ticking on your summer bucket list. If your list includes getting some projects done around the house, consider this your how-to guide on finally get them done.

The area under your kitchen or bathroom sink can sometimes feel like an island of lost products. And it will never get any better, until you actually take the steps to sort it out and install some (potentially temporary) organization solutions. Here, half a dozen ideas to get your cabinets in order. Put one or more of these into place, and you’ll be rewarded with a storage area that looks better (good for your heart) and works better (good for your mind).

Here at Apartment Therapy, we’re huge proponents of the landing strip—having a dedicated “clutter filter” in the entryway can make your whole home more organized. What’s more, no home is too small for this crucial bit of design know-how. Read on for my recipe for an organized foyer at any size.

Although scoring your first solo apartment can be a wonderful thing, you still have to prepare yourself for the daunting task of packing—and fitting into—a presumably much smaller place than you once shared with your roomies. The fine line between “holding onto” and “hoarding” means it’s finally time to decide which of your housewares are truly worth keeping—a process that can be almost as exhausting as moving itself.

Here are five of our favorite no-hanger, no-fold options for casual clothes storage.

The foyer is possibly the highest traffic area of your house (that is, if you’re lucky enough to have an actual entryway.) It’s the landing strip for your jacket, bag, shoes, keys, mail, and where you stash anything else you’ll need out in the world. All of this is happening in probably one of the smallest spaces in your home, so you’ll need components that perform double—or even triple and quadruple—duty, like these 10 do to take control of this drop zone.

When it comes to a design-savvy home, a proper entryway is key—pun intended!—to staying organized and prepared to leave the house every day. If you’re lucky enough to have a formal foyer at home, by all means, go buy yourself an entry table or storage bench and bask in all of your front door glory. But if you’re like the rest of us—working with a tight corner or narrow hallway in place of an actual entrance—staying coordinated can be a bit more trying.

I love having a well-stocked craft cupboard (or room, tote, or closet), but find myself locked in a never-ending battle with my craft supplies. A box from IKEA holds all my embroidery supplies except my oversized hoops, my twines are all in a tangle, and there are pompoms everywhere. Here are a baker’s dozen ways to keep your stash organized, accessible, and even aesthetically pleasing.

The summer is prime hosting season, but the reality is, many of us don’t have the luxury of owning a guest room to offer to friends and family when they pass through town. Yet even in a small space, there are simple ways to make overnight guests feel more comfortable and welcome in your home—even if they’re just crashing on the couch.

Fitting big hobbies—the type that require a board, a helmet, and maybe even a wetsuit—into a teeny-tiny home can be a tall order. Your best bets for storing this space-hogging gear are to work them into your decor plan or place them in often-overlooked spots (aka hide them in plain sight). Here are nine ways to stash sports gear, without cramping your style. This bike rack from CB2 doubles as a shelf, with a small platform to place your water bottle or helmet on.

Teeny tiny closet got you down? After you’ve winnowed your clothes down to the essentials with our Closet Cure (of course), check out these nine clever ways to use IKEA products to squeeze out a little extra storage in your closet. Above: A Grundtal rail and hooks squeeze out storage for a few extra pairs of shoes behind the door in this closet from Maria EMB. The Bygel rail can do the same for heels, as seen on Stylizmo.

“You’re born messy and you die messy, but someplace in between you get bullied into believing that you should be neat and organized,” says writer Jennifer McCartney in her hilarious book, The Joy of Leaving Your Sh*t All Over the Place. Bravely rejecting the KonMari method and other trendy tidy-up plans, McCartney proposes a revolutionary (albeit tongue-in-cheek) system for accepting your own clutter.

Now that travel season is finally here, it’s time to pull out your weekender bag and refresh your getaway gear. Last year, I was like most New Yorkers—who live in one of the world’s most fabulous cities, but who are absolutely itching to get off the grid the second it’s summer—and tried to book as many weekends away as possible.

