I have a small apartment. It is a townhouse place with 2 bedrooms upstairs. I need some suggestions please.?

Question

The place is always cluttered and we have two small children with clothes and toys on the floor. What can I do to make more livable space? Shelving, storage boxes, anything? My wife is the type that NEVER wants to get rid of anything.

Answer 1

First clean up the place. Once it is cleaned up then think of ideas where you could put a shelving unit or totes to store all these toys. If you have shelves in you closet fill up some bins and put them in there. My wife new how to pack and stack alot of the toys we had. She had a small walk in closet where she would stack everything on the shelves and on the floor of the closet. Then out in the bedroom we had a kids castle where we would put all the toys that our son would play with. And we had a small place as well. She was very good at this.

MJ

Answer 2

Doesn't sound as if you are too broken up about giving away your poor beagle. It does sound as if you are saying "my couch won't fit into my new place, so I'm getting rid of it and want to get a new couch. Any suggestions"? More for the beagle's benefit than yours: by 2/1/2 years of age, your beagle should be past his puppy years and on his way to settling into adulthood and less rowdy. Btw, beagles aren't huge. I know someone who kept a Rotweiller in a studio apartment. They lived there for many years. He made sure the dog had exercise. If either you or your fiance is going to be home most of the time, perhaps you both could make the effort to take the dog(s) to a dog run. The people are nice, you learn alot about the neighborhood (good places to eat, etc), the beagle plays out his energy and is much calmer. The doxen isn't exactly at a doddering age, so he would enjoy the stimulation. When he gets tired, he'll go back and hang out with his mom and/or dad. Your 9 year old doxen is also probably very attached to your beagle. I've had as many as 3 dogs at a time. Yes, they do mourn when one leaves. The beagle is his companion. For your next pet, perhaps a virtual pet?

Answer 3

Check out the links below for a few ideas. To find more do a Google search for "Storage Ideas" and you should find plenty of good stuff.

The first link would be good if you're a do-it-yourself kind of person. The second link has a couple of ideas for storage in kid's rooms. The last link is for "clever" storage ideas. Probably not great if you have tons of things to store as it's more for jewelery and such.

Answer 4

Go to Focus DIY or Asda and buy some stackable storage boxes. Instead of a coffee table in my lounge I bought a pine chest for about £17.00 from B & Q. I polished it to make it look nice before using it for both storage AND a coffee table. There are lots of storage solutions too in the Argos catalogue. All the Best.

Answer 5

One word- Bookshelves. Tons of bookshelves. You can get decorative ones, so they look nice. Line the shelves with baskets to store your stuff. Try under-the-bed boxes too, or vacuum bags. (Linens n things sells the vacuum bags... its amazing how much stuff you can squish into one of those. They have one that fits a comforter set, two pillows, and a dozen or so sweaters and squishes down to only an inch or two thick. Look into them!)

Answer 6

You could rent a storage place for all the unwanted stuff, and then when she gets tired of paying for it you could then throw it away.

After its been in storage for 6 months and you have not used it, its easier to get rid of.

Answer 7

I THINK HAVING 2 BEDROOM & A TOILET WILL GIVE YOU A PLENTY OF SPACE TO STORE YOUR THINGS, BUILD AN FULL LENGTH ATTICK ON ALL THREE SIDES OF YOUR BEDROOMS AND CLOSE IT WITH WOODEN SHUTTERS TO LOOK NEAT THIS CAN BE DONE TO THE TOLET ALSO TO GAIN MORE LIVING SPACE.

Answer 8

I assume you have all your existing closets and storage areas in use and there are no plans to add on, so your game plan should be to maximize the capacity of what you have, and find areas to use to double as storage.
First you should look into refitting existing closets or storage areas with closet systems you can customize to your own needs. By this I mean racking, shelving, rod, and basket components that you can mix and match in your closets which usually have just a rod and shelf. For example, childrens clothing is smaller so you can stack 2 rods instead of just one in their closets, and if the depth allows, put them 2 deep and you now have 4 rods worth of hanging. If you prefer stacking folded clothing, mount as much shelving as you can instead. Include shoe racks, belt / tie holders, etc.( Take inventory of what clothing and how you need to store it.)
These closet components are available at Home Depot, etc., and are lightweight and easy to install.
Utilize as much bedroom wall space as you can with wire shelving which also allows for hanging clothing under. In a kids room it's great for toys and clothes, and you can usually have 3 rows on one 8'ht wall.
For kids, buy a "Captains" bed with drawers under, or buy rolling drawers to go under their beds and yours. Also, you can buy a "loft" bed for children which is an upper bunk only, and you can put a dresser, bookcase, desk etc., underneath, freeing up floor space. Use lots and lots of stackable plastic storage cubes for toys. Label them, and get the kids involved so they will be intrested in using them themselves. Or buy large plastic toy boxes for each. You can also buy "hammocks" for stuffed toys, and hang them from the ceiling.
Use vintage trunks for coffee tables, and end tables should also be storage cubes. ( Use trunks in a bedroom as well, at the foot of the bed, or as night tables.) If you can, build window seats with storage, a hall stand with coat hooks and bench seat storage. Or, run 2 rows of multiple coat hooks in entry halls, top for adults, lower for kids. Use decorative baskets wherever as "catch alls". In the kitchen have bench seating with storage under. Hang wall mounted ledges where practical, over windows or doors too, even decorative plate rails, and use the top of your kitchen cabinets for seldom used items, but keep it neat !!
Find unused crawl spaces if any, and knock out for extra storage.
Try though, not to end up more cluttered by trying to get rid of your clutter!
Lastly, keep on top of putting away seasonal clothing and items when they are not in season, in a basement or wherever, leaving only what's current to deal with. And as a reformed "pack rat" myself, tell your wife your quality of life would improve greatly if you could see the floor again !!