A Little Gift Guide for People with Little Apartments

Two personal notes: I love useful gifts. And, I never thought I’d be the person who was always thinking of how to improve their living space, but Manhattan has forced me to become a fanatic.

Here’re the things I’ve bought and found useful for little living:

Vacuum sealed bags

I just vacuum-bagged my summer clothes and slipped them under the bed in a case. For most clothes, I’ve found it to shrink the space down to at least half the usual size, which is a big deal! I like the Ziploc Space Bags (at Target, Container Store), but I haven’t tried others. Important: they’ll need to own a compatible vacuum. They work with Dyson stick vacuums.

String Lights

String lights are magic for apartments. You can get them the little 3M hooks for them as well. They make small spaces delightful.

Ottoman with storage

I store sweaters inside this box seat that I got at the Container Store. It works as a seat and an ottoman:

Hooks

Removable hooks are awesome! They use empty space on walls and doors and I use them all over my apartment. 3M brand hooks have worked for me.

Go Tall

A few months ago we got a tall shoe rack, instead of the usual bench-style one. Just like Manhattan, vertical space is plenty, but floor space is in low supply.

Just don’t get big things

One of our friends got us this really nice water filter pitcher, that is big and round. It’s so nice, but it actually ends up taking up 1/6 of our fridge space. Err on the side of getting things that won’t take up much space in their apartment.