5 best things about Finnish apartments

When I first moved to Finland, there were several things that blew my mind about Finnish apartments. Finland is known for its design and happy living style and the apartments here are full of little “hacks” that help make life easier and more comfortable!  

Here are are my own observations on the 5 best things about Finnish apartments: 

1. Sauna

Perhaps the most famous and truly amazing things about Finland is its abundance of saunas. I think that pretty much every apartment building and family home have saunas built into them. Apparently, even my school has a sauna somewhere! I can book up to 5 sauna sessions a month in my apartment. There is also a public sauna every week for those who don’t mind going to sauna with strangers.

2. Dish drying cabinet

I find that this is an extremely smart design of Finnish apartments. The dish drying cabinet allows for more counter space and there is no need to buy dish drying racks. In Finnish it is called astiankuivauskaappi I personally have never seen this kind of drying rack anywhere else!

3. Toilet water hose and floor drain

The toilet in my apartment has a drain in the floor so that it is possible to completely wet the floor and spray water to clean the bathroom completely.  There is also a mysterious water hose beside the toilet which I use to clean the toilet and sink. I actually have no idea what it is actually supposed to be used for. If someone knows please let me know! 

4. Handy cleaning tools

The Finnish have some handy cleaning tools!  

The three tools that I didn’t use when I lived in the U.S. were the dish brush, the water mop, and the spongy counter wipes.

🏘Dish Brush

These dish brushes are so handy! They don’t get your hand wet while you’re scrubbing things and they also fit inside large water bottles. I also find that they last longer than sponges because they don’t absorb water. As an added bonus, they conveniently hang onto the dish drying cabinet. 

🏘Water mop

For a long time, I thought that this mop was for cleaning the shower. I later found out that it is to move the water from taking a shower into the drain. I think this is smart because the floor dries more quickly and no one gets wet feet. 

🏘Spongy wipes

These wipes are super useful and commonly sold in packages with multiple wipes. They are basically thin square sponges and are used to clean counter tops and things. When it gets dirty you just throw it out so it’s better than constantly using paper towels and washing kitchen cloths. 

5. Storage spaces for tenants

There are storage lockers for tenants in many apartments. You can leave your extra suitcases, in some cases mattresses, and anything else that you don’t need at the moment inside of your apartment. This allows a slightly more clutter-free living space and I think it is considerate for the apartments to have this kind of system.

The apartments here make life easier and living spaces more comfortable. Do other countries have similar things inside the apartments? I would love to hear about your apartment experiences!

Check out my previous blog post if you’re interested in the Helsinki student housing system!