Storage Solutions For Apartments

Our apartment is 102 square metres which is decent size. I must admit it does have a lot of in built storage in the areas such as the bathrooms and some in the living areas but some areas just felt like wasted space. Although we are trying to follow minimalist principles of not having excess stuff we don’t need the truth is we still have a lot of stuff and it needs to be put somewhere. With all the expenses that came with moving I’m trying to cut back on spending money however I’m looking at these as one off expenses that will benefit our place for the long term. Before I hit the shops I did a lot of searching on the Ikea and Howard’s Storage World websites for storage solutions for our ‘wasted areas’

Kitchen

So the current trend is that appliances need to be hidden away behind doors. We have a ‘fridge’ cupboard. The fridge we had in the old place leaked. Our original plan was to get a new one when we moved in, unfortunately Covid changed our plans. Firstly I couldn’t get to the shops, secondly with everyone spending so much time at home fridges became a high demand product and there was a 6-8 week wait to get one. We didn’t want a leaking fridge behind closed doors so we put it in our lounge area and put our small freezer in the cupboard instead. When we did manage to get a fridge that could be delivered quickly (ex display stock) we discovered it didn’t fit inside our cupboard so we decided to keep the freezer in there. I wasn’t happy with empty space above it and decided it needed shelving. I had seen shelving before for above toilets and discovered that Howard’s had one similar which could be used in bathrooms or laundry to make use of space above appliances. Our freezer is about the same size as a washing machine so this shelving unit was perfect. It is stainless steel and very sturdy. It was actually very simple to put together. We are still experimenting around with what we are fully going to put on the shelves. You select where you want the shelves but I am happy with these. Just by putting them items we have on the shelves has made life easier, I don’t need to carry my breakfast cereal tubs into the kitchen each morning for breakfast now and Mr StitchNSew doesn’t need to bend down low to get his juice bottles.

Under the sink is a problem area for a lot of places not just apartments. Again at Howard’s I found a shelving system. This one is fully customisable so you can place the plastic shelf pieces around your pipes. Again it was simple to put together. Now to be honest I’m happy that this has given us a bit of extra space but I think this area still needs some work. I might have to move things around a little. I think the shelving system is a good idea and it wasn’t a waste to get it.

Balcony

We have a decent size balcony but no storage as is the case with most balconies. Ikea has a storage unit which is powder coated steel so can be used outdoors. It looks big in the picture but when I saw it instore I was worried it wouldn’t be big enough but once we assembled it I was surprised. We call it ‘The Shed’ It has all items we would normally keep in a shed or laundry (our laundry is tiny) We keep finding more and more items to place in it thus freeing up room in other cupboards.

The doors have magnets to hold it shut but admittedly they aren’t very strong and kept coming open. Our solution as a closure we are using old alan keys from previous Ikea furniture and threading them through the latch where you could place padlocks. Our rule is if you open the door you place the key on top of the unit so it doesn’t get lost.

Thanks to Mr StitchNSew who has done most of the unpacking we have all our kitchen/linen/lounge unpacked. We are still working out where we want things and changing stuff around on shelves. I’m really pleased with our additional storage. As I mentioned yes it was another expense I didn’t really want but long term it is worth it. If I’m not careful I can easily be a messy person but I am trying to establish good routines of putting items away once I finish with them. I like the phrase “A place for everything and everything in it’s place” We are still in the process of finding the places for all.

Cassiy

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