I moved from a total shithole to a really nice new apartment a month ago. It's a one-bedroom that's only 590 sq ft and I'm living with my boyfriend for the first time! We had to be really careful about taking up space and making sure the things we got were aesthetically pleasing (or at least extremely useful) to not waste precious square feet. We found out we got the apartment about 2 weeks before we moved, and had only toured a similar one that was 100 sq ft larger so I had two weeks of stress not knowing how we were going to do it. I decided to try to do as much as I could through AliExpress since the cheap prices allowed me to not feel too guilty about "wasting" money on something that didn't end up working. I started ordering the day after we were confirmed and ended up happy with pretty much everything!
One thing I'd do differently next time: if I find something cool on AliExpress, check Amazon before ordering - sometimes the same thing exists for about 5% more and the shipping takes 1-2 days instead of 2-6 weeks.
Bathroom stuff
- Shower hanging baskets $6.63 This might be the thing I'm most proud of. I got two of these, used Command Shower Hooks to hang them, and now we have an enormous amount of space for my hundreds of shampoos and conditioners. Way better than dealing with a stand-up tension rod or one that hangs off the shower spout (which is almost always too high). They are loaded with stuff and have held up like a dream, and they're super easy to take down and wash in the sink. Every time we've had a visitor over I've given them a tour with this as a highlight lmao. I'm wondering if I could have used shower hooks instead, but I just didn't trust them with this much weight (even when the promo images for the hooks show them holding up an entire human???). If the Command hooks ever give way I'll try those!
- Shower baskets $4.86 These are great and can hold a lot, I have way too much storage space now between these and the baskets lmao. I have like... 6 exfoliants at my disposal because of all the space. I have the luxury of having smooth tiles in my bathroom (subway tiles), unlike my old bathroom which had textured tiles and you couldn't get anything to stick. What a game changer for both storage and cleaning!!!
- Shower hooks $0.61 got these for loofahs etc, they work great!
- Loofahs $1.94 Did you know you're supposed to replace loofahs monthly? For two bucks it's a lot easier! I ordered a few and will order more as soon as we're on the last one. My boyfriend is grumpy about the waste but he's getting over it since he doesn't wake himself up scratching his dry-ass legs in the middle of the night. (I'm also making him use SA body cream, gotta get him some new skin you know?) I got pink ones for me and blue ones for him and they look cute and did not smell weird.
- Suction cup razor holder $0.86 I was worried about my enormous razor balancing on this but it's fine! And it works really well.
- Suction cup soap tray $2.47 I hate cleaning soap scum but this is easy to pop off the wall and wash in the sink. It sticks really well even when I accidentally flail my arm into it in the middle of a drunken shower.
- Bath tray $16.01 More than I wanted to spend but I couldn't find one I didn't hate for cheaper. If you really want a bamboo style one, just get it from amazon, but I was more interested in saving money and just having something practical. I store it (with all my pretty bath stuff) on the bottom shelf of an Ikea bench we have in the bathroom. This is my first apartment (out of 5 or 6?) that has ever had a REALLY GOOD TUB, and this is an excellent addition. I also ordered a suction cup pillow for the bath that hasn't come in yet.
- Various bottles 1 | Various bottles 2 $2-3 I got a bunch of these intending to use them for shower and bath stuff (and hand soap in both kitchen & bathroom) so that all my shit looked nice n regular but man oh man I do not like decanting stuff. Also the square ones - once you expand the pump the tube is white for all the colors so I'm mad about that but it's cute enough. Gotta be honest here, in the middle of writing this my work had a 2pm meeting with 10 bottles of Veuve and I drank the fuck out of the free $50 champers. I'm also writing this out of order and then fixing it so apologies for the sudden tipsy descriptions. I'm sure you all understand.
- MakeUp Eraser - $2.37 I've always wanted one of these but didn't get it because doing laundry in my old place was so inconvenient. I got two of these and love them! No smell after shipping and it's so easy to take off everything (even fenty eyeliner).
- Plastic storage basket $7.06 currently storing my hair products in one and cleaning supplies in another - the handles make it super easy to move and it's very cute. I'm probably going to get more and use them under the kitchen sink as well.
- Silicone shampoo brush $1.82 There's a new co-wash that's being insta-marketed as this brilliant shampoo and I think it's just because it comes with one of these. So I got one to use with my co-wash. I'm trying to go back to co-wash for the spring to get my hair a little healthier after a very dry winter but we'll see if this makes a difference!
Closet Stuff
- Tyvek Laundry Basket - $10.31 Also got two of these - they stand up on their own easily but are super flexible, meaning we can shove two in a really narrow space so that his gross hockey gear doesn't stink up my nice Sezanne reps :)
- Tie/belt hooks for closet $1.89This isn't really space-saving. They're pretty cute but take up more room than if we have the ties and belts stored differently, so I'm probably going to give this one away to someone. We have a pretty small walk-in closet and can't spare the rack space. The closet has wire shelf/rack hybrids so I repurposed cheap plastic C-shape shower hooks hanging from the shelf against the back wall for scarves, belts, and ties.
- Felt storage box small $8.97
- Felt storage box large $11.45 These are a HUGE recommend. The large one fits in the amazon wire cubes I got that match my closet system and extend the storage space up to the ceiling, and it makes it look a lot less wire-y. The large also fits perfectly in Ikea's cube storage which we use for records except for one cube with this in it to hold cables and record cleaning supplies. The smaller ones are being used for remotes and gaming controllers in the living room and art supplies in the closet. The smaller ones are actually really roomy and can fit 6 gaming controllers, 3 remotes, and necessary charging cables.
- Laundry mesh bags $1.50-2 I got a few sizes of these, it's nice to have a bunch of options when washing silks and cashmeres!
Kitchen Stuff
- Whiskey stones $4.29 We haven't used these yet but just puttin' em out there or whatever
- Mini broom & dustpan $3.13 This is fantastic for kitchen counters and around our enormous collection of plants. I wish the dustpan was a little straighter but it hasn't been much trouble.
- Iron fruit bowl $8.49 Cute, big enough for the garlic and onions we always have on hand but doesn't take up too much counter space!
- Knife sharpener $3.76 This hasn't arrived yet but it's cute. And any knife sharpener is going to be an improvement over not having a knife sharpener at all.
- metal onion smell thing $1.30 Haven't tried it yet, just walking around town with onion hands all the time, but it's small but not too small and definitely seems metal!
Other home stuff
- Desk mat $2.40 Got two, one for work and home (no desk yet so haven't used that one) and I'm loving the one at work! Really makes my horrible laminate work desk less... horrible.
- Baskets for blankets & pillows $21.73 These are excellent, not floppy at all but very flexible. Perfect size for our extra blankets and pillows. We're getting a dog soon and I may use one for dog stuff instead but for now I'm really happy with them! They look great in our living room and bedroom and can collapse down very easily.
- Felt pads for furniture $0.64 It does what's on the label and it's less than a dollar. Easy to cut down if necessary. Because my new apartment has like... nice walls, we put these on the back of furniture... and obviously the bottom of furniture.
- Tan gloves $1.46 I'm pale and vain, what can I say.
- Nail art brush set $1.95 It's a bunch of brushes, idk who needs 7? Like if you were a salon you'd need more, but if you're doing stuff for yourself you need MAYBE 2 or 3. I use them for cleaning up shit jobs on at-home manicures. Pretty good and I'm not using my good makeup brushes 👍
That's it!! Let me know if you have questions and definitely chime in with stuff you got for home!!!
Submitted April 01, 2019 at 10:30PM by fitsaccount https://ift.tt/2YIIWC3
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