With basic living space already at a premium, storage space in New York City apartments is often non-existent. As a result, apartments in New York, in particular, can quickly become cramped and cluttered. This can have a detrimental effect on your mental health, whether you are aware of it or not. In a city that is itself often cramped and overcrowded, it’s important to feel like you can breathe in the one place that is mostly your own. According to these moving services in Manhattan, here are five ways to declutter your NYC apartment to maximize your living space.

1. Start small

When you’ve been piling up “stuff” for weeks, months or years, it can difficult even to know where to begin managing it all. As the old saying goes, however, the longest journey starts with a single step. Whether you need to start by just throwing away or getting rid of one thing or cleaning out one closet or cupboard, start with that one thing. Usually, just dealing with one thing will give you the impetus you need to deal with more.

If you have large pieces of furniture or boxes of household goods to get rid of, consider calling a New York moving company to help you haul it off to a local NYC charity. Cheap Movers Manhattan can help you find reasonable New York City moving rates.

2. Get rid of anything you don’t genuinely need or use on a regular basis

There is no doubt that a good bit of decluttering involves dealing with some things on a psychological or emotional level. Chief amongst these may be the difference between a want and a need. A good rule of thumb is that if you have not used something in the past year, you probably don’t need it. While you can move items, you don’t use into storage, that too can be a trap. There are currently 2.3 billion square feet of self-storage space in the US, with storage users paying an average of $90 a month in fees. If you have free storage in your building, by all means, use it. If you don’t, you need to get rid of what you aren’t using. Don’t just stop at getting rid of things either. Look at furniture too. If you have a breakfast or dining room table that you never use, consider freeing up some valuable space by getting rid of it too.

3. Organize the rest

There are a vast array of products on the market that can help you not only organize, but use a wide variety of non-traditional spaces for storage. From racks you can hang on high ceilings, to hooks you can hang on walls to a range of under-bed storage, finding unique ways to organize and store your stuff can free up a huge amount of living space.

4. Don’t get anything new unless you get rid of something old

Once you have decluttered your space, it’s important to not merely immediately re-clutter it. One way to accomplish this is by never getting anything new until you are ready to part with something old. This can also help save you a great deal of money since many of our purchases are driven more by want than by need. If you aren’t willing to part with something you already have to buy something new, then chances are you don’t need the new thing, you want it.