I lived in a 500-square-foot apartment for some time. One bedroom, a bathroom, and a living room/kitchen area.
I found three things helped me keep it quite tidy.
First, I threw away anything I didn’t need and wouldn’t need and to which I had no strong sentimental attachment. I didn’t let it build up, either. I picked up my mail daily, threw out the junk mail at the mailboxes, and tossed any bills etc as soon as they were paid.
Second, I went to a home improvement store and purchased a number of plastic storage containers and baskets. I used the storage containers for those items which I’d use rarely but which I wasn’t going to throw away–Christmas decorations, for example, or important memorabilia. Most apartments (at least in my area) have a storage area on the porch; all the boxes got labeled, sorted, and stacked in that storage space. I used the baskets to organize my closet. Laundry supplies went in one, small linens went in another, etc.
Third, regular cleaning. It’s old-fashioned, but my motto was “a place for everything, and everything in its place.” Every evening, I’d set a timer and straighten up the apartment for 15 minutes. That’s all–just 15 minutes. As it was a small space, I could have it looking quite presentable in that time, especially since I’d done the same thing the night before. Also, I “deep cleaned” once a week: groomed the cats, vacuumed, dusted, cleaned the bathroom, mopped, etc. Between the daily cleanings and the regular cleanings, it just never got very bad. I grew up in a dirty, cluttered, disordered home which stressed me out, so having a tidy home was very important to me once I moved out on my own.
As others have mentioned, a small fireproof safe is a must. It will only run you $25 or so, and will be a bit larger than a shoebox. Don’t worry about keeping things like insurance policies in there. DO keep things like your birth certificate, passport, a copy of your driver’s license, baptismal certificate, car title in it–in short, things which are identity-related and not easily or quickly replaceable. Get an expandable sectioned folder, and use one section of it for insurance policies, another for car repair records, another for a copy of your apartment lease, another for health care, etc. These are important documents you’ll want on hand and easily findable, but not so important that you want to take up space within the safe for them. I’d keep the safe under your bed or in your closet, and the folder in a desk or bookcase.
Good luck! And remember, you needn’t do all these things at once. Small steps are the key here–it’s how I learned, too.
uch:
apparently there’s a big eatery-place cafe-thing in store. never been in one, because I don’t like their furniture (gasp!), and it’s fairly expensive.