10 Space-Saving Storage Solutions for Small Apartments

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Since graduating college in 2015, I have lived in 2 apartments and 1 house.  The Bay Area rental market is very expensive so each place has been small!  Our second apartment was our smallest, measuring under 500 square feet.  With two adults and one dog under that tiny roof, it was a tight squeeze!

It can be frustrating to move into a space that isn’t large enough to neatly fit your personal items.  My most frustrating experience came from keeping a portion of my clothes and other belongings in a storage unit and storing stuff I don’t often use in my parent’s garage.  Then, when I need some of these items, it is inconvenient to retrieve them.  Renting a storage unit can also be a costly expense that you really shouldn’t incur.  I highly recommend buying space-saving items that will allow you to neatly fit more of your belongings in your home.

It is essential to effectively utilize your space, especially if your space is limited.  I have found that Target has an amazing selection of furniture and decor that are both fashionable and functional!  Here are my 10 favorite space-saving storage solutions that are available at your nearest Target (or online).  If you are interested in seeing the prices of any of the below items on Target’s website, just click one of the photos and it will take you straight to it!

Bathroom Wall Cabinet

The space underneath our bathroom sink is being used to store our bathroom towels, washcloths, hair ties, my blow dryer, and many of our other items.  The only space left in the bathroom would be to shove things into the back corners of this space, which is inconvenient and I easily forget what I have back there.  This bathroom cabinet is the perfect size for even a small wall in your bathroom.  We purchased this exact one, which holds all of my haircare products.  The open shelf at the bottom is the perfect size for hand towels, and the other shelf is adjustable!  If you do not have an open wall in your bathroom that would fit this cabinet, Target also has a lot of other bathroom storage pieces, like this over-toilet space saver:

TV Stand

Everyone has a TV in their home, most likely sitting on a tv stand unless you have it attached to your wall.  If you need a TV stand, look for one that has cabinet doors so you can store items inside of them, or even just plain shelves.  We have our DVDs, Xbox and various other cables neatly organized in our TV stand!  Target has hundreds of TV stand options on their website but I have linked two below:

Food Storage Canisters

Sometimes it feels like you have to sacrifice organization in order to fit all of your items.  But it doesn’t have to be that way!  I find this especially difficult in the kitchen area because our last two kitchens have had little cupboard space.  In order to maximize vertical space, I have purchased these food storage canisters! They keep our food fresher longer, they look great, and they can help organize your kitchen!  Our current kitchen has a small open wall where we put up shelving and placed these canisters on them.  That way it frees up even more of our cupboard space, while also showing off my beautiful canisters!

You can buy these canisters in a set, like the ones below, or individually!  I especially love using them for baking items like flour and sugar, as well as dry food items like rice and pasta.  I even put granola bars, protein bars, and other snacks in them!

If you don’t really care about stacking them and are looking to utilize your counter space, I think the below canisters are a great option!

Shelving

As I just mentioned, we added shelving to our kitchen in order to increase the amount of surfaces we have to store items around our house.  We also added one shelf to the bathroom, which has been great to place decorations on, as well as a few of my toiletry items that I don’t want always sitting on the counter.  Shelves like these can even be put in a bedroom; wherever you have an open wall and a need for more surface space, you should consider adding a shelf!  And Target has a lot of different colors and styles of shelving to choose from!

Bookcases

If you don’t want to start putting holes in your walls with the shelves, or if there isn’t just a good place for a shelf, bookcases are a great way to create space is a small home.  Target has countless sizes, colors and styles of bookcases.  I love the look of this simple – yet stylish – bookcase!

If you are just looking for something cheap, you can’t get any better than this!  This bookcase is only $29!  We actually have this bookcase in our bedroom to store our textbooks, cookbooks and other reading material.

Under Bed Storage

One very under-utilized spot in most people’s homes is under their bed.  Yes, you may have a few items tossed under your bed right now, but this space should be maximized to its full potential.

Organizing your household items is easy with under-bed storage bins like the one pictured below.  Low-friction disks on the bottom of this box make it easy to move.  You can also easily stack them under a bed, or in a closet if you have the space!

If your bed isn’t high enough off of the ground to stack multiple storage bins underneath, bed raisers are a great option.  Target has a handful of color and style options to choose from, but I really like these!

Console Table

If you have an entryway or hallway that is just wasting space, I highly suggest trying to find a console table that fits.  Console tables with drawers (like the one below) are a perfect way to create surface space and storage in a space that would otherwise be useless.  We have something similar in the entryway of our home that holds items like lint rollers, dog potty bags, our mail, pens…just about anything we think we may need when leaving the house.  The top of the table is a great place to put decorations on, as well as a place to put your things when coming home from work.  Mine usually has my purse, book, glasses and car keys on it!

Coat Racks with Hooks

Here’s another way to utilize wall space in a decorative way!  Having a coat rack is not great just for coats, but other essential items too.  We have our rack near our front door and we often hang our car keys, dog leash, an umbrella, and a hat or two.  These are things we like to have readily available as we use them often, but we don’t want them lying around the house.

Choosing a coat rack that either has shelving or cubbies can utilize this space even more!  You can add a decorative piece like a small succulent, or even use this space to place your mail.

Storage Ottoman

We are known to have about 10 blankets in our home because I just love them so much!  Unfortunately, blankets can be difficult to easily store.  I don’t want them laying on the ground in my closet and I can only stack them so high on my closet shelf without them toppling over.  Once we bought this storage ottoman, our problems were solved!

An ottoman like the one pictured below is a beautiful piece of furniture that is also functional.  We have ours placed at the foot of our bed, but I could also see this fitting in someone’s living room to double as a sitting area.  When you open the lid of the ottoman plenty of room to fit just about anything.  (For me, the “anything” is 7 blankets!).  This has to be one of my favorite Target purchases so far!

Shoe Organizer

Last, but certainly not least, who could forget about the shoes?!  Many people have a shelf above their clothes in their closet where people often put all of their shoes.  For me, that space is already occupied by purses and my tall shoes (like Uggs and riding boots).  I have found that a shoe organizer maximizes your closet space by being able to stack your shoes on each rack/shelf!  The shoe rack below can help you fit three times the amount of shoes you would normally just place in one row on the floor!

And for the people who think they may not fill this entire shoe rack….lucky for you, now you have the room to buy more and fill it up!  Well, that was my excuse! 🙂

I know I covered a lot of different items and they may not all fit your current living situation.  But, using one or two could really improve the way you utilize your current space.  Trust me, I know from experience!