Whether your space is just too small or your storage options lacking, you might find yourself in the position of figuring out where to store pots in your kitchen. Don’t despair if there’s no cabinet to tuck them away in; there are ways to store your pots out in the open that won’t hurt your eyes. For your storage inspiration files: 14 examples of real homes storing pots stylishly.

You probably think of a closet as a little room where you hang up your clothes. But for much of its history, the closet has served a completely different purpose entirely. Come back with me, if you will, to the Middle Ages. In the Middle Ages having a bedroom was a bit of a privilege — most common folks slept either on the floor of the great hall of the manor where they lived, or in the single room that served them as kitchen, living room, dining room, and bedroom all in one.

The master bedroom of Nikkia and Daniel’s two-bedroom apartment had an especially perplexing and inefficient closet situation: two tiny closets side by side, each with a single shelf and hanging rail, and a tiny door that made accessing the closet’s contents a challenge. So as part of their apartment renovation (which included a very smart kitchen update), they combined the two tiny, poorly designed closets into one big, super-efficient one.

Imagine for a moment that you’re an infallibly practical person. The idea of filling a wall with framed artwork…well, it would be such a waste, wouldn’t it? Sure, there’s value in surrounding yourself and decorating your walls with pretty things. But useful things can be beautiful, too. A cork wall treatment acts as a big mood board, perfect for a study, home office or any room that welcomes constant visual change.

No closet? No problem. You know how Edward Sharpe says “Home is wherever I’m with you”? Here’s your new motto: My closet is wherever I keep my clothes. Let’s just grab a sturdy garment rack (or make one from scratch) and set up shop in the living room or bedroom. It can look great, with the right inspiration. Flank a garment rack with a dresser on each side, like shown above in Jeanette & Mikul’s Airy, Sunny and Minimal One-Room East Bay Loft.

Closet too small? Join the club. It’s called “everybody.” But good news! There are two ways to battle a too-small clothes closet: One is to get rid of some of your stuff (in that case, you’ll want to check out this three-part capsule wardrobe series). The other is to get smart about storage. It doesn’t take a lot of time or money. In fact, all you need is one fifty-dollar bill, some sofa cushion change, and an afternoon at your local superstore.

We do a lot of talking about how to organize the big storage spots in the home — from your closet to your kitchen counters to the pantry and more. But what about those smaller but still vital storage spaces in your home? The stand-alone furniture pieces like dressers, credenzas, storage cabinets and more? If you’re anything like me, these vital storage spots can sometimes get overlooked and become messes.

Take inspiration from these five real-life apartments, whose residents found smart ways to store everything with no closet in sight.

There is nothing like the start of a new year to kick yourself into gear and make changes that last. And no, I’m not talking about resolutions, which have a sneaky way of fading along with the holiday glow. I’m talking about taking just one month and investing some effort (21 do-able assignments in total throughout January) toward a cleaner, more organized and more peaceful home.

We recently featured a House Tour of Joe and Alana’s 160-year-old Newport home. Alana works for a commercial production company and a creative agency, both in New York City, while Joe is the founder and president of a company based in Warren, Rhode Island. To be together, they travel between the Big Apple and the Ocean State, an arrangement which requires them both to work remotely at times.

I live in a one-bedroom apartment. Being an Interior Designer and pillow shop owner, I have a lot of different things to do on a daily basis. I sew everyday, sketch room designs, pull together fabrics for client projects and new pillow designs, and do various computer tasks for my business and blog. So, I was forced to use my dining room to store all my business stuff. There was clutter everywhere and no room for a large enough table to both sew and eat on.

If you’re a crafter, you know how quickly things start to pile up. Yes, I do need that many different types of scissors and that many colors of ribbon! If you have a designated craft area either large—lucky!—or small, it’s nice to (at least try to) keep it organized, especially if it’s in a part of your home that’s not off-limits to guests.

