Living in 400 square feet is hard. Sharing that space with your future spouse is even more difficult. I’ve spent since July 2007 figuring out how to do this despite the fact that I dream of the day we can move into a bigger space — and gripe about the unrealistic sizes/costs of the New York City apartments in films/TV shows set in the city…. But even so this has been valuable. Moving from an admittedly gigantic bedroom I did not share into a dorm room (that I had to share…ugh…) was a special kind of pain. Moving from that into a one bedroom apartment at Pittsburgh rent prices was different. Moving from that to an apartment a fraction of the size of that apartment’s living room was… oh, dear. But as the title of this post indicates, I like to think it’s taught me something. Or many things, all of them being valuable. I am a glass-half-full person. If I wasn’t I’d be mad for several reasons by now. So here’s the rundown of my lessons to live by in a small apartment.

Lesson #1. If there is empty space — horizontally or vertically – anywhere in your apartment, you’re wasting valuable storage real estate.

This includes under desks, on top of bookcases (to the ceiling, people!), on top of dressers, underneath the bed. (Every single square inch of under bed space is currently used. Every single inch.) Under the desk go the printer, file boxes (I file everything quite meticulously), a box for the space heater when it’s not in use, and a little chest of drawers with office supplies & electronic gadgetry. We use a bookshelf near the kitchen for kitchen things — coffee maker, blender, fruit bowl — and a cubby hole storage unit near the entranceway/kitchen for dry food goods, winter hats & gloves, shoes, and my purses/bags. On top of the bookshelf go baskets of various things (candle holders & seasonal items; storage items like bubblewrap & foamy stuff I’ve been collecting to prepare for our move eventually; plastic serveware). 

The miracle of today’s storage solutions is that things like baskets, colorful boxes, and patterned bins exist solely for the purpose of storage in plain sight. So long as it’s attractive, you can store anything right where everyone will see it. Really. Don’t think about stashing everything away, especially when you’re going to (with shoes or scarves in winter) use them frequently enough to find pulling them out of closets or under beds a hassle. Just go ahead, store it where everyone can see it.

Lesson #2. Stack. Everything.

Open our kitchen cabinets — they are all cabinet doors, no drawers whatsoever — and you’ll see that it’s packed as tightly as is possible for food to be. Of course that tends to lead to accidents — if you don’t unpack the cabinet when reaching for the tuna, the honey, soup, and tahini come tumbling down. But it’s a miracle what some shelf-shelving (the stackable stuff; undershelf hanging baskets for plasticware & plastic bags) plus some gosh darn OCD ingenuity can do for your kitchen storage space. Our silverware holder sits on top of a seldom-used mini loaf pan. Our fire extinguisher is stuck in the little corner made by stacking 9″x9″ baking pans on top of 9″x13″ baking pans. Every little bit of space in our kitchen is being used for something and if not it’s for good reason. (i.e. I kept knocking the same thing over so many times when it was stored in one location I knew it was time to keep that location clear.)

Lesson #3. Rethink ways to use items beyond their suggested uses.

Bookshelves are not only for books. Turns out books can be stacked 2 rows deep and shelves can be used for stacked organizers for files and papers.

Shelves can be used as locations for colorful storage bins that hold any number of things (shoes, winter accessories) that can slide in and out. DVD shelves can be used for series paperbacks & computer discs/games. Dressers can double as media stands (as our short one does for our television).

A “desk” can become a “dining room table” just as it can then morph into a “computer desk.” (Currently our “dining table” is both multi-purpose flat space, dining table, & computer desk; we are two people with two computers.)

Magnets, magnets, magnets. In the kitchen, a magnetic “bulletin” strip became a holder of pot holders (magnetic hooks are your friends), our swiffer duster (magnetic clothes pin), & recipes. The wall above my desk is also a filing cabinet of important documents, organized through a bulletin board, magnetic board, and dry erase board (an adhesive “for college students” dry erase board that is terrific). Everything important gets tacked or magneted up and the place gets cleaned of old things on a regular basis. If it’s in front of me I always know where it is. The front door, made of fire-proof metal, is also magnetic. Instantly (using the STRONG magnets) holds letters & bills to be mailed, reminders of not to forget things on the way out, coupons, & dry cleaning receipts. We’ve never been late on the rent and I’ve never lost a dry cleaning receipt.

