Living in a small apartment presents both special problems and exciting new possibilities, regardless of whether you’ve chosen to downsize to a tiny house because that’s your lifelong dream or you’ve been forced to do so by financial necessity. Living in a small place doesn’t have to entail a life of perpetual chaos and minuscule everything; instead, it just needs a little rethinking. With these simple tricks, even a cramped apartment can feel like home.

Reconsider Your Bed 

When it comes to a small apartment, it’s often the bedroom (or maybe bedrooms) that bear the brunt of the lack of space. And within that small bedroom, the bed is likely to be the largest piece of furniture. If you normally sleep in a double bed or larger, one option could be to switch to a single bed, or at least one smaller than the one you’re using now. However, not everyone is going to be comfortable doing that, and it will be impossible if you’re sharing that bed with someone else. 

If that’s the case, you can invest in a Murphy bed cabinet instead. A Murphy bed is one that folds away when it’s not being used, freeing up the space in the room for other things (perfect if you live in a studio apartment). Another idea could be to build a platform for your bed – this will free up all the floor space, but you’ll have to remember how little headroom you’re going to have up there. 

Hide Things 

Being able to see everything makes a tiny place appear smaller and more confining. So think about all the hiding techniques you have at your disposal. It’s simple and effective to hang curtains and other textiles over shelves and across doorways. It’s a good idea to spend money on lidded boxes and baskets you enjoy the look of to store loose items. Investments in furniture with concealed, built-in storage are also worthwhile.

How you hide things will depend on the layout of your apartment as well as the budget you have – some pieces of storage furniture will cost more than putting up a curtain and sectioning off an area of the room, for example. 

Declutter 

Living in a small area is a great chance to go through all of your belongings and decide which ones you really need and which ones you can part with. Holding on to superfluous items can only result in your little home becoming congested and disorganized. Your space will appear larger and require less storage and organization as you reduce clutter.

Decluttering is not something a lot of people look forward to, but you might find that once you actually start, it’s rather therapeutic. You can start fresh with only the things you really need around you, and not only will that free up more space in your small apartment, but it can have some excellent mental health benefits as well. This is especially true if you donate some of your old things to charity; you’ll feel good about the process, and the end result will certainly be worth the hard work.