If you know me at all, you know I rarely advocate for products. But there are seven items that perfectly fit our purposes in our new NYC apartment so I thought I'd share them with you.
Considerate this less an endorsement of these particular products and more a fine example of when good planning meets with careful shopping.
Laundry Cart - This narrow, rolling, 3-tiered cart is just the right fit in my laundry closet. It holds cleaning supplies, batteries, lightbulbs and more. It could also be used in kitchens and bathrooms. There are several similar versions available for about $30 online.
Floating drawer - These matching floating drawers for our bedroom hold a lamp and store the basics, without cluttering the floor visually or physically. I love being able to mop right under the bed without hindrance. Several retailers carry similar products but I found my perfect size and design at Urbansize on Etsy.
The IKEA Raskog Utility Cart is quite popular on the Internet. Now I know why. It's versatile (we use ours to store pet food and cookbooks), attractive (it comes in grey, white and turquoise) and sturdy.
Casper Mattress - I'm so glad my brother told me about Casper. Rather than lugging our old mattress set from Georgia, we bought a new king-sized Casper mattress for only $950. It was delivered to the apartment for free. It came in a small box and easily unwrapped into the most comfortable bed we've ever enjoyed. No need for a box spring. It lays on any flat surface.
Magnetic knife strip - We didn't want to sacrifice drawer space for knives or counter space for a knife block. This magnetic solution is sleek and so easy. And since we're renters, we used velcro Command strips to hang it.
Turkish towels - When you think Turkish towels, usually you think "ultra plush." We traded in our luxurious bath sheets, though, for black-and-white striped Peshtemal towels. They are large and versatile - you can use them as throws or wraps - and they absorb water and dry much more quickly than regular towels. They also wrap around my hair nicely and take up a lot less space.
Roomba - When you have two cats and a dog, and OCD-style cleanliness needs, a Roomba is an ultimate luxury. It's not hard to vacuum a one-bedroom apartment but it's incredible to come home each day to a fresh, clean floor. We set ours to clean once a day. You can set yours to do it more or less frequently. It stores handily underneath our bed.