Jamie & Byron’s Elegant Art Canvas You spend a huge chunk of your life in your bedroom, but if you’re like me, it’s one of the rooms you give the least consideration, in terms of decor. Usually there are a few central pieces of furniture to think about, and beyond that, it seems like a matter of keeping linens clean. But there are plenty of ways that you can easily and cheaply refresh your bedroom, even if you only have 30 minutes to spare.

There’s a war on stuff lately. Minimalist manifestos abound, both inspiring decluttering and shame. If you’ve gotten the impression that to be an organized person you can’t own more than one of a particular object, we want to assure you that yes, you can have a healthy love of stuff and collecting and still manage to have an organized home. Here are are best tips to have the best of both worlds. We all have one, and it’s individual to each and every one of us.

I moved into a small, 500 square foot apartment with real wood floors, tall charming ceilings and a spunky little kitchen that can’t be more than a few feet wide. Yes, WIDE. We’re talking can’t-open-the-oven-unless-you’re-standing-on-the-side small. But I managed to fit everything I needed in my kitchen snugly, in a way that functions well enough that I can easily pull things out as I need.

Looking for easy things you can do to make your kitchen better, look nicer and feel more comfortable? You want it to be an inspiring space you want to use. There are lots of improvements you can make; these four things are easy and work with any size or style of kitchen. What are those things you use everyday? The things you’d have to open a door or drawer to get to (or maybe even dig out of some container)?

We’re more than halfway through the Cure (Assignment #6, so only 4 more to go, woo) and today is your final day of sorting (can I get an amen?). You’ve already done the heavy lifting when it comes to paring down, and I tried to save the fastest, easiest-to-sort stuff for last; the things that are often easiest to let go of and to replace: lingerie/underwear, workout wear, pjs, socks and tights. Be ruthless!

Don’t have an actual entryway? You’re not alone. Small space dwellers and those with modern homes that didn’t build an entryway into the floor plan all suffer from being dumped right into a living room and not having a proper introduction to a home (not to mention a spot to store day-to-day items you need easy access to).

I love shoes. You love shoes. Everyone loves shoes. Which is why maybe we just might own too many pairs. (Shocking, I know.) And, I’m pretty sure that some of you might be in the same boat when it comes to bags. These are the fun, fashionable yet practical items that are so easy to add to your wardrobe, they seem to magically multiply on their own. Well, it’s time to channel your inner sorting superhero and stay strong: today is the day to tackle the hard-to-let-go-of shoes and bags.

Happy Monday! After a very ambitious and busy start to the Closet Cure (and with plenty more to come), today is a well earned day away from all the sorting and decision-making – and a chance for anyone who is feeling behind to get caught up with the assignments.

Many of us strive for a more simplified life, in which what surrounds us are things we either truly love or truly need, preferably both. To arrive at — and to maintain — such a lifestyle, we have to get rid of things, whether it’s in one fell swoop or in small doses. While it feels like a big mountain to climb, getting rid of things ultimately feels sooo good. Here’s why. Physical space and mental space go hand-in-hand.

If you’ve been reading Apartment Therapy and participating in the Cure, you know all about the power of a well-organized entryway to help catch clutter and keep your home looking beautiful. But did you know the things you decide to keep by your front door can also save you time every day?

One of the our biggest emotional blocks against reducing clutter is nostalgia! We want to keep remembering the great things that happened to us while wearing that sweater or the time in our lives when we loved those plates, so we hang on to stuff that we no longer need. But guess what? You don’t need the actual items to keep those great memories at the front of your mind. Try these ideas.

Lots of small space strategies are about so much more than just making it work in an itty bitty box; they’re smart ideas that everyone can use in any space. Try these on for size. Roll your eyes all you want, but remember, clutter can take over and make you crazy. Although we often hear this advice in reference to small spaces where every inch counts, no one in a home of any size should be hanging on to too many things they don’t need.

