Shhh, I have a little secret to share today! 

Hidden in this carefully curated, boho chic pile of linens, pillows, and rugs is a small space storage solution that we happened on a year ago.  Combined with some great stackable drawers and life became significantly easier!  

Not too long ago my youngest and I were in the throws of mapping out and pulling together everything she was going to need for her first apartment.  She was about to be a sophomore in college and was moving in with three friends.  The apartment the girls were moving to was new and gorgeous!  Four bedrooms, four baths, great amenities, beautiful floors, countertops, trim work and a screened porch with a bed swing.  

I might have salivated a bit when we first looked at the model during the fall of the previous semester.  My husband has mentioned that I had a bit too much fun with the apartment project!  I don’t know that I would read it as too much fun, but I will own it.  I really enjoyed working on this project with her!  One of the few problems we had to address early on was storage and organization.  She “drew the short straw” for the smallest bedroom and closet.  Not the end of the world but it did mean that we had to be creative and strategic in our purchases.  What I am sharing with you today is how we managed with hidden storage. 

The school she is attending is close to a ten-hour drive away from home and unlike in Houston where you can get away with a long sleeve t-shirt most of the winter, clothing and footwear for the climate is bulkier and takes up much more room. With her living so far from home, swinging by the house to pick up a few things is not an option. While I have earned my online ordering stripes, our best strategy for this apartment was plan, plan, plan and capitalize on hidden storage. 

One of the things that we were able to re-purpose from her freshman year was a stackable drawer system.  Consisting of a dozen or so Large Tint Stackable Storage Drawers from The Container Store to place in the dorm beneath her lofted bed.  The drawers gave her extra organization and storage; as a bonus they double as packing containers.  They are available in store and online at www.containerstore.com and during the month of July are usually included in their 25% off sale.  They can be purchased individually or in cases of four.  We knew that we would be able to use a few of these in her closet.  My goal was to reuse as many as possible without taking up valuable real estate around her room and come up with a way to use them beneath her apartment bed without breaking the bank.

 Of course, Amazon saved the day and I ordered the Zinus Casey 18 Inch Premium SmartBase Mattress Foundation.  This compactly packed frame arrives folded up in manageable packaging and is super easy to assemble.  I put it together by myself and had it completely set up in about 20 minutes from when I opened the box.  One of the best things about this frame is it has a 16+ inches clearance off the ground; higher than most frames.  Four pairs of The Container Store drawers can easily be slid beneath the bed.  As a bonus, there are no squeaky parts!  I purchased last year during Amazon Prime Days and paid $103.00; normally the bedframe is $210.00 or more.  We would buy the frame again and as a matter of fact, my other daughter is replacing her bed soon and will be purchasing the same frame for her apartment.  She stayed in the apartment with her sister last fall and loved everything about the bed.  I chose not to include anything about the mattress because firmness etc. of a mattress is such a personal decision. That too was from Amazon and came in a manageable, easily packed shape. DO NOT OPEN your mattress right away. Place your rugs, drawers beneath the bed and don’t forget to put the bedskirt in place before you open up the mattress. It is heavy and hard to move if you are alone. This is first hand experience talking!

When it was time to pack everything up to place in storage until she and her roommates moved to a new apartment, the bedframe and the stackable drawers were the easiest part of the process.  I love simple solutions to problems!  I hope you will too. Please let me know what you think in the comments below!

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This post is not sponsored.