Simplifying and Downsizing
I’ve briefly mentioned it a few times on here, but I’m currently in the process of moving!
Because I go to school, work, freelance, blah blah I decided to double-rent for the month of March so I’d have an entire month to slowly move. Plus, my Dad, brother and Eric are coming down around the middle-end of March to help me move the big stuff, like my bed.
Side note: Eric will be STAYING until we leave for our trip as he has five weeks of school starting March 22!! Yay! I can’t wait to live with him for a bit, again.
Anyways, the place that I’m moving to is much, much, MUCH smaller then my current apartment. My current apartment is a 2-bedroom and it’s a corner unit so it’s quite bit. I think they said it’s around 900 sq feet.
Well, my new place is a basement suite in the corner of a house not even the whole basement, and it’s about 500 sq feet. Max. It’s also a 1-bedroom with a bedroom so small it will barely fit my queen bed, nightstand and dresser.
Ah, the sacrifices we make when it comes to money. Also, the place I’m in now really is too big for just me and Webster. And, you know, there’s that whole technicality where I’m cough*notsupposedtohavepetsinmyapartmentthatI’minnow*cough. Webster is welcome in the new place 
Because of this I really need to downsize on my stuff. I will be sending quite a bit of furniture back home with my Dad to go into storage, but I also need to figure out some space-savers when it comes to stuff that I’m keeping.
Last weekend I bought a DVD case at Walmart to put all of our DVD’s in because, you know, DVD cases take up a lot of unnecessary room. Well after sitting cross-legged for 1.5 hours sorting and alphabetizing our DVD’s that project was done.
Side note: sitting cross-legged for a long period of time is not easy. My hips and lower back ached afterwards. I am 90 years old.
I also sorted out my towel and sheet closet last night and threw away some really old and ratty towels that I had. I saw somewhere online (can’t remember where now) that rolling your towels takes less room and it totally does! I managed to fit all of my towels in these two baskets, which I also think looks pretty good.
I think my biggest dilemna will be my shoes. Right now I just kind of throw all my shoes and boots into the bottom of my hall closet. But, you see, at this new place there is no hall closet. So what am I going to do with them?
Look at the disaster.
Hall Closet:
Bedroom closet:
Hanging out by the door:
I think there are two or three pairs of shoes in my car too… Oopsie!
See how much help I need? I am what you’d call “messy-organized”. Walk into my apartment and it will look immaculate and neat. Just don’t open any drawers or closets! Ya, well, in this new place there AREN’T very many drawers and closets to hide my messy side.
So, what’s your best tip when it comes to storing stuff in neat and inconspicuous places? And have you ever had to move and majorly downsize? Tell me about it!
My husband and I lived in a matchbox-sized apartment just after we got married, so I know how tough it is to live in a teeny tiny space. One of my tricks was to use back-of-the-door shoe holders. They can hold not just shoes but toiletries or any other smaller items you have that you suddenly find yourself without a drawer for. I have to say, though, I’m kinda jealous that you get to do all this purging of stuff; I’ve been trying to do it too, but people just seem to keep giving us more!
I too second the back of the door stuff – hooks, shoe holders, etc. Basically you want to go UP with your space – so things are off the floor. Shelves hung on the walls does amazing things for creating a new look/space. For instance, if you have a bunch of cookbooks, and about 10 to 12 inches of space on a wall in your kitchen, install a shelf – then you have something to hold your cookbooks and it looks cute too! Good luck with moving – and keep us posted!
I am all about baskets! Not only are they cute, but they do their job well.
First off – love those pink shoes in the last photo! Adorable!
I have never had to downsize. Unless you count the years when I lived in a sorority in college. Those rooms were tiny, but I didn’t have much stuff there – just clothes mostly.
A lot of people rave about under the bed organization systems.
I would maybe take this time as an opportunity to weed out your belongings. I did this last winter – I got rid of alots of clothes & shoes that I no longer wore. So that should help to some extent. But good luck, it’s so hard to downsize!
i loveeee to purge. it drives him nuts! i do it maybe every 2 months. it’s weird! but definitely focus on storing things vertically! storage cubicles are amazing (my personal favorites are the ones from west elm because my god you can keep a LOT in those suckers!)
when he moved in with me — half of his stuff had to go in storage….then when we moved to the new condo. it was a TRIP figuring out where things went….but if you haven’t used it in a couple months, donate, toss it, recycle it! don’t just keep it around because — what if!
The biggest tip I can give is baskets – you can throw all the small stuff into baskets and put them at the top of your closet and it looks neat and organized, when it’s really just messy. Also, they’re great in cabinets – keeps everything simple and organized.
