Is That a Bookcase in Your Bathroom?

Why yes, yes it is.

As I mentioned yesterday, we've lived in a lot of different apartments of varying sizes. The trouble with that is the furniture. What happens when you own something that your new place no longer has a place for? Or you lose an area that you were accustomed to having, like a closet or a whole room? Well, you've got to make due and try not to spend too much time and money buying and selling furniture pieces. We've done our fair share of selling furniture we didn't need and then scouring Craig's List for something we were left without. A little creativity and flexibility can go a long way. 

But yes, there is a bookcase in our bathroom. When we moved here, two things happened - we lost a linen closet and we ran out of room for a short bookcase. It just made sense to throw the bookcase in there. If in the future, we find ourselves in need of a bookcase we can still move it around to serve a different purpose. In the meantime though, it holds towels and extra TP nicely. 

As another space saving helper, we use this Room for Two Utility Tote instead of a hamper. Between the handles and the ability to fold flat if need be, it's perfect for the space. 

Another piece of furniture we've repurposed is my bedroom vanity. For years, it sat with it's gorgeous mirror, in my bedroom serving it's intended purpose as a vanity. Unfortunately, our current bedroom hardly has room for a bed and dressers, so the vanity had to go. There was no way I was going to sell it though, look at this thing! With the mirror removed, it works well as a side table in the dining room. Right now it's home to Charlie's carnival fish (that are still living somehow.....), but who knows, it could be a vanity again one day. 

Some of my other favorite furniture hacks I've found on Pinterest. Ideas like turning the top of your dryer into an ironing board, turning a bookcase into an "office" with charging stations and file storage, bookcases and cube storage can lay down and become storage seating, and that just about anything can be a TV stand or side table. The possibilities are endless. All of these ideas allow you to use furniture in a different way without destroying it or changing it so much that it loses it's versatility. 

For more apartment living ideas, follow my Pinterest board here!

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Apartment Living is a Skill

Seriously, learning to love apartment living is a skill. Not all apartments are created equal and we've experienced that first hand in our years of living together. From tiny one bedroom places that don't even have room for a couch to large apartments that rival the square footage of some houses, we've lived in a lot of different places. This mini blog series will be all about apartment living, from decorating that make you lose your deposit to toy storage that doesn't make your house look like Toys R Us, with a few surprises (perhaps a giveaway?) thrown in. 

The first thing we learned about living in a small space was that we couldn't have a lot of crap. It sounds like a simple equation, but you'd be surprised how easy that is to get wrong. I think no matter how big the space you live in, it's easy to collect a lot of...stuff. Stuff that you're not even sure how you got or why you still have it. Keeping what you own to a dull roar is often the most helpful thing you can do. Plus, if and when you move, it's less to pack and transport! 

Earlier this year, we went through the entire apartment with the 40 Bags in 40 Days challenge and cleared out a TON of stuff we weren't using. We're currently working on doing that again, believe it or not. I swear, we're not hoarders. We just accumulate...stuff. 

Here's our latest 40 Bags in 40 Days list...

I'll admit to cheating a little bit and going out of order. Due to opportunistic circumstances, days 9, 10, 18, 24, 25, 26, 35, 38, and 39 have happened in the last week or so. Don't you worry, I'm certain there will be days that we miss, skip, or forget about. 

The important thing is that we're getting rid of crap and keeping it to a manageable level of clutter. In the meantime, stay tuned for more apartment related posts and check out my Pinterest board for more ideas on how to make your little piece of rental into a home. 

Follow Jen (All Four Love)'s board Apartment Living on Pinterest.