Organizing shelves can help you and your roommate live in shared apartment spaces.
If you rent your apartment with roommates, you know that navigating your shared spaces can be tricky. While each person has their own room, you share the kitchen, bathroom, and any living areas. Even if you are living with your best friend or romantic partner, you can still find yourself getting frustrated with sharing this space. Fortunately, there are steps you can take to plan how to share your space, so everyone knows the appropriate boundaries. Read on for a few tips on how to use shared apartment spaces so that you can avoid unpleasant conflict in the future.
Closets
The important thing to remember when sharing closets is that you make sure each person has the same amount of closet space. You can make more room in the closet by hanging vertical cloth shelves for sheet and towel storage, while also creating a divider.
Cabinets
One of the most crowded shared apartment spaces is the kitchen cabinets. However, you can help to maximize the space you have by adding stackable wire shelving racks to help store plates and bowls more easily.
For bathroom cabinets, you can use storage bins and stackable plastic boxes to gather related items.
Countertops
Decide ahead of time if keeping items on the counters is okay. It may seem silly to discuss such small issues, but you never know when a problem may crop up later! Communicate and decide which items are allowed on the counter. For instance, is an unused toaster taking up too much space? Is your roommate’s curling iron always on the bathroom counter, and does that bother you? Let your roommates know about your pet peeves before they have a chance to bother you with them.
The Shower
The shower is one of the shared apartment spaces that doesn’t have much built-in storage space. However, you can use shower caddies to help keep product mix-ups from happening.
Pets
If one roommate has a pet, you must decide where to place the crate, toy basket, and food and water bowls. You may assume that placing these items in the common area is fine, but another roommate may have an issue with stepping over food bowls or toys.
Wall Space
Shared apartment spaces also include walls in common areas. Don’t hang your art without asking your roommate’s opinion first. Making wall decorating a group activity can help you both be satisfied with the decor.
Remember These Space-Saving Lifesavers
Sure, you can spring for the fancy organizational materials, but the basics are sometimes the best choice. These basic tools will help you turn shared apartment spaces into organized and equitable spaces:
- Adhesive hooks for hanging keys in the entryway or extra towels in the bathroom
- Shoeboxes can be used to store similar items like scarves, winter gloves, and cosmetics. Label them to make things easy to find!
- Over-the-door hangers are great for storing coats and bags.
- Under-the-bed storage containers are great for storing off-season clothing or bulky boots that don’t fit anywhere else.
Establishing a system early and communicating clearly will help you and your roommate live peacefully in shared apartment spaces.
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Whether you need your very first apartment home or are relocating to the area, Apartments of Harborside Village would love to be your dream apartment home. Are you looking for beautiful waterfront apartments in Joppa, Maryland? Let us show you one of our spacious and affordable apartments at the Apartments of Harborside Village. To learn more about our apartment options, visit us online, give us a call at 410-679-1130, or email us. For a peek into what it’s like to live in our community, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and YouTube.