When I first moved into my apartment I was so overwhelmed. For one, I finally broke away from the nest and settled into my own space and secondly I had this wide open space that quickly filled up with my boxes. It's hard to get a sense of how much space you have until you try and move all your belongings into place.

My family generously offered me their furniture but I found out that my new humble home wouldn't comfortably accommodate them, which sucked but thankfully Facebook marketplace and craigslist solved the issue. Now I had to get used to this smaller space and try not to make it too cramped.

A lot of people think you can't have a great looking home with a small space but with a little creativity, I knew I'd be able to make it nice and cozy. Here are some tricks I've picked up that can help you with your small space.

Storage Is Key

When you don't have a lot of space, it's assumed that you shouldn't have a lot of stuff. Which I wholeheartedly agree with because I'm sure like me, you don't use a lot of the stuff you have lying around. However, I'm not the one to tell you what to get rid of. There are some general guidelines to keeping your stuff to the minimum, but we'll get to that later on.

The key to keeping your stuff nice and neat is to make sure you have an ample amount of storage. I keep a set of baskets around that takes care of all my odds and ends. I look for neutral and textured prices that add some style and personality to the room.

Keep the Space Open

One of my biggest pet peeves is going into someone's room and having barely enough space to move around. When there's stuff piled up all over the place and they only leave a small passage that looks like a trail. Stuff like that really provokes my claustrophobia.

A good way to prevent that is by limiting the amount of large furniture around and simply picking up after yourself. Maybe add an accent rug to tie the room together and add a visual element on the floor. This gives a room a more polished grown-up look.

Embrace Minimalist

Like I previously mentioned, it's better to live in a small space without a lot of stuff so don't accumulate. Living comfortably in a small apartment means giving up fun knick-knacks and decorations that would otherwise look great. To do this, try embracing minimalism.

Learn to make do with the bare essentials. That doesn't mean you have to dump your wardrobe and reduce it to basic. It just means you have to be mindful with your purchases. Buy stuff that is durable, will last and is multipurpose whenever you can.

Declutter like it's your Job

I do this periodically and I also check the closets and everything else I've put into storage. I try to go through my stuff every few months. Get rid of clothes that don't fit, broken furniture and unused better. Sell it off or give it away and give yourself some space.

Use Vertical space

Going vertical has been my favorite thing to do lately. I hang up all my towels bags and jewelry. It provides easy access, makes things look more organized and it's made me use my stuff a lot more because the options are right there in front of my space. I've also invested in some floating shelves for my books. Now I have less stuff hiding out in shelves or dragging on the floor. I also don't have to deal with bare walls.