Living in a 600 sq ft cottage... - Page 2

[HappyLittleHouse]

My two young kids share a closet and I hang clothes in outfits rather than individually. It takes up a lot less space that way and makes it really easy to get them dressed in the morning - just grab a hanger and a pair of undies from the drawer and go. The hanging sweater rack holds pajamas and some off season things; the dresser has small stuff like socks and underwear, hair ribbons, babylegs, the baby's diapers, and clothes to grow into. It works really well for me and all the clothes are in the closet, freeing up bedroom floor space.

I'll be adding these days of the week hanger labels soon to make it even easier for DH to dress DS when he has something specific he needs to wear for school.

[UberMama]

We lived in a 700 sq ft with five people for awhile. We turned the dining room into a computer/office area (back then, the kids were young and not school age yet.. but it would have been great for them to do homework and such). And then we ate in the living room at the coffee table. Not the best setup, but it worked well for us.

DD co-slept with us a lot, but she slept in the living room sometimes as well (in her pack and play). Again, it worked!

[Jyotsna]

Thanks to your answersrs Ellen. I do have china from my grandmother. Also, I was given china when I got married (I got tons of peices, and I'd love to sell it at some point) as well as a few well gifted peices of silver (cake server ect, which comes out for birthdays, Gotcha Days and holidays).

What about homeschooling supplies? Anyone homeschool in a small space? We have ALOT! Our craft supplies are simple (three colors of paint at this point, a marmalade jar full of paint brushes, clay, stamps, so much more). Our crafts/art supplies are one of our favorite things. I like to put them out where the kids can see them and get them. We have notebooks (real ones LOL), various workbooks, dictionaries, art books, music books ect on our homeschooling book shelf. We will have to keep that going. It is our center focus for homeschooling. In addition, I have a three-bin drawer on wheels with other supplies which are off limits to the kids (have to ask for) like colored papers, printer papers, folders, empty notebooks (the 3 cent variety) and all the markers, pencil leads and gel pens which are mine, extra erasers, glue sticks, oil pastels ect. These things are needed often, but if I don't keep control of these, they will be gone! My kids went through a pack of erasers in 2 weeks last year, just erasing stuff for fun.

The final other thing which is a must for homeschooling is our file storage, which is a small bin with a retractable lid, that I keep our previous years notebooks, workbooks, artwork ect, just in case I need to look at it or possibly take it to court (ex thinks I am doing a terrible job with the kids).

We have a big problem with clothing, sheets, towels ect. Because I don't have a washing machine, we need more clothing. Where do you store sheets and towels that you aren't using, that are too many for the closet? We have four beds...that means 8 sheet sets. We live in a climate where we get both hot and cold seasons. So that means we have to have a light weight bed cover, and a heavy one, plus blankets (which we need to store for the summer!).

I'm really trying to make all this work.

Our living room as present, is very easy to clean. We have mementos from my trips to India to adopt my children, which we display, and some of the photos of the kids, and some wall hangings, and that is it. But if I living in the living room, HMMMMM! How will it work? Anyone here that does it? Do you keep all your things in one of the bedrooms, but sleep on the pull out sofa or whatnot?

Thanks for your thoughts.

[lolar2]

You can store extra blankets in the bed, between the mattress and box spring.

[Village Mama]

That is a great suggestion.
I mounted a free twin headboard, the type with cubbies in it, for extra storage in the bathroom. It creates the cubbies for all bathroom linen plus creates a large shelf on top for other bathroom goodies.
As for homeschooling supplies our setup sounds like yours. Our kids are a bit older so the craft supplies are always available. I have a teeny file cabinet that doubles as a side table, and a small homeschooling bookshelf with science experiment and craft books. Actually I modified one of those super cheap pine shelving units so that one shelf works as a book shelf, then there is room on another shelf for math manipulatives and the top for science gear. I use a desktop file organiser for easy acess to work or pictures and things that they are working on and the bottom of the small two door file folder organises other workbooks and future projects. We are pretty child led though otherwise so the learning happens all over the house. They do have a small table that is a place for them to craft etc which I love. It is the type with two leaves that drop down on either side. I put one side towards the wall and then drop the side facing the room down. This makes for a one or two foot wide table to minimise the amount of space it takes up. When the kids use it they flip the leaf up for a bigger working area. Underneath I have all of the board games in an old apple crate. I have seen people put them on a bookshelf like books too.
I love thrift shops so my layout has been a long evolving process. There are lots of fun creative storage ideas when you think outside of the box!
My hubby just came by and said " It doesn't matter if everything is in its place all of the time, but it is important to HAVE a place for everything. " That way you can quickly get the house into order if people are coming over... or if you are a more organised type!

[Village Mama]

If you can stand those pine shelves they are actually great for small spaces. We have cut them down to fit spaces by making them super skinny or shallow, or cutting the large ones down to a size that fits the need . Since the shelves are adjustable you can move them around when you have a new need( I moved the bottom shelf out of one of mine to tuck my spinning wheel away when I am not using it).

[nabigus]

You've gotten tons of great ideas--it's totally doable, but I've found there *must* be a place for everything. We lived 7 years in 550 sq. feet (and part of that was a long narrow, totally awkward hallway). We have a little bit more space now, but not much, and it's still a 1-bedroom for 3 of us. Some things we do to make it work:

* Everything goes on the wall. Ikea hanging trash cans (to make room, eg, for the cat dishes underneath), pot racks, floor-to-ceiling bookcases. This goes for the bathroom, too. For instance, we've used the Bygel rods with hanging baskets for all our smaller toiletries in the bathroom. At Ikea, right next to these, they also have plastic hanging tubs that fit perfectly next to a hanging basket on that rod. We also use pot lid racks on the wall to hold mail, in the front hallway, and to hold bills, next to the desk. We have a long coat rack with pegs for outerwear, and in our old place we had a skinny shoe rack under that. We keep hats/mittens/scarves in wire bins that mount right on the wall next to the coat rack.

