Organizing My NYC Apartment

They weren’t kidding about NYC living being a tight squeeze! One of the biggest challenges about moving from Chicago to NY has been the limited storage space. I moved here with only 2 suitcases, but once I started to accumulate things over the course of a few months, I realized there was no way we were going to fit everything in the apartment in an organized way. It got to the point where I was storing beauty products in kitchen cabinets and using the one-in-one-out method when it came to clothes. John was definitely feeling the same sort of storage limitation as Conner and I, so we started researching the best home organization teams in the city.

We partnered with the Horderly team and The Container Store to take over our apartment organization and maximize the space. We knew they were the perfect professional organizers for us from our first phone call with Jamie and Fillip. They were so friendly, passionate, informative, and asked us so many detailed questions about our space. They are experts! Fillip and Jamie wanted to help us live more simply and efficiently, and that’s exactly what they did for us. Watch the video below to see the behind the scenes process:

The Closet

The closet was the main issue. Originally it was just a single hanging rack with no shoe storage beneath and no dividers on the shelves. The Horderly team started the process by taking everything out and ‘editing’ our clothes – a process of donating the things we don’t need and keeping the stuff we wear all the time. It made me realize how pointless it is to hang on to pieces of clothing I haven’t worn in years.

BEFORE

After editing the clothes, they organized them by ’type’ (sweaters, t-shirts, bodysuits, tanks) with dividers and replaced all of our hangers with slim non-slip hangers – this made a HUGE difference and freed up a lot of space. Next, they built a 3-level shelf for my shoes and staggered each pair – these are Elfa shelves from The Container Store custom designed by Horderly. The last updates in the closet were the clear shelf dividers. These separate the folded piles of clothing on the shelves and keep them from falling over/overlapping with each other. (I have a separate rack that’s not pictured in this post that’s for photoshoot clothing that I’ll be showing you in my bedroom tour soon).

AFTER

The Dresser

We did the same ‘editing’ process with the clothes in the dresser. Then, Horderly inserted drawer dividers in the drawers with my jeans and shirts. This was a game changer! It created a filing system – so once you took something out, you’d push the section back to make room for the new piece in the front of the drawer. The way they taught us to fold our clothes for this filing system was also so helpful! Definitely more time consuming, but worth it. I was able to it so much more in my drawers this way. This is my dresser from Anthropologie – I’ll go into more detail about this in my room tour post that’s coming.

BEFORE

AFTER

The Storage Bed

Best small space living tip: a storage bed! The extra pull out drawer under the bed is so great for storing clothes or anything else you need more space for. This bed is The Nina Bed in Bella Dove Fabric by Jonathan Louis (queen size), find a retailer that carries this bed here.

BEFORE

AFTER

The Bathroom

An important part of my job as a blogger is test out new products so I recommend the best ones to you guys, so you can imagine the overflow of beauty products this apartment sees every month. We edited the bathroom and got rid of some things (I had to be realistic about what I use every day or at least once a week). They organized the shelves behind my mirror with the things we use on a daily basis. I love the acrylic organizational pieces they used for these shelves. The bigger items like hair products and tools, medicines, and lotion were stored in bins beneath the sink. I love how they label everything!

They installed a storage unit on the back of the bathroom door that’s for overflow items and product testers. I love having this for storage – especially for when I order toothpaste and things on bulk from amazon.

BEFORE

AFTER

Jamie and Fillip were incredible to work with. We loved getting the chance to hang out with them and their team while they worked on our apartment. They’re so passionate about what they do and they’re making such a difference in their clients lives! In my opinion, getting rid of the clutter, donating what you don’t need to people who need it, and living more simply will change your life for the better. I kept the things I truly loved, and got rid of the rest. It makes outfit planning and getting dressed so much easier.

Thank you so much to Horderly and the Container Store for simplifying our apartment and organizing our lives! I highly recommend the Horderly team if you’re struggling with space or just need someone to help you get rid of your clutter and say bye to things you don’t need anymore. You will LOVE the end result.

Dark jeans | Ripped Jeans | Gray Stripe Sweater | Similar White Bodysuit | Shoes