Moving into a smaller space or just trying to get rid of some things? There are lots of ways to downsize the right way without sacrificing the items you love. The challenge is deciding what you truly need for your apartment and what you don’t, a true testament of how willing you are to use Marie Kondo’s method in your own apartment.
The truth is, there are many items we believe are “must haves”, but in reality, we can get by happily without them. Let’s take a look at the top six items you don’t need in your apartment.
1. Cleaning Products for Each Room in Your Home
All-purpose cleaners were created for a reason; they offer the simple solution to giving your home a great “all-purpose” clean. Yes, some specialized cleaning products are necessary for some situations, but an all-purpose countertop cleaner will work just fine for any room in the house.
Specialized products are often more expensive, which is interesting considering you can usually make your own eco-friendly cleaners at home. Baking soda followed by a simple spray of vinegar, lemon juice, and some essential oils mixed in a bottle can do wonders for keeping your apartment looking its best. Save yourself the money and space, and make your own, or stick to the few you actually need.
2. The Full Furniture Set
Don’t fall into the trap of believing a staged display room is the only way to have a bedroom set up. Every room is different, and maybe yours is smaller or bigger than what is on display. Perhaps you don’t have room for a dresser, or want a desk in place of a nightstand.
Only buy the parts of a bedroom set that you actually need and want. You may even find that you like to go thrift shopping and look for the exact type of vintage dresser you want, or maybe you follow home decorating bloggers and love their ideas. Decorate your bedroom to your own taste, and don’t feel like you need to buy certain things just because they come together in a set.
3. Glassware for Every Type of Liquid
If you’re living in a city, chances are you might have a small kitchen. Of course you’ll want the necessities, like plates, bowls, and utensils. When it comes to cups, mugs, wine glasses, beer steins, and shot glasses, though, less is more. You can easily drink water out of a mug, and enjoy beer and wine out of a regular cup. Keep the shot glasses around, though.
A large collection of glassware will only take up more space than you have in your kitchen. Limit the number of each type you keep around, and don’t be afraid to get rid of some that are old or cracked. A few mugs, shot glasses, and regular cups are fine; 10 of each is a bit much. You get the idea.
4. Accessories for Your Accessories
Flip through any design magazine and you’ll see pillows on couches that play off the colors on the wall. Watch a home improvement show and the designer will buy items from specialty stores and proceed to strategically place them around each room to help create that “design element”.
Although it’s a nice idea, it’s also unnecessary and often doesn’t give the impression that a real person lives in the apartment. It’s your home so you should choose to decorate, or not decorate, however you wish. The key is to make your apartment feel like your home, not like a page out of a designer magazine.
5. Select Kitchen Appliances
Let’s face it, there are certain items in your kitchen that simply take up space. Do you really use that blender daily? How much use do you get out of that knife block filled with oddly shaped knives and kitchen shears? You can easily downsize by donating or getting rid of some of the kitchen items you never use.
Get rid of the knife block and store your knives in a drawer; donate the blender if your days of morning smoothies are behind you; and, put the baking mixer in storage until you actually need it. You’ll find that you don’t miss the things you never used anyway, and you’ll have a bit more space available to store things you do use.
6. Multiple Place Settings and Sets of Dishware
First, consider the practicality and realistic possibility of hosting a dinner party for more than 8 people in your apartment. If the likelihood is low, you’ll be better off crossing this bridge when you come to it.
If, at some point down the road, you want to have people over, you can always rent or borrow dishes and place settings. Places like Party Rental Ltd. rent out every type of dish and glassware you’d need for a dinner party. Go the other route and ask someone like your parents or a relative to borrow their dishes. If they say yes, you’ll be saving a bundle of money and saving space by not having to store your own dishes, too.
Knowing what to buy and what to leave on the shelf is a tough call. Just know that you will survive without those matching throw pillows, your countertops will still shine even if you use homemade cleaning solution and people will still come to your apartment even if they drink wine out of a regular cup.
This article was updated on 2/21/19.
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