New York City apartments tend to be on the small side. 

We're all up in our roommates' business. We need all the advice we can get for making NYC apartment living as painless as possible.

The truth of the matter is, in general, we're paying double the price for half the space. 

You can never have too much toilet paper and lightbulbs. Buy these in bulk, because they're cheaper in bulk. 

You can also never have too much extra space. And everyone knows people who live in NYC apartments need all the space we can get.

So below we've compiled some tips for surviving your NYC apartment. You're welcome.

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1. Put a cutting board on an open drawer

Yeah, it's true. Our kitchens are the size of dollhouse kitchens sometimes, but opening a drawer and putting a cutting board on top is a perfect way to create much more counter space.

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That way, you can your roommate can cook together without banging into each other the whole time.

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2. Think vertical

Get a lot of tall shelves, and utilize every inch of space you have from your floor to your ceiling. If you've been blessed with tall ceilings, use them. Use every inch of them.

And if you don't have strictly speaking "tall" ceilings, don't use that as an excuse. Get a shelving space that's as tall as it can be.

You'll also save a ton of stuff if you stack your pots and pans on top of your refrigerator. Then, get a ladder and use it often.

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3. Store stuff under your bed

This is among the same vein, but you need every inch of space you can get. So get some bed risers. Get the tallest bed risers you can find. Then, get a set of drawers and put it under your bed for space saving storage.

If your bed is too tall to get on it, get a step stool. 

No one ever said living in NYC was easy. But with steps stools and bed risers, it can be easier.

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4. Container magnets

If you have containers big enough for storage, slap some magnets on the back of them. Then stick them on your fridge. 

This will save you precious drawer space.

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5. Fold up your table

If you know how to build things, or you know someone who knows how to build things, or you have a really great relationship with your architecturally savvy super, build a table that folds up into the wall.

You should also supply your kitchen with fold up chairs that you can keep stored in one of your apartment nooks, and keep them folded away until you need them.

That way, you'll have plenty of extra space for activities, but when you want to have a sit down dinner, you're prepared.

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6. Shove newspapers at the bottom of your trashcan

Because lots of us live in walk-ups, and a lot of us have sketchy elevator rides. And no one wants to lug around a trash bag that's bleeding trash juice for six flights of stairs.

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If you shove a wad of newspaper at the bottom of the trash bag, it won't leak. And you'll have a much smoother taking out the trash experience.

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7. Lighter colors make rooms look bigger

If you have control over the colors of your wall, go with white or yellow. Bright colors expand the feel of a room.

Living in a dark room will be more likely to make you feel closed in in a room that's likely already smaller than you'd like. 

Keeping your windows open and decorating with bright, light colors will make your space feel bigger.

And we could all use that.

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8. Get multi-purpose furniture

You can buy ottomans to store things in, tables you can prop on the arm of your couch, tables that fold out into shelves, and couches that fold into tables.

You can also be smart about storage. 

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Think under tables, under stairs, and under desks.

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9. Use a hanging shoe rack to store cleaning supplies

Remember that time when we talked about thinking vertical?

You probably won't have a lot of cabinet space to store your cleaning supplies, since you probably won't have a lot of cabinet space to begin with.

 Using your doors helps.

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10. Make friends with your super

Having a friendly relationship with your super will improve your life tenfold. Trust us. 

You will need him when stuff in your apartment breaks, and if he likes you he is way more likely to fix your apartment in a timely fashion if you're nice to him.

And give him a tip at Christmas if you ever want him to come to your apartment again, for godssakes. 

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11. Have an open line of communication with your roommates

If one roommate loves cleanliness and another roommate doesn't notice when the apartment is in disarray, it can make for a resentful environment.

If you are the roommate who likes things clean, speak up about it. And if you're the messier roommate, be considerate. The mess probably drives your roommate way crazier than it drives you.

Also, pay your roommate back in a timely fashion. If she pays the monthly electricity, pay her back right away. Don't make her ask you more than once.

And if you love getting high, make sure your roommate's cool with it. And if you're the roommate who isn't cool with it, you need to chill out.

Basically, tell you're roommate if you're pissed at her rather than letting it build and then exploding. Communication solves most problems if people are open and willing to engage.

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12. Discuss responsibilities

In a similar vein, it helps to divide up apartment chores. If you know that every week you have to do the apartment sweeping, you're more likely to do it. 

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If your roommate knows that she's the person who cleans the shower every week, you're less likely to build up resentment towards her because you have a suspicion that she never cleans the shower.

Once again, talking about things is excellent.

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13. Have a party

When you have your housewarming party, tell everyone to bring a bottle of alcohol. That way, everyone will bring a bottle and you'll only drink two of them. 

Then, you'll have alcohol for the entire year lined up in your apartment.

It will be tempting to invite everyone you've ever met to this party, but don't do it.  Your floor will get covered in beer, your phone will fall in the toilet, and your ex girlfriend will puke in your roommate's bed. 

Having a moderately sized housewarming party is way better than a way too giant housewarming party, trust us. We know.

Check Out Subletting Your Apartment Just Got a Helluva Lot Easier!