We are all guilty of accumulating too much stuff.

One downside to living in an apartment is that storage space can sometimes be lacking. This makes it that much easier for an apartment to become cluttered. Here are 5 tips to get organized and declutter your apartment.

Opt for furniture with built-in storage

Spend the little bit extra to invest in furniture that has the potential to also act as storage. Things like a bed frame with pull-out drawers underneath, a sofa that lifts up to reveal a storage box or a coffee table with a top that lifts. Sleek furniture with hidden storage is a fantastic way to declutter and organize your apartment.

Use technology

If you have things like old photos, CDs and videos, use technology to your advantage so that you can rid yourself of these things. Scan photos and save them to Dropbox, Shutterfly or even an external hard drive. Videos and CDs can also be stored on an external hard drive. You can then get rid of these things, freeing up plenty of space.

Pretend that you are moving

Moving usually means ridding yourself of stuff that you no longer need or have a use for. Pretend that you are moving and go through everything that you own. If you wouldn't take it with you to a new apartment, then no use in storing it in your current one. Do this once a year to organize your apartment and keep it decluttered.

Set time-limit rules

This could be ninety days, six months or one year. Ask yourself if you have used or wore this item in the last ninety days (or six months, etc), or if you will use it in the same time frame. If you answer no to both, then you really don’t have a reason to keep it around any longer. 

Utilize the walls

Using your vertical space is a great way to declutter your apartment. Use things like a pot rack in the kitchen, hanging shelves, multi-picture frames and pegboards to move things off of furniture and onto the walls. Ikea has a great selection of wall organization products that can help with this.