I didn't know a $16 nightstand could make me this happy

You know that sense of pride you get when you FINALLY organize a tiny corner of your home? That warm, fuzzy feeling that is part sense of accomplishment but also contentment that you now have at least part of a space that you enjoy living in?

That’s where I’m at right now, after a weekend of furious decluttering and a strategic second hand furniture purchase.

The one bedroom, one bathroom apartment that my husband and I share with our two dogs has felt small basically since I moved in. When you’re both working from home full-time and then add in two dogs with all of their stuff, space fills up quick.

I am a big watcher of Apartment Therapy for this reason because surely if someone in Manhattan can cram their family into 500 square feet (or less), surely I can do the same in central New Jersey with some strategic/ingenious organizing hacks?

What I’ve realized over time is that most NYC apartments have what mine does not: quirkiness and charm. They have weird narrow walls you can mount shelving on, they have 10 foot ceilings with little nooks where you can store your suitcases and most importantly, most of them are not giant empty boxes.

That’s what my apartment is. It’s one giant living room/office/dining room box, with a bedroom box, a kitchen rectangle and a bathroom rectangle all thrown together.

I swear if my apartment had more walls or like.. division between the spaces, it would solve a lot of the angst I feel looking around the space, knowing it COULD be better, if I could just figure out HOW.

And by better I don’t mean better looking for sharing on social media. I just mean better flow and better for our daily lives.

But like I said at the top, I think I’ve cracked two tiny corners (not literally) in the apartment that are making me feel so much better about the space overall. And one couldn’t have happened without the other and vice versa so it has a nice symmetry to it that tickles my brain.