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No closets... Big issue.
We got married last may and have been living in a small apartment with absolutely no closets. Storage is a major issue. When I lived there by myself with just my stuff, it wasn't a problem. I eliminated anything that I didn't use regularly and it was just right for me. Then he moved in. Stubborn and unyeilding, he didn't want to eliminate any of his stuff. You would think that he lived through the Depression. Seriously, he has more junk than my grandmother. We have very limited space and nowhere to put anything. Our clothes are in clothes baskets in the living room because his dresser is filled with his stuff and our entry area consists of a 3 foot by 3 foot landing so our shoes, coats, etc have to place to go. The kitchen has no space for our pots and pans and his dvds have taken over my bookshelf. I think I may lose it if this continues much longer. Any ideas or solutions?
Re: No closets... Big issue.
Baskets!
I have currently have three roommates...and ONE closet! Baskets can hold clothes, dvds, books, odd and ends, crafts, food, etc. The are cute and decorative too! Also for clothes, I bought a long clothes rack (like they have in clothing stores) and put a 4-panel divider in front of it in our livingroom. No one has a clue that's where I keep my shoes and clothes when they come into our apartment.
These solutions do not cost very much either-my favorite part:)
Hope this helps!
It sounds like you have the apartment set up the way you like it, his stuff just doesn't fit, and he's unwilling to get rid of anything... sound about right?
He's probably feeling very unwelcome in his own home. Give the man some space, it isn't just "your" apartment anymore... it's his home now too. I assume you knew he had belongings before you married him... did you think he was just going to bring a duffel bag with some clothes and throw everything else away?
My suggestion is get a bigger apartment. Some apartments just aren't meant for more than one person. I had a small apartment when I started dating my H. There's no way in hell I'd ever have him move in there with me. It was technically big enough, but in reality we'd have been at each others throats constantly. It just wasn't meant for two people and two people's junk. We rented a different apartment when we moved in together... it was bigger, had room for both of our belongings, and neither of us had ever referred to as "my" apartment, it was only "our" apartment.
http://pandce.proboards.com/index.cgi#general
Move. Find a larger place that you choose together. That way it isn't him invading "your" space it will be "our" space from the get go.
K
Ditto the PP, definitely baskets! For everything!
Shelving is good too if you can afford it, they make cute and small bookshelves at Target which would be great for his dvds.
Could you get another dresser? That would help with the clothes having to be stored in laundry baskets in the living room. Craigslist is always a great place to look for inexpensive furniture.
Also I've found if you need something inexpensive those plastic tote/drawer things are wonderful, and they come in all different sizes.
I'd hang some hooks in your landing for your coats and a basket for shoes.
Also see about some hidden under the bed storage, maybe the two of you can sit down together and sort through some of his clothes and your clothes, put seasonal clothes that you don't wear under the bed to free up room in the dresser.
In your kitchen if you can, hang some hooks to hang your pots off of. We had a teenytiny kitchen in our first apartment with no storage and that worked out good for us.
If I think of anything else I'll post it but hopefully some of that helped!
When I moved in after the wedding, it was tough to fit into the space that he had filled for 5 years. I knew he spent time getting rid of things and making some space for me in the closet. We were also trying to sell the condo, so everything had to be put away just so every single morning. I basically lived out of 3 suitcases for 2.5 months (until we accepted the offer and had the inspection done!) I didn't even have much with me, most everything was in storage. However... maybe you could do what we were planning to do if the condo didn't sell... Pretend like we were moving and empty everything out. Dressers, cupboards etc. Then move back in with essentials only. Like do you really need that t-shirt from freshman year of college that is in the back of the dresser (speaking from experience) or is sharing a home more important (him)? Or do you really need that bedskirt that is still in the plastic wrap for the comforter we aren't even using (him)? Or 12 travel mugs (me)? Or 25 pairs of shoes when you only ever rotate through 5 of them (me)? Or that pot that you think is made out of lead (him)? I also made sure to leave out what I planned on donating once we moved into our house... and wrote on the box and mentioned it out loud what it was... b/c he felt like he was the only one getting rid of things b/c I would just box mine up without telling him everything I was donating
And similar to PP, I know some friends did was to buy a relatively inexpensive wardrobe from Ikea- and it totally helped reign in some of their clutter from having miniscule closets.
Hooks. Lots and lots of hooks. The idea is to get things off the floor and counters. Over the door hooks are best, IMO, because they are easy to install and remove.
In the entryway, hang your coats on the back of the door.
More hooks for your bedroom door and bathroom door. In the bathroom I stuck a single hook on the inside of the cabinet door and hung my hairdryer from it. It just helped keep the bulky thing organized and out of the way of the other things in the cabinet.
Hooks in the kitchen for pots and pans. They even make over the door hanging storage options for cabinet doors.
The other option is to put things in storage. Then in 4-6 months when you haven't needed or missed it, ask yourselves if it is worth the storage fee or if it makes more sense to sell or donate it.