My dad recently gave me this tool tote and, organizing fanatic that I am, I immediately started looking beyond its intended use and wondering what unexpected uses I could come up with. This little thing is handier than you might think, so read on for four uses, as well as some suggestions for similar totes, in case the red and black look isn’t your thing… Kids’ Tote: Keep the things that keep your child entertained handy.

A broom closet of varying depths and without any built-ins was collecting Carla’s random stuff. She decided it might serve better as a place for paperwork and projects, and we love how she made this strange small space fit her needs: From Carla: My husband uses the downstairs as an office, which I didn’t think I needed for my business.

Sam spotted this dollhouse on the street, and even though she had no homeless dolls, she decided to rescue the shelter and turn it into storage. From Sam: I didn’t really want a house-shaped storage cabinet, so after a lot of hammering from my (lack of) arm muscles, my project was starting to take shape. Next step was to give this baby a good coating of white paint. It’s crazy how big of a difference a bit of paint can make! Next step: pizzazz.

After three years of living in this “builder basic” house, the homeowners hired Krista to help personalize it. On the agenda was adding some style to this blank 2-story wall. Now that fireplace is really a focal point: From Krista: The homeowners decided when buying their custom home to hold back on upgrades until they lived in the space which allowed them to truly understand how they lived in it and what they would need.

Making a little extra space in your closet doesn't have to involve a lot of hand-wringing and soul-searching.

“If a cluttered desk is a sign of a cluttered mind, of what, then, is an empty desk a sign?” Albert Einstein once famously asked. Conventional wisdom holds that it’s easier to work, and to create, in a space that’s neat and tidy — but what if the opposite were true? A recent study by psychologist Kathleen Vohs, at the University of Minnesota, tested the effects of different kinds of working environments on human behavior.

If you want to know about rhinestones and country music, ask Dolly Parton. For insight into small spaces and storage, go straight to boat owners and people who live year-round on houseboats. They’ve got tons of solutions to suit even the tiniest spaces, and we could all stand to pick their brains for a minute or two. Here are seven products you regularly find on boats that even land lovers can put to good use at home.

How you spend your days, as the saying goes, is how you spend your life. And because work takes up such a huge chunk of many of our lives, it’s worth examining the other chunks — the small moments in the evenings after work — to see how one might improve that time so you’re not just living for the weekends.

We can all use a little organizing reminder every now and again; I know I do. I always start out with the best intentions, and then they fall by the wayside shortly thereafter. I’ve gathered 10 tips used by professional organizers— just to scan over — whenever I need a little help getting back on track: 1. Get Ready The Night Before.

What’s the difference between collecting and clutter? I ask myself that question often as I’m guilty of buying multiples of (too) many things. You can avoid clutter status by putting your beautiful collections on display. Here are 16 examples of great collections—including my own tea cup collection!

What do you do with a perfectly good, sturdy piece of furniture that has potential but is a bit heavy visually on the eyes? If you’re Kim, you give it a fresh paint job and add some design details that make this piece one-of-a-kind! From Kim: I’ve long since coveted a sleek mid-century modern media credenza.

A friend of mine was recently burglarized. Their place was completely ransacked in the process and several valuables were stolen. Fortunately, a few of the most precious items were left unscathed because they were hidden away in a small storage safe disguised as a book, hidden in a pile of other hardbound copies.

As every parent of school-age children knows, they come home with a lot of paper!! Whether it’s the tenuous-but-determined pencil scratches of the letter M or the (very detailed) drop-off and pick-up instructions, these papers will pile up — and very fast — without a plan for managing them. Here’s how I try to stay on top of all the papers that follow my preschooler and my kindergartener home. Anything you know you don’t want to keep, recycle right away.

Organizing words of wisdom from a pro.

What do you do when a wood sideboard — covered in deep scratches and other marks — needs a makeover but you’re not looking to brighten it with a coat of white? You could go with a color, or you could skip straight to something dramatic and do what Suzanne did. From Suzanne: This vintage sideboard was in need of a makeover. It had many deep scratches along the top and other marks and scratches.