Me and My Tiny-Ass Apartment

About two years ago, I had to make the lemons/lemonade conversion. I was starting over in many aspects of my life, and one of them was finding a new place to live. I decided I wasn't going to resign myself to living in a crappy apartment with an annoying (and potentially psychotic) roommate dredged up from Craigslist. I was going to live BY MYSELF in a FABULOUS apartment, goddammit. And I did. The problem was, living by myself meant paying all of the rent by myself, which limited my options. Most one-bedrooms in Los Angeles were out of my price range, so I went studio hunting. It could be discouraging -- $1100 for a place so small the main room could only fit a twin bed, a fridge, and a stove?  Not being comfortable sleeping with my head next to an oven, I took a pass.  I mean, I like breakfast in bed, but I don't want to make breakfast while in bed! Finally, I found a studio in Hollywood (technically the Hollywood Hills, thankyouverymuch) that was a decent size and price, and settled in. I stayed for a year and a half before upgrading to a one-bedroom within the same building. I had come to love my tiny-ass studio, but I missed entertaining large groups of friends, and I hated parking on the street -- and the new place came with its own parking spot. But even though I now live in a moderately-sized place, I learned a few tricks to make living in a small space efficient and comfortable. Hopefully I can pass that along, while keeping mind that if you're living in a small space, you're probably on a small budget. (I still am!) And, since we small-space denizens are more likely to be renters, I'm paying special attention to tips and fixes that won't make you lose your security deposit. So here's to living in a tiny-ass but still fabulous apartment, goddammit!