Also, see if you can find some thin storage boxes that fit under your bed. You can put all sorts of things in there such as sheets, winter clothes, etc.
For shoes, I used a hanging rack that hangs in your closet – it’s perfect if you have a little extra room in your closet.
Those DVD binders are the best! I have a couple for my CDs as well
“I am what you’d call “messy-organized”. Walk into my apartment and it will look immaculate and neat. Just don’t open any drawers or closets!” WELCOME TO MY WORLD!!
Good luck moving! I’ve never really downsized but I can tell you that I would hate it. I agree with some of the others– use over the door hanging things for your shoes. Maybe store some clothes (or shoes) in under the bed totes, and furnitute that can double as storage (like ottomans) are all sorts of wonderful. Baskets are a good idea as well. I’m glad that Eric gets to stay with you!
I’m still in the process of downsizing from my 2 bedroom apartment to the teeny-tiny basement bedroom of doom (and it’s been what, a year? oops), so I totally relate to … ohhhhh … only everything in this post. The biggest helps for me have been vertical bookshelves (as someone else said, go up with your space), on-the-door-hangers for shoes and other odds and ends, and stacking organizer bins in the closet. Good luck with the move!
I’ve never heard of a basement suite before.. so is it someone’s house they made the basement into renting space? Do you have to go into their house to go downstairs to get to your room? Do you have windows? (I’m clueless)
Hey Sam – yes, a basement suite is basically an “apartment” IN someone else’s house – normally in the basement!
The one that I am moving into does have a door that connects with the rest of the house as I’m sharing the laundry with the other tenants. However, I have my own separate entrance. Some basement suites have shared entrances but most have separate ones!
The one I’m moving into only has one big window in the living room, but I’ve lived in one before that had lots of windows in every room! It really depends on how it was built
Hope that answers your question!
Well if you need a place to store those gorgeous shoes, I know a place right down the street
…….
I think the DVD arranging is definitely a great move! I do the same except I love the giant folders from IKEA personally. And I haven’t arranged them alphabetically. Instead, I have an excel spreadsheet with a tab for each DVD folder (which I have numbered). Then I number every DVD pocket inside and match every DVD with a number. That way when there’s a new DVD I don’t have to rearrange everything… Hope this makes sense
GOod luck with the moving!!
I’m in the “nesting” phase of pregnancy these days so I’m organizing and re-organizing and downsizing absolutely EVERYTHING – It’s driving my husband nuts, but what can ya do?
I’m a big fan of tall shelves, clear stacking bins, under the bed shoe racks, and lately – just throwing things out, lol. If we don’t have room to store it, I just don’t keep it. Good luck!
The baskets are fab; what a great idea! I agree with Mandy about under the bed totes; I have a few and I love them. I’m also in desperate need of shoe organizing — right now I have 14 pairs at work. Oops.
When I moved to a new place in Mississippi, I downsized A LOT. You’d be surprised how much stuff you can fit into a small apartment if you have the right organizational stuff. No, really. When I moved out of that place and in with my fiance in Tennessee, we all marveled about how much stuff I still had. And while we have donated a LOT to charity, it’s tough parring things down.
So while I don’t have any advice as to what you should do or how you should go about downsizing, I’ve definitely been there. And it WILL be OK.
I use under the bed bins to store stuff that I don’t need every minute, plus under the bed is a good place for shoes I’ve found. Easy to get to and easy to put away. A hanging shoe organizer on the back of the door is good for shoes or anything else small that fits in there.
I live in a monster of a two bedroom suite, which is great, except there is literally no closets, no storage anywhere. Each bedroom has a small closet, and that is all. So yeah, there is a lot of SPACE, but it has meant purchasing a lot of bookshelves, shelves, etc to store things on so that there aren’t just piles of stuff everywhere. If you have room under your bed for storage bins, I suggest getting your hands on some of those. And closet organizers are super key, so that your closet space isn’t wasted only hanging a few jackets. Good luck miss!!
Ps. The comment Sam above me left cracks me up. Who hasn’t heard of a basement suite!?
Well, Eric and my first apartment was really tiny…but we just left half our stuff at our parents, so I’m not a good example haha. I think the biggest thing you’ll have to do is get rid of ANYTHING you don’t need. In college we always put our beds up higher to store stuff under but I doubt you can do that with normal beds. I did want to say that #1 I love those pink shoes (and have a habit of keeping a few pairs in my car haha) #2 I’m so glad Eric will be living with you for a bit! SO exciting!
