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A woman who lived in a 90-square-foot apartment shares tips on living small
The first thing anyone should do is find the space for shelves, Cohen tells Tech Insider. You've got to go vertical.
She points to Ikea's Kallax series (formerly Expedit) and Metro Shelving as her go-to ways to create cubbies for her stuff.
"You can adjust them to any height, and you can get 'em in various widths and depths," Cohen says. "I used one for my desk, and that's where I lived pretty much every day."
There's no sense in thinking all your clothes need to fit on one bar in your closet, Cohen says.
Double up if you have the space.
There are plenty of affordable (and adjustable) options to install a second rod when you run out of room.
According to Cohen, one of the biggest problems people face, regardless of how much space they have, is that they never throw stuff away.
Confronting those sentimental items is painful, if overwhelming, so Cohen makes a suggestion: Start with your socks.
"Just do one thing at a time," she says. It'll feel less intimidating. "Little by little, you're getting it done without a lot of pressure."
Cohen sees living spaces as having "hot" and "cold" zones. A zone is hot if it contains items you use daily or weekly. A zone is cold if it's used only seasonally or on special occasions.
When she does consulting work (read: helps helpless people tidy up their lives), she points out that always keeping a George Foreman grill on the counter and a winter coat in the closet might not be necessary.
"By keeping the things you really need closer to you, you're also freeing up space around you."
Another way to get rid of rarely used clothes, Cohen says, is to get a sense of which items haven't been through the laundry in a while.
Chances are, if you haven't washed a shirt for six months, you (probably) haven't worn it in six months and can stand to get rid of it.
The final strategy for de-cluttering your life is a tip shared by Japanese cleaning consultant and bestselling author Marie Kondo. Unlike Kondo,, Cohen doesn't use the phrase "spark joy" when referring to the effect of holding a favorite shirt.
"Instead of saying 'What should I get rid of?'" Cohen explains, "I'll say 'What do I effin' love?'"
If you're indifferent or actually turned off by the items, toss it.
Do it even when they're not in use. You'll thank yourself.
Cohen's favorite color is orange. When she went shopping for new appliances, she forced herself to only go after products that came in orange.
Not that she wanted an all-orange kitchen, of course, but she says the tactic constrained her thinking enough not to overspend on endless gadgets: the tragedy of the home kitchen designer.
To that end, Cohen emphasizes the importance of keeping a sparse countertop. Her kitchen takes up an entire wall, yet she only has two appliances: a Nutribullet and a toaster oven.
She took the cue from her last place, which only had a hot pot and a toaster oven. Only the oven stayed. (Fittingly, Cohen also makes shrinky-dink art.)
Despite ditching one appliance entirely, Cohen says she's cooking even more.
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