You love your apartment, but sometimes you can’t help but wonder where to put all of your stuff. Maximizing the space in a rental is tricky, but it’s not impossible. Here are a few expert tips that will help keep everything folded, boxed, stacked, and just generally tucked away.

1. Take advantage of under-the-bed space. Though mom always told you not to shove everything under the bed, sometimes it’s necessary in a rental. The key is to do it neatly! Invest in some long, flat containers made for that particular spot, and fill them with off-season clothes, shoes, books, or anything else that’s taking up space in the bedroom.
2. Only buy furniture that doubles as storage. From the coffee table to the couch, there are a number of different ways that your furniture can offer storage space. For example, cedar chests or trunks both make great coffee tables that can also store living room essentials.
3. Utilize the walls in the kitchen. If you have a lot of cookware and not enough cabinets, consider using the walls. Install some sturdy hooks to hang pots and pans, add a metal rod with dangling hangers to store small kitchen utensils, or add a leaning shelf to stack plates, bowls and glasses.
4. Don’t forget “hidden” spaces. Places like the backs of doors, corners of the bathroom, and tops of kitchen cabinets are all often underutilized. Start looking outside of the usual storage spaces and you’ll be surprised at how much space you actually have.

Storage Ideas for Small Spaces [Real Simple]
Clever Storage Ideas to Create Space in Your Rental Home [Rentals.com]
Organizing Solutions for Renters [Unclutterer]
12 Big Ideas for Creating More Storage Space [Rental-Living]

CC-BY-SA-2.0/Flickr/Kalle Schärlund