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When you rent, the space is your home, but it isn’t your Home, you know? Of course, you want to keep things tidy and organized, not only for your own benefit, but also so that you don’t end up losing a deposit at some point. The real difficulty comes into play when you decide how to do this. In most cases, you can’t remodel or make permanent changes, but you’re not without options: Here are the best (non-destructive) organizing solutions for renters.
Always opt for expanders or tension rods
Many people screw shelves and rods into the walls of their rental apartment, assuming they can patch the holes before they leave, but this still isn’t ideal. You’ll have enough to do on move-out day, so you may not want to focus all your time on the handyman if you’re already moving and need to unpack somewhere else. Expandable organizers are a much better option overall.
Expandable drawer dividers (eight for $29.99) are excellent because they help you follow the rules of the Organizational triangle. In particular, they allow you to divide drawers and shelves so that you have extremely specific storage spaces for all your item categories. This is really important to keep everything in order, but you can do it without installing anything permanently. The same applies to these too expandable clamping frames ($24.95), which create extra shelf space wherever you need it.
Of course, try to use standard tension rods wherever possible, from hanging curtains to creating a rod for extra clothing or handbag storage, but also consider tension-based shower caddy. If there’s one place you really shouldn’t make any permanent changes, it’s one with tile or ceramic. Therefore, this is the safest option to leave the bathroom exactly as you found it. You can get one four-stage caddy for less than $20.
The best shelf for renters
In my many years as a renter, I have tried all types of shelving. My problem is that I need a lot of storage space. Although I really like squat models that don’t take up a lot of space, they’re just not that useful to me and it always ends up being very cluttered. I need big ones – but they have to be just the right size. If they’re too heavy or too light, they need to be attached to the wall, and I just don’t try to do that in a room I don’t own.
I love this four-tier shelf from Furinno ($32.99), which I have had for four years and have had no problems with. Other units I’ve tried before were the wrong size and collapsed or fell over. These are just robust and stable enough to stand on their own without reinforcement. Not once in four years have they done anything that I disliked or I’m risking my bail.
I’m also a big proponent of cube storage. Square shelves have smaller holes, so you have to be more selective and selective about the categories you want to store, but the weight is evenly distributed and they are low enough to the ground that, again, they don’t need reinforcement. As someone with too much experience, my main tip is to get the ones that screw together, not the ones that slide into external mounts. These are too light and unstable. They will collapse. The ones you screw together, like this one from Furinno ($29.99 for five units) are much more stable.
Quality glue is the tenant’s friend
I have all sorts of cool organizers in my home that are attached to walls and under cabinets. They are attached with glue so I can just pull them down on the day I leave. I moved and rearranged them many times and never noticed them pulling on the drywall. That’s because I use quality glue. I prefer 3M over Command, which I’ve found tends to fade more. You can reach over 16 feet of glue for $12.99.
As for the purpose for which I use it, let me enumerate the possibilities. I have a whole “Organization wall“This also includes the individual Sunglass holder, Racks for belts and hats, and Bottle storage for things like sunscreen and hairspray. I also use Adhesive hooks everywhere in the apartment, as well as glue Hand towel And utensil Organizers in the kitchen.
All of this is inexpensive, costing less than $20, and gives me extremely specific ways to organize all the things I need to store without causing any damage to the property. Still, I don’t recommend glue shelves. Any large shelf that you have to stick to the wall runs the risk of it falling. That’s not worth it for me, so I stick with shelves and smaller, wall-mounted organizational tools.
