Ask Audrey: The Furniture Wars

A clean, simple approach to furniture in a smaller space.

Dear Audrey: I live in a small apartment and also work from home - which means I don't have a lot of space, but I have more furniture than the average apartment. What can I do to make my apartment feel less cluttered?

Get Rid of the Furniture.

I'm a huge proponent of minimizing possessions, especially bulky furniture. Read through Marie Kondo's Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up. It will change your outlook on cleaning (and possessions in general). It's short & fantastic.

If you really need to have a lot of things around, refinish the furniture (in all the same finish) for cohesiveness. You could also lighten the finishes so that they're a brighter hue.

Don't let smaller possessions crowd the top of your furniture. If you need to have these smaller pieces for storage, use them for that purpose only. (Not to have as a display case.) As much as we love our collectibles and treasured memories, that’s rarely a good enough reason to keep a ton of stuff in a small space. Like Marie Kondo says,

“When your space is clean and uncluttered, you have no choice but to examine your inner state.”

It’s just not worth hanging on to extra stuff when it may keep us from being our best selves!

Featured Image: Audrey Bauer