I agree with all the under-the-bed comments! I moved into a place with a smaller bedroom closet and I got risers and ALL of my shoes are in under-the-bed storage organizers. i just slide them in and out to grab shoes and it is MUCH neater and roomier than over-the-door shoe organizers. I also have storage bins under there for random stuff I don’t use all the time. I used over-the-door hook racks for things like my purses, belts and bathrobe.
I love love organization, so take this is an opportunity to start neat and clean. Moving sucks, but I’m always happy to start with a clean slate.
When I moved in with Kyle I had to get rid of A LOT of old junk I was keeping for no apparent reason. It was hard, but I did it! I can’t wait until we get our own place so I can start collecting junk again
(Watch for me on a future episode of “Hoarders!” lol)
I’m a huge fan of storage baskets, closet organizers and under-the-bed storage! Even if you have to get those dorky collapsible hangers you see on infomercials, I’m sure you’ll do just fine.
First get rid of anything you haven’t used in the past month. Winter is almost over so you could send all your winter gear home with your pops to put in storage, any books your won’t read, cook books included keep your faves – anything else can be looked up on your new mac book
We moved from a three story house with like 2500 sqft to a900 sqft condo/apartment……we had to put TONS in storage but we didn’t miss it and you find that you really don’t need all that stuff hanging around lol when we bought our house we still have tons stored in the basement because of the reno mess throughout the rest of the house but we still have the everything we need and its not even 40% of our total “stuff”.
Love it!!
Under the bed bins, back of the door shoe organizer…downsize your dishes and use the extra space…..its also a nice time to sell things.
Its perfect timing for a spring cleaning hey
Your DVD collection looks like mine!
I’m not really equipped to give advice, as I am a MASSIVE hoarder and my pretty huge room in my flatshare is absolutely CRAMMED with stuff. Good luck though!
i lived in a 500 sq ft 1 br apartment when kelley moved in with me. now 14 years and 2 kids later we have sold our 4 br 2600 sq ft house and have to move into pods that will go into storage for a few months. I am facing the same downsizing dilemma you are. it could be much worse. you could have to come down to south carolina and weed through all of my crap. I’m not looking forward to it.
and yes, 14 years from now when you and Eric have a couple of kids running around you will be amazed at how easily you filled up a 2600 sq ft house. that’s something for you to look forward to.
Baskets, baskets, baskets! They make everything look organized. My bathroom doesn’t have a cabinet, so I throw everything into a basket that just sits on the counter. It’s super fast for clean up and instantly looks much better, even though you can plainly see there’s no organization going on within it!
Also, take a good critical look at the way your new closets are laid out. It’s amazing how much wasted space occurs when people have incorrect or inefficient shelving. My closet is tiny, but because it is well designed, I have all my dresses, dress shirts, purses and shoes easily stored in it, with plenty of space to spare. Don’t be afraid to do a bit of home improvement!
Oh I LOVE to get rid of things! I feel sometimes like “things” are weighing me down. It’s so liberating to really make those choices about items you aren’t actively using.
p.s. So cute that Webster’s legs are in the one pic of your cd wallet. My cat always wants to be a part of what I’m working on too!
Yes, I’ve moved a few times and had to downsize. I started storing my fall/winter clothes and summer/spring clothes at my parents when they weren’t needed in closets or storage bins. That helps a lot in the closet area (ditto for the shoes even though I missed them). Rolling towels: check! Consider get some cute, flexible boxes (they have them at Target, Ican’t think what they are called) to put on your shelves in any closets you do have as it maximizes space and you can store stuff without it falling out (like hair dyrer and etc). And I wasn’t too embarassed to ask my parents to store stuff for me!
I can also tell from the DVDs you have showing that we’d be terrific movie buddies
I also alphabetize things and people laugh at me for doing it. Glad I’m not alone in that!
woohoo! So glad you’ll get to spend some time together.
Double rent sucks, but having the time to move slowly and gradually is priceless. Been, there, done that. Trying to get everything moved in a day or two, PLUS clean the entire place, is impossible.
My shoe organisation is pretty slack. Kinda like yours! But I love the towel/basket idea. At home, my parents have a closet for all that. But we don’t *sadface*
Anyway, we’re moving soon too, and quite possibly to a smaller place. Will see how that goes…
I’ve lived in places of all sizes, and I’ve always gotten rid of a ton of stuff when I’ve moved. I’m also a big underbed storage person—if you buy bed risers and the right sized containers, you can stack them two high under the bed.
Also, those pink pointy toed shoes can come live with me
Clearly we are engaging in the EXACT same evening activities…
Sorting through apartments full of stuff and purging!
