If there’s anything living in New York taught us, it’s that you have to use every inch of free space for something practical. Under the bed? The bottom of the closet? Above the refrigerator? These were not simply random corners of your apartment, they were an opportunity for storage!

We had vacuum sealed bags above our washer and dryer, suitcases doing a Russian nesting doll impression in our pantry, and a shoe rack on the back of every closet door. If you have visions of coats in ovens, you’re not far off! (Thought thankfully, we never had to resort to that!)

There’s something wonderful about this art that feels one part Marie Kondo, one part David Blaine — equal parts pragmatic and magical. You may know you’re home is bursting at the seams, but the key is making sure it never feels that way, if only for your own sanity!

The general lack of space made us resourceful, and generally kept us honest in terms of avoiding hoardership and remaining relatively minimalistic. We didn’t have room for clutter, and precious storage space was reserved for only the things we deemed absolutely necessary to keep (usually clothing and decor that were out of season, or that we knew we’d use later). If it didn’t meet that criteria, we either sold it or gave it away!

These days, we’re practically flush with storage compare to our apartments of the past (and extremely grateful), yet we’ve tried to maintain a sense of minimalism about how we treat our home. We don’t want to hold onto things just because “you never know when you might need it”. Instead, we try to make sure we buy things we know we’ll love for the long haul, and if for one reason or another they don’t work out, then we try to sell them or give them away to others.

For the goods that get to stay, one bit of practical magic we’ve used in the past is a storage ottoman. These are obviously not groundbreaking, but they are incredibly valuable, whether in your closet-abundant house or cramped apartment! We recently bought a new one on Wayfair, and it’s been a great addition to our living room! It’s additional seating if we need it, can several blankets, and is a beautiful piece that feels right at home.

We love having an extra space to keep throw blankets or even lesser used clothes and accessories — we’ve used these previously for everything from hats and scarves, to headbands and sweaters. Having a place essentially hidden in plain sight to create additional storage without adding impractical clutter is really nice!

We pulled five of our favorite our favorite storage ottomans from Wayfair below, including the one we bought recently!

*Sponsored by Wayfai