3 simple tips for decluttering your small apartment

Try these inexpensive, simple ways to use your small home's space more effectively.

A small apartment can be the coziest, most perfect place in the world – until it gets filled with too many belongings. Whether your home is a bachelor's suite or a small two-bedroom apartment, fitting everything in can be a challenge. If you'd rather not go the whole nine yards and declutter your space,  these three tips can help make life easier.

Your furniture takes up the most space in your home, so it's important to make sure you have the right pieces in your collection.

• Try a small, round dining table instead of a clunky rectangular one, a fold-out futon in place of a normal couch or a bed with storage drawers instead of a plain frame.

All of these items can help you maximize on space without compromising quality.

Not every functional item needs to be hidden away in a closet or under the bed.

• Not enough space to keep your large utensils in a drawer? Install wall hooks and hang them directly over the stove.
• Nowhere to store your beautiful shoe collection? Bring it out into the living room with a small bookshelf.
• This is especially true of your office space — put a small but comfortable desk, as well as your file cabinet, right in the main living area.

There are plenty of fun colours and designs to help these items fit in perfectly.

Whether you need a place to put your prized painting or your bicycle, there is plenty of usable space on the walls.

• Bicycle mounts, book shelves, key rings, coat hooks, jewellery shelves and more are available in most furniture stores.

Many of these shelves and wall storage units have eclectic designs that will become more of a talking point than a simple series of hooks on the wall ever could.

• Have fun choosing and installing your wall mounts, and clean up your floor space while you do.

Storage and organization in a small apartment needs to be approached differently than it would be in a larger home. The organizational process in a small space should be very creative.

Use what you have, use what you can find and the results will be great.