10 Ways To cut Down On Clutter In A Cramped New York City Apartment

Katherine Ripley • November 3, 2015

Everyone is always trying to come up with new ways to save space in tiny NYC apartments, but we’re pretty confident there are at least a few tips on this list you haven’t heard of yet. Try them:

1. Store your cleaning supplies in a shoe organizer on the back of the hall closet door.

2. If you have a rack like this one in your pantry, use clothes hangers to store bags of chips. It will free up space on the shelves.

3. Stand-up file holders are great for storing kitchen supplies, or beauty supplies like curling irons and flat irons. Use Command strips to put them on the backs of cabinet doors, to make more space.

4. If your kitchen is short on drawers, use a magnetic strip to store your knives. You can also put one in your bedroom or bathroom for your tweezers, nail clippers, eyelash curler, and other personal care items.

5. To avoid an over-crowded refrigerator, coordinate with your roommates so that not everyone goes grocery shopping on the same day. It’s best to alternate weeks so that there will always be room.

6. Another refrigerator tip: use stackable bins to maximize space and keep food organized. This is also helpful to remember whose food is whose. Unless your roommate is an asshole and eats your food anyway even though they know it’s yours.

fridge bins — [Decorating Your Small Space]

7. To maximize space in your closet, use shower rings to hang multiple tank tops, scarves, or belts on a single hanger. ROYGBIV order is optional.

tank tops on one hanger — [listotic.com]

8. To organize your jewelry, all you need is a cork board, push pins, and some thin rope or twine. Hanging your jewelry on the wall means a jewelry box won’t take up space on your desk or dresser.

[Mango's Life Design] — [Mango’s Life Design]

9. Superglue mason jars underneath a cabinet or shelf. You can do this in pretty much any room in the apartment for whatever you want to organize and store.

10. If your desk is being overwhelmed by paper clutter, get file organizers that you can mount on the wall above your desk. You don’t have to get all the ones pictured, but on a New York City budget the coupon slot might be particularly helpful.

Cover photo credit: Devin Stein/Flickr

Tags: Life hacks