In an effort to keep this blog up and running and me motivated to do interesting things, I’m expanding this blog from simply food to anything. Partly because I just put a lot of effort into moving and decorating my new  small apartment and I want to share.

See, I just moved from a large two bedroom apartment to my first solo home – a cute little studio that’s basically the size of my old room. Somehow, in the two years I lived in my old apartment I accumulated a lot of stuff but only about two pieces of furniture. So I was pretty much starting from scratch while simultaneously getting rid of half my stuff to prevent clutter while trying to make room for everything I needed.

Here’s what I was dealing with:

The main area is basically a giant rectangle with a ladder and a window wall. Lots of potential, plus there’s a little lofted sleeping area.

The main challenges arose with the kitchen, especially since I spend so much time cooking. Not much cabinet or counter space and a teeny tiny fridge. Then the laundry room (which is amazing to have), which I wanted turn into a closet. That shelf and clothes rod were taken down before I moved in.

So I made a list of things I needed

1. Space for my chinchillas. They were living in two different cages. One in a larger 2.5’x2.5’x3′ cage and the other in a 2’x3’x2′ cage. I ended up getting rid of the larger one and getting another smaller one and stacked the two.
2. Kitchen space – seriously, I have a lot of pots and pans and kitchen equipment and there was no way it was all fitting in that kitchen, plus there’s not a whole lot of counter space for chopping.
3. Closet space – I, for some reason, hate dressers. So I really wanted a way to hang all my clothes up in the laundry room, out of the way. Also, I’m a slob with clothes, but if I kept them all in the laundry room the mess would be contained right where it should be.
4. Places to sit – couch, a space for my amazing papasan, comfortable spaces.  I like to have people over for board games nights so having an area for us to play was important.
5. A place to eat 
6. Workout space – I work out daily but never go to the gym. Having enough room to jump around and lay my yoga mat was a must
7. Storage space – I crochet. And when you crochet, or knit, you just get like 10000 skeins of yarn. I don’t know how it happens but it does. Plus, I’m constantly working on something so I need a place for it. I also own a lot off books. I donated 80% of them when I moved here, yet here we are again.
8. Paint – I really dislike beige. I don’t know why, and the kitchen was a green that was nice in theory but was just kind of bland.
9. A way to block the light from the skylight so I can sleep in.

After much pinning and shopping and measuring and planning, here’s how it turned out:

What I owned before the move and wanted to utilize because I’m young and can’t afford to buy fancy new things.

• 3×4 cubbies from Target
• A large 4′ papasan
• A 3 shelf bookcase – got rid of because I somehow got too many books
• A large desk
• A small table

What I ended up buying (after finding on super sale. The couch is the only thing I paid full price for):

• A modular sectional from IKEA. This allows me to move the corner piece and the chair for more comfortable seating when people are over and it’s large enough to really define the space and make a conversation space.
• A lift top coffee table that adds storage to the space and offers a place to eat while sitting on the couch.
• A 5 shelf bookcase which I added a shelf to from the 3 shelf bookcase I got rid of.
• A new chinchilla cage to stack on top of one I owned and I got rid of the other one.
• A closet system It’s not the prettiest, but it has two rows of rods for hanging things and lots of shelving.
• Industrial Shelving. Each shelf holds 350lbs. It matches the light fixtures and it holds absolutely everything
• An over-the-sink cutting board. This was easily the best purchase. It is super convenient to have that basket and it adds a whole extra counter for chopping.
• Fabric and two cheap curtain rods. This is a quick and dirty solution. I’m not a sewer so I put it together with hem tape and safety pins but I think it turned out pretty well.
• Paint from Sherwin Williams. I intended to go white but I’m really happy with the light blue (Rock Candy) I ended up with.
• Contact paper for the fridge. The contact paper was about $2 and it really makes the tiny fridge so much cuter.

Overall, I think it turned out very me and has so much space for storage. I do want to add a skinny little table between the couch and the window because I believe that idea is genius. And I think it fully shows off just how much I like owls even though all of them were purchased for me, except the stuffed one on the papasan.

What are your favorite space saving and clutter preventing tricks?