Best Friend Apartment Makeover

Hi, my name is Yuansi. Meet Jeanette Ita, my best friend from college. Originally from Jakarta, Indonesia, Jeanette now lives in Seattle as a behavior technician, helping kids with behavior problems.


Jeanette Ita

Just like many young women in their 20s, Jeanette has a lot of stuff at home. After seeing her getting lost in her ocean of clothing and tripping over the miscellaneous stuff scattered around her coffee table, I proposed we do an apartment makeover.

It excited me because it’d be a fun, new, and rewarding experience for both of us. However, the apartment makeover turned out to be a physically and emotionally exhausting project. But at the end of the day, when we looked at the decluttered and organized apartment, we both smiled.

Living room — Coffee Table

Jeanette’s coffee table had nothing to do with coffee or table. It was a hub of clutter that bothered her. As the center piece of a living room, the coffee table is as important as the bed in a bedroom. Keeping your coffee table organized and tidy is like keeping your bed clean and ready. 


Drag the slider to see before and after 


Lay everything out on the table, go through each item

Put the items that will stay on the table in the felt•like•it! storage bins. P.S. they come in different sizes!

TADA! It is very satisfying to see the results!

Kitchen — Drawer

“Why?” I uttered in shock and face palmed when I saw Jeanette’s 20 pairs of chopsticks, “there are only two people living here.”

“Chopsticks are life.” Jeanette smirked.

Alright, then let’s give them a better arrangement in the drawer!

 
Put some pop into your organization with colorful stacking bins!

Bedroom — Night Stand

When your night stand is the last thing you see at night and the first thing you see in the morning, it is important to keep it clean and tidy.


felt•like•it! storage bins give a soft touch to your bedroom organization

Bedroom — Closet

Keep a hand on your jaw and here we go!

:( clutter doesn’t make you happy ):

Take everything out, clean the closet

Sort them in to 3 piles: Yes, No, Maybe

Try on the ones you are not sure about. Hey, you look great in that dress. Keep it!

Use cliffHANGERs to connect hangers to save space in the racks

Keep off-season clothes in felt•like•it! baskets and donate the No pile or give away to friends (me)! 


Voila!

Organizing is an art. It is a process of self-reflection. It is a closer look at the relationship between our everyday objects and ourselves. Every time Jeanette picked up a piece of clothing and fell into contemplation, I knew there was a very personal and special relationship between them. The purpose of organizing your place is not about tossing everything away. Instead, it’s about realizing and establishing healthy relationships between you and your belongings. Organizing is a way to be responsible and respectful for what you own.