For the most part, I love renting an apartment, and it definitely does have its perks - maintenance, no lawn to mow, increased security, et cetera - but I’d be lying if I said it was a perfect scenario all the time. Let's be real, that apartment life can be super annoying! Read on to see what annoys me the most and the solutions I employ errrrryday.
NEVER ENOUGH STORAGE
Anyone who knows me knows that I am very discerning about my possessions. I LOVE to get rid of things and pride myself on being selective about what I will and will not bring into my home. I think if you’ve moved enough times, you begin to see possessions as more of a burden or headache. Does anyone feel me on that? Anyways, that being said, I do still have...ya know… a bunch of stuff that I need to store. My current apartment only has 2 closets, and let me tell you, it’s rouuuuugh. So how do I fix this storage-lacking situation? Here are my tips:
Don’t get caught up on storing things in the “proper” place. For example, I store my makeup on top of my printer in a cupboard in my dining room. While I do like the natural light for painting my face, I also just don’t really have an option because my bathroom storage is full. If you can accept that not everything is going to be stored in the ideal spot, you suddenly realize you have a lot more room than you thought.
Deal with your boxes and packages as quickly as possible. When you live in a small space, all it takes is 1 large box from Amazon to make you feel cramped. I literally have NOWHERE to put a box. So when you get a package, open it, determine if you want to keep the items, and try to recycle or take the return to the postal outlet as soon as possible. To be totally honest, I still struggle with this one!!
Find your local donation spots and get ready to visit them all the time. When I owned a home, I was able to collect items for donation in a spare room and then load up my car once or twice a year to drop things off. In my apartment, I barely have room for an extra SHOE, so if I have an item to donate, I try to do it within the next few days. I truly believe the less clutter you have, the happier you will be in your rental apartment.
TOO MANY SMELLS
Smells are an issue no matter where you live. But there’s nothing like living in a building with hundreds of people to take it up a notch (haha... ew). Whether you like to cook fish every day or you have a flatulent dog, smells will need to be managed. It CAN be controlled! Here are my tips:
Keep your window and doors open as much as you can. I try to keep my window (yes, I have just one lol) and my tiny patio door open as much as I possibly can. Granted, I live on the 4th floor so I’m lucky because I can keep it open at all hours without worrying about safety. But lemme tell you, no matter how much incense you have, NOTHING will clear the air quite like a fresh breeze.
Bonus tip: Try to air our your apartment at least an hour before people come over. You don’t want people to walk in and be low key grossed out.
Take out your trash every day (and freeze your compost). It’s so easy to get accustomed to smells where you live. Do yourself a favor and keep that trash can fresh. I recommend taking out your trash every single day because guess what? Last night’s salmon dinner smells DISGUSTING the next day ;) Also, if you compost (and you should), one of my best tips is to store it in your freezer. This eliminates the odors and the flies!
Get a room spray that doesn’t give you a headache and use it liberally. I am sensitive to heavy artificial smells. Ever get in a Lyft and want to throw up because someone has a cupcake scented fresh air freshener that is simply stifling?! Don’t let your apartment have that same effect on you or your guests. Find a room spray that not only hides unpleasant smells but also smells good and is on the subtle side. I prefer natural scents like mint or rosemary, but you do youuuuu.
Related: 6 Pro Tips for Small Space Living
LOTS OF NOISE
Everyone knows that noisy neighbors suck! But few people talk about the noise within your apartment as well. Here are my solutions for both scenarios...
Find your go-to atmospheric playlists or white noise machine. To deal with the noise outside your control, I recommend building up a solid 3-4 hour playlist or investing in a white noise machine. I like to use the lo-fi beats youtube channel on our smart tv to keep things chillllll. Our dogs respond very well to that one too. Knocks ‘em right out.
Headphones are important. Luckily for me, my apartment building has thick walls and I don’t hear a lot of noise from my neighbors. However, my husband and I tend to annoy each other with the noise we each produce. To combat this issue, learn to love your headphones. He plays his keyboard or videogames with his headphones, and I watch RHONY with mine.
Sharpen your ears and lower that volume. When I am blessed enough to have full control of the TV (I’d say a solid 90% of the time), I must still be a reasonable and respectful wife (lol). So i try to keep that volume down. And you know what? The Bachelor is even MORE dramatic when Chris Harrison is constantly whispering.
So there you have it, all the things that are currently annoying me about living in my rental apartment and my handy little solutions. And if you’re looking for apartment rental specific design tips, we created a free guide on that exact topic.
Do you have any genius tips? What annoys you about living in a rental apartment? Share the deets below or on instagram!
xox Emma
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