* Loft the bed(s) and store stuff underneath that you don't need to get to often (decorations, camping stuff, etc). Make sure it's all in bins with lids, because it can get dusty. You can get those plastic risers that are really affordable, or you can do bunk beds.

* Use the space all the way up to the ceiling. It's amazing what you can fit on a shelf, or in a bin, high up on a shelf. Likewise, sometimes closets only have a hanging rack and a shelf above it--a great place to put in another shelf above.

* Make sure the stuff you need often is easily accessible. Eg, at our old place the vacuum cleaner was buried in a closet and (surprise surprise) never got used. This also means that you need a dedicated space for everything--so for us, we had to find a space for our work bags, which otherwise lived in the middle of the (tiny!) living room floor.

* Use the bedroom only for sleeping. That was our solution, at any rate. We figure we'd rather have less space in the bedroom and more living space. One thing we've done that works really well is use ceiling-mounted curtains to make a visual divide between our space and ds's space. I can't find the direct link right now, but the Ikea Kvartal curtain rod (which you can mount to the ceiling) comes in straight lengths and curves, and we put one up so the curtain curves around ds's bed. During the day, we push it back so it's no in the way.

* Use mirrors in narrow spaces so you don't feel claustrophobic.

* Make sure you have a sturdy kitchen/dining table that can serve many functions. I sew, and keep all my sewing stuff in stacking clear bins that I take out or put away. Ditto with ds's art supplies.

* Bins on bookshelves (or doors or curtains on the front) make things feel less cluttered.

Best of luck with it!

[AngelBee]

[EmsMom]

I live in a place about the same size. I really like it. But it can be a bit cramped on a rainy day.

I bought enough shelving units to cover two entire walls in the living room wall to wall and floor to ceiling with bookshelves (with adjustable height shelves). (They are secured to the walls). One set of shelves has my entire book collection and most of the kids books as well. Under the last shelf I have baskets holding various things: library books, craft supplies, canvas shopping bags. A love seat is up against one side of the book shelves so one shelf doesn't have good access. I use that as my "attic" and have holiday supplies stored there is boxes that can't really be seen.

The other set of shelves stores the craft supplies, my handbag and a basket for mittens, scarves, etc and has the sewing machines tucked under it. All of the board games (my kids love 'em) are stashed on another shelving unit in the coat closet. So is my fabric stash (quilter).

I hung my two mountain dulcimers on the wall of the bedroom. I leave out a music stand and a chair for playing music (violing and dulcimers). I have to sort out a good system for storing music (probably just need a good size basket). I use two smaller love seats as living room space with a very small
(!8" square) table as a coffee table. One of the love seats converts to a twin bed. Under one of the love seats I keep low cardboard boxes and I store extra shampoo, science supplies, etc. I also have a nice antique chest with a flat top I use as an end table and that hold winter stuff in summer and summer stuff in winter (including a number of fans that I couldn't believe actually fit in there).

The kids room as bunk beds. Another tall book shelf serves as bedside tables for both bunks and also stores books. There is no closet in that room so all of their clothes are in one large dresser. Also in the room is another floor to ceiling shelf system for toys (in bins) and puzzles. Under dresser space is used for storage (same low cardboard box - like for cans). There are several under the bed storage boxes under the beds but so far they are mostly empty.

Under my bed is my "pantry". I store all my shoes under my dresser. My room also has the computer. When I have enough money I will probabably get a new computer with a smaller tower and flat screen so I need a much smaller desk or maybe even a lap top. I am also considering buying an outdoor shed that could store the bikes, etc.

When I moved in the shelves seemed possibly excessive, but they really help and I plan to hide the clutter of non-book shelf one in the living room with a curtain. Lots of baskets help, too. I bought the cheap pine ones from Ikea and if I ever had any time, I could paint them. I have this feeling all these shelves will eventually be organizing my basement when I finally buy a house!!

It really isnt' so bad in this very small house. Just be sure to buy small furniture so you don't feel too crowded. Oh, and don't have friends over that are very large (height or girth!)

[EarthyMamaofDaisy]

You could put you bed on some type of riser - even concrete blocks and you can fit a lot of storage containers under there for your clothes. Dirty laundry can be hung in a laundry bag on a hook on the back of your bedroom or bathroom door. You can mount a piece of wood on brackets as a shelf to store kids toys/games/books whatever you need.

[Ann Pulliam]

I am considering downsizing...It is Me&my 10yr.old son in a 2bed(joint custody)...I can't afford the oil heat anymore&the downstairs that I heat..it takes on water .. heavy rains or hurricanes...I pay full price for 1/2 of an apartment.....I feel for all single Moms trying to do the best they can..We only can do what we can and keep it moving!!! We should start a website for displaced Moms to become roomates in our area&help each other with childcare&rent...Shit!!! Brianstorm!!

[greenemami]

Originally Posted by lolar2 

You can store extra blankets in the bed, between the mattress and box spring.

that is kind of brilliant! :)

[goldfishkate]

I have a small house and few very closets.

I put my extra bed sheets and out of season clothing in trash bags then I use my vacuum attachment to suck out all of the air. I works just like those bags on the info comercials but you can use any bag.