I moved from a large 1 bedroom last summer, I’m moving again now, but I have no place to go as I don’t currently have a job in the intended destination. So, I’m putting everything in storage.
It’s amazing how much I didn’t purge in August, or how much I accumulated in the past 6 months. Either way, I have lots of stuff.
I have halved my closet and given most of my clothing and unwanted shoes away. The rest is in a pile for Value Village. I deemed anything I hadn’t worn since the last time I moved unnecessary (unless it was one of three really nice dresses I have that dont’ get worn a ton), same deal for shoes…
I’m being super ruthless right now!
Also, wine helps with packing. I promise.
I live in a studio apartment the size of a small box. I only ever lived in one apartment that was bigger, so I did have to downsize once. It wasn’t that hard, but I really enjoy getting rid of stuff. I went through everything several times over the course of the first year I was living in the smaller place and got rid of more and more stuff each time. You’ll be surprised at how little you need. Fly me in and I will totally do it for you. I strangely find joy in getting rid of stuff!
i just recently did a major overhall of my shoes and closet and it feels so good plus its way easier to find what i am looking for!
ps hope your back feels better!
I have never had to downsize, but I do think I need to go through my stuff and get rid of a bunch of things. I got a CD book thing for Christmas, and still haven’t gotten around to putting all my CDs or DVDs into it. I really need to do that. It would save SO much space.
Also, my shoes are a problem too! It is excessive!
I have some of those flatish wrapping paper type plastic containers that slide under the bed to make extra storage we don’t have! I even have some of my clothes that I don’t wear often in one of these. And the shoe situation…that’s a tough one. Mine are everywhere, even though I don’t own enough!
When I lived in apartments, I’d move every 1-2 years. It was a pain to move, but always an excellent opportunity to purge my belonging down to what I really needed. If you’re in a space crunch, I’d consider putting your bed on risers (or cinder blocks) in order to give additional storage underneath!
It’s funny, but you always struck me as the really organised, a-place-for-everything-everything-in-its-place kind of person. I think it’s because you’re so busy with everything you have, that you need to be super-organised in your life, therefore I assumed you were super-organised across the board. It’s nice to know I’m not the only person who’s ‘messy organised’. LOL.
As for tips, the only thing I know for sure is that you have to make sure your system of organisation is simple and easy to implement. And accessible. Otherwise, it’ll overflow around the place. It happens to me all the time. *sigh*
ah, I am in the process of downsizing too!! Decided to move and then realized how much CRAP I have that is completely unnecessary! Geeze. Shoes – definitely one of my biggest problems/favorite things.
Those aren’t going *anywhere*. heh.
Did you fill up that DVD case?! 320? Whoooa….
I’ve never really downsized. Every time I move I just pack everything up and move it. Which means I still have t-shirts that are 10 or so years old from when I was in high school. I really need to weed through some stuff and start throwing it away, or donating if its in good enough condition.
girlll you need some over the door shoe hanger thingys! i get them at walmart and i have two… and a basket…. and two TUBS full of shoes… ooopsie is right! those over the door racks will help save lots of space.. plus you can shove tons of little trinkets and crap into them too! good luck!
I had to laugh when I saw those piles I shoes as I thought of a conversation with my beloved, after I counted 37 pairs of shoes before we were going to move house.
I said, ‘Babe, do you really need 37 pairs of shoes?’
Her response was something like ‘Well they are for different things, like dancing, hiking, work, beach, Indian weddings, mosh pits…besides other people have MORE shoes than me!’
This kind of backfired when we asked a friend of ours and discovered she had only 5 pairs of shoes.
Before we moved house she did sort them out and get rid of a few pairs. And we did get a shoe rack where I have been allocated enough space for 3 pairs while Alana has the rest.
Since then she has been buying and sneaking in new shoes, hoping I don’t notice, bless her cotton socks.
I too feel like I’m 90 after sitting on the floor for too long. Glad to hear I’m not the only one. My husband and have been living in a 450 sq ft apt. for almost 4 years now. We still can’t figure out how to organize it.
Yay for simplifying! I have a shoe rack that hangs on my door that I have SO many shoes on. Definitely get one of those. I store some stuff in plastic bins under my bed as well.
My brother and his wife lived in a 500 sq ft apartment with their 50lb dog before they were married (they weren’t even supposed to have pets there either…still don’t know how they hid a 50lb dog!). I know my SIL got some kind of wardrobe thing (from Ikea maybe?) since they didn’t have closet space. And storage bins under the bed for out of season clothes. The over the door shoe thing works well too. Good luck!