Home Properties : Three Tips for Living With Less in an Apartment

2/15/2016

When you're renting an apartment, it's easy to feel overwhelmed by your possessions, especially if you don't have a lot of room for storage. But living in a smaller space can be a great exercise in minimalism, which can leave both your home and mind refreshed. Here are a few ways to pare down your possessions and simplify your life.

1. Declutter Your Closet
Clothes you haven't worn in years are lurking in the back of your closet. Are you likely to wear them again? Do they even still fit? Set aside an afternoon to try on all of your forgotten clothing. Donate any pieces that no longer fit you or your style. Divide the rest of your clothes into a 'definitely keep' and a 'maybe' pile. Over the next few months, move clothes from the 'maybe' pile to the 'keep' pile as you wear them. After six months, get rid of any clothes that are still languishing unworn in the 'maybe' section.

2. Sell Your Gadgets
Are you holding onto electronic gadgets, such as printers, speakers or old cell phones, simply because it seems wrong to throw out something valuable that still works? Earn some extra cash by selling electronics that you don't use on eBay or Craigslist. You can also use Amazon's Trade-In Program to swap your unwanted gadgets for spending credit on the site, but think carefully before you spend it on items that will cause more clutter!

3. Digitize Your Media
At one time, possessing an extensive media collection meant having an entire wall of your home filled with books, DVDs, photo albums, and CDs. You can now store all of your music, video content, and photographs on a single hard drive that takes up as much space as a single CD does. Buy a 1TB hard drive and devote a few hours to scanning your photos, so you can get rid of the old photo albums that sit on your shelves gathering dust.

Narrowing down your possessions not only frees up space in your apartment, but also makes your next move much less daunting. Adopt a minimalist approach and enjoy the freedom to live wherever you want, without clutter!