Lesson #4. Boxes (stackable, square or round) are your friend. As are (colored) permanent markers & labels.

Having learned from the kitchen that “stack everything” is crucial, this then requires boxes. Whether they be small kitchen plasticware, recycled shoe boxes, or recycled UPS delivery boxes, one can never have enough boxes. In fact, one should always keep a stack of various sizes (collapsed & stuffed behind furniture) on hand at all times. These boxes, filled & properly labeled) can be stacked to excess in the very tops of closets (go to the ceiling) along the sides of closets (you know, the part on the floor you can’t see because it’s hidden away from the door? Fill it with stacked boxes. With labels.) and everywhere else you can think.

Lesson #5. The smaller the space, the more frequently it needs to be cleaned.

Keep on hand at all times: a hand-held vacuum, antibacterial or pre-moistened wet wipes of various kinds (the all-in-one glass, counter, computer ones? Yes), a duster (preferably one that is not feathered & has disposable fluffy parts), & air freshener (via candle, spray bottle/can, plug-in device, or other method). Believe me when I tell you they have been indespensible to my existence. Perhaps it’s because when it comes down to it I’m a neat freak, or perhaps it’s because we’re people who lead really active and dust-raising lives, but I feel I have to do the cursory clean almost daily and the spring cleaning deep clean every month. Oh, and the air freshener? It’s amazing what having the kitchen share the air as the rest of your living space will do to your nose. Let anything sit in the garbage too long… Ew. (Which reminds me: don’t have a garbage can bigger than what fits the standard “medium” 8 gallon garbage bags (which are hard to find in a city where convenience stores and drug stores value shelf space as much as the rest of us do). 14 gallon? Pshaw. Your garbage will be sitting there for too long if you wait for that big boy to fill. We have a counter-top bin for organic waste (orange peels, egg shells) that gets tied and put in the big bag to be taken the chute, minimizing on scent all around.

Another tip: Clean when the sun hits the apartment. You know there’s a golden hour when the sun hits every [New York] apartment (well, not basement or the really cheap ones). Whenever it is, plan to clean then. The wonderful thing about direct sunlight is that it shows you just how dusty your bookselves are and where the bunnies are hiding under your desk. Cleaning at night with every single light on isn’t nearly as effective at showing you the little things you can easily miss in the quick once-over of the apartment. And you do want to clean quickly and efficiently, don’t you?

Lesson #6. Be realistic about keeping things around.

Every single inch is a treasure in 400 square feet. If you have the luxury of family (aka free and happy storage units) nearby, that’s one thing, but if you don’t, think about everything you’re keeping around. Realistically, will you use it? Will you wear it? Donate, donate, donate, and use your garbage can. Goodwill got to have the shoes & clothes that I couldn’t justify keeping in my closet with its negative space. The local library’s used book shop will enjoy the books I finally make myself donate because I just won’t read them ever again and really, I need the shelf space for the books I will reread. (When I do that, ugh.)

Lesson #7. Strive to keep things in their proper place at all times.

Not only will you remember where things are if they’re always where you expect them to be, but it keeps the floor and all horizontal spaces clear if you put things away immediately. Kitchen counter gets cluttered with dirty and clean dishes — put them in the dishwasher/sink or cabinets. Purses or bags on the floor? Empty them of the important stuff and shove them or hang them where they go. That sweater you wore once that’s still clean and is currently hanging over the back of the chair? Soon the sweater becomes the pile which is then a monstrosity of organization to have to deal with. Prevent the pile and put the darned sweater away immediately. This was the hardest lesson I had to learn and I’m still trying to be good about it. I’m pretty good about emptying bags/purses and putting them away and both Bryan and I got good at hanging jackets/sweatshirts up immediately last year out of necessity. 

I can’t wait to move into a bigger place, but “bigger” will probably only be another hundred square feet, if that (though a bedroom door would be lovely). Living in a studio has forced me to be more organized than ever, simply out of sheer necessity, and it’s given me a measure of satisfaction to see how much stuff I’ve been able to pack away by using my proven storage methods of boxing and stacking and cramming. It’s really worked and really… I’m glad we’ve gotten to live here. It has tested our sanity but if we can handle this, we can handle a lot of things.