Jenna Mahoney - Small Apartment Hacks: 101 Ingenious DIY Solutions for Living, Organizing, and Entertaining

Jenna Mahoney is a Brooklyn-based magazine editor and writer. She specializes in travel, weddings, beauty, and healthy lifestyles. She has been on staff at Bridal Guide and Fitness. Her work has appeared in Shape, Self, Allure, Redbook, and New York Magazine, among other magazines. Online, she has contributed to AOLs Thats Fit, Sephoras Beauty and the Blog, Betty Confidential, and the Tory Burch blog.

Although a small space, nothing is created in a vacuum, and Im grateful to those who have helped me on this project. Major props to my ground teamMaria Mahoney (for proofreading and research assistance), Ivn Guillot Boyer (for late-night dinner making and some research assistance), Alison Mahoney, the Singing Baker, (for creating those yummy party recipes), and Bill Mahoney (just because). Mil gracias to my editor Katherine, who in addition to being super cool, made the process a breeze and had an amazing spidey sense of when I needed an encouraging email. This book wouldnt have been made if it werent for the support and encouragement of Robin Westen. And a special thank you, Myrna Blyth, my Machu Picchu companera, for introducing us. Thanks also goes to the team at Bridal Guide for being so supportive and flexible.

APPENDIX

Before you can get into the fun part of implementing ingenius new apartment solutions, theres some elbow grease that needs to be worked into your space.

Have a vision

Like most things in life, pulling your small space together needs a plan. Avoid a hodgepodge of style, stuff, and furniture that just looks like an overcrowded mishmash. Write down three goals for your living quarters: Do you want it to look chic, streamlined, and modern? Cozy, vintage, and sunny? Use your answers to Who are you? on as a guide. Having the broad stroke concepts will aid in furniture selection. Beware of falling into the match trap. Being too matchy-matchy can make a small space look like a mini-version of a furniture showroom. Instead, pick pieces that blend in color and balance in scale and proportion. Later, introduce items of unifying color and style.

In order to seek ones own direction, one must simplify the mechanics of ordinary, everyday life.

PLATO

Declutter

Fact: Piles of paper, mountains of magazines, and inessential stuff accounts for 40% of the cleaning needs in American households. Getting rid of clutter not only tidies up your space, it also decreases stress. Psychologists say having a disordered home can lead to feelings of anxiety, guilt, and other not-so-fun stuff like the inability to properly relax. Take a deep breath. Getting rid of the mess is the easy part; its keeping it that way that can be the challenge.

Tip: Declutter one space, one room, one drawer at a time. Attempting to multitask will just create a jumble of both your things and your mindset.

Simplify. Simplify.

DAVID HENRY THOREAU

Just do it

Procrastination doesnt benefit anyone. Make it a habit to deal with tasks immediately. There are no dishwashing fairies, nor will the Cinderella birds help sweep away the dust. And lets be real, the longer you wait, the worse it getscaked-on, weird foodstuff requires way more elbow grease. So instead of setting yourself up for hard labor down the line, sort and toss mail as it arrives and return anything that you use to its proper home upon completion. Remember: Its just as easy to toss your days outfit on the floor as it is to place it back in the closet. If you cant let go of the Ill-just-leave-it-for-now mentality, see Make a landing strip on .

True life is lived when tiny changes occur.

LEO TOLSTOY

Make dates

When it comes to exercise, healthy eating, and other good habits, a slew of studies show youre more likely to stick with something if you schedule itin pen. (Since a paper planner can add to the clutter, make cleaning appointments in your Google calendar with reminders.) Schedule a deep house cleanfloors, bathroom, and inside of the fridgetwice a month. Set aside a couple of hours (Saturday mornings before yoga are a great time). Put on your favorite music, podcast, or book-on-tape to stoke your energy throughout the project. See Clean Green on for tips on scrubbing up in a healthy way.

Similarly, make reorg appointments with yourself quarterly. Review the Toss, Store, Keep strategies found on ) have been abandoned for landing fields across various surfacescome up with a new method. A key to remaining clutter-free is having an easy system that actually works for your lifestyle and home.

To improve is to change; to be perfect is to change often.

WINSTON CHURCHILL

No matter how good (or bad) your relationship is with the person you live with, its rare that youll perfectly see eye-to-eye on design and cleaning habits. Having a straightforward plan in place for dcor and chore delegation is easier than trying to tackle things issue by issue, which will just end up making you seem like a nag.

How to combine your stuff

Youve had the move-in talk, so now its time to chat about the merge. According to a survey conducted by eBay Classifieds, 54% of Americans have ten duplicate items when they move in with a significant other. So whether its with a random roomie, a long-time partner, or an age-old bestie, odds are its time to trim the fat.

Take stock. Make an inventory list of furniture and appliances. Use your personality quiz on to figure out what you need, and what can realistically fit in the space.

Vote. Start with the doubles. Whose coffeemaker is in better shape? Who is more attached to their grandmothers silver? Then whittle down the single items like vases and clocks that may take up space in the combined home.

Start over. If you cant agree on whose couch is cuter, it may be time to choose a new one. Together, decide on items that physically fit your home as well as suit both of your personalities.

Share the space. Remember this is now a joint home, which means you should both feel comfortable in the abode. Items should reflect both of you and your combined needs.

Three tricks for dealing with a messy roomie (or spouse!)

Theres a lot of things you love about them, but the frequency with which they clean the bathroom may not be one of them.

1. Divide my-side, your-side. Define your space and your roomies. Be direct about your cleanliness expectations and discuss doableand realisticchore division. If youre the one starting the negotiations, try not to be overbearing when you talk, or you may just make the issue messier.

2. Distinguish between filth and mess. One is potentially dangerous (toxic mold, vermin, oh my!), the other is simply annoying. If the problem is a messy Jesse, create a catchall box for his stuff. When you do a speed clean, put all of his items in a basket and place it on his side of the room.

3. Hire a pro