There are many reasons why people decide to move – to cut their living costs, to invest their money in something else, to live more comfortably, to focus more on themselves and less on their stuff, etc. All of these reasons are more than legitimate to be moving from house to an apartment. However, doing this is not going to be easy. You will have to get rid of many things, change your habits, and adjust to a completely different living situation. But, trust us, you can manage it. We are also here to help you out with that. We prepared a list of things you should do in order to adjust to living in a smaller place. Thus, if this is something that interests you, just keep on reading.
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Get Blueprints of Your Apartment
One thing is for sure – moving from a house to an apartment means getting rid of a lot of stuff. In an apartment, you will not have a place for all those things you keep in your basements, attics, garages, storages, etc. You will not have a place even for the things you keep in your rooms. We know that getting rid of those things is going to be hard, but you have to do it!
But, do not rush with decluttering until you get the blueprints of your new apartment. And, why is that? Well, blueprints are there to show you how much space you are working with. They show you the right dimensions of each and every room. So, take a close look at them. Then, get your meter and measure your furniture. This will help you decide which pieces of furniture you should relocate and which you should leave behind. If you want to create a comfortable and healthy environment for your home, do not overcrowd it with too much stuff. Bring only the items that you need and that can fit into your new apartment.
Consider Investing in Multi-Purpose Furniture
Speaking of furniture, you do not even have to use your own furniture at all. If your budget allows it, invest in a new one. But, do not buy just any type of furniture, no. When living in an apartment, you must be creative with your space especially if you have a family, that is, if there are a lot of you living there. Multi-purpose furniture can help you with this. And, nowadays, you can find this kind of furniture for any room in your home. For instance, that can be a bed that turns into a sofa or a bed that has tons of storage space under it. Or, it can be an ottoman that serves as a small table, chair, and additional storage space.
What is more, you can create custom multi-purpose furniture too! Possibilities for that can be endless! But, if you do decide to go with that option, we strongly advise you to hire an interior designer. A professional of this kind can help you create a functional and comfortable living space with multi-purpose furniture that can save you a ton of space.
Start Decluttering
And now, the hard part – saying goodbye to your precious belongings. When moving from house to an apartment, this is simply a must. Just as previously said, there is absolutely no way you can fit all of your ‘house’ stuff into your apartment. So, do not postpone this task hoping that you will somehow find a way to make everything fit. It won’t. You should keep only the things that will make living in your new space comfortable. And, when it comes to everything else – declutter it.
To declutter, first, you need to have a weekend off. Go through all of your items, and mark the items that you will not be keeping. To get rid of those items, you have several options – sell online or at a garage/yard sale, donate to a charity, give away to friends and family members, or simply throw away if useless or broken. What you will do, depends utterly on you. The important thing is to get rid of it and not clutter your new home.
Change Your Mindset
Moving from a house to an apartment also means changing your mindset. Your space is now going to be limited. That means that you cannot keep buying a lot of stuff as you will have no place to put it. Of course, we are not saying that living in an apartment means not buying anything ever again, no. We are just saying that you should be careful and not overcrowd your apartment as that will make your life difficult. This is especially true if you want to relocate to a big city like NYC, for example. There, as apartments are crazy expensive, you will need to cherish every inch of space you have.
Thus, even though hard, try to train your brain to stay away from excessive shopping! But, hey, that does not have to be a bad thing. Spending less money (and time and energy) on buying unnecessary items can actually improve your life. Just think about it – with that money saved you can go on a vacation, invest in a business, or do something you have always wanted.
Or, Just Get a Storage
Sometimes, it is just too difficult to get rid of your possessions. And, that is okay too! We all struggle with this problem, so do not beat yourself up. Instead, find storage close to you and use it for storing the items that cannot fit into your apartment. A lot of people who live in apartments and who need a lot of space use them. They are a great option for storing seasonal clothing, holiday items, family heirlooms, or just anything that you do not want to get rid of.
At the end of the day, it is up to you to decide what you want to keep, what to store, and what to get rid of. So, do not let anybody tell you what is best for you – only you know that. And, whatever you do, do not look at moving from a house to an apartment as a bad thing. Just as previously mentioned, that is going to be a great opportunity for you to save your money, time, and energy and use them for something more important.