Anyone live in REALLY small house?

[RunnerMommy]

We are moving across the country in a few weeks and found a house we really love in every way EXCEPT it's 900 square feet. Yikes! Right now we have about 1650 sf. and we are totally fine, but I couldn't imagine living in HALF of the space we do now, especially in the winter. We have two young boys- 3 & 18 mos and a baby coming in March.

Is it possible for 5 people live comfortably in 900 square feet?? Do any of you mamas do it? If so, send some tips my way!

[woodchick]

There are four of us (DH, me, 4yo, 1yo) in just less than 900sqft. Layout counts for a lot and we have a really poor layout

It gets a bit claustrophobic in the winter, but summer is fine since we can move out on the deck and into the yard. I like not having a huge place to clean and I always know where the girls are! It also forces us to keep the belongings to a minimum and to think creatively about space.

I would say we are mostly comfortable while still pining for a bit more space (or better layout). We're making the best of what we have

[EarthyMamaofDaisy]

Our is 1050 square feet and we have 2 kiddos, plus my stepson used to be here on weekends. It's totally doable! You can put the kids in bunkbeds at some point to free up space. Or get a captain's bed with storage underneath. We have a sectional in our living room and it works well as a space saver. I have a shelf in my kitchen where a microwave would go and I use it to hold spices and cookbooks. Also I have the kids' dresser in the bathroom to free up space in their tiny room. The kids also have a shelf up high in their room to store games. I don't have any "extra" furniture like bookcases or china cabinets. If you need help figuring out what works with your layout you could post pictures.

[34me]

We are 5 (2 parents and 16 yo dd, 14yo ds and 11 yo ds) and 2 large dogs in 969 sq feet. We have lived here for almost 10 years. it's all about decluttering and not having a lot of crap. We don't even have a shed, our attic is unusable and no basement, only a crawlspace.

[ChildoftheMoon]

You can totally do it! Our house is a bit bigger than that...... 1160 square feet, and we are 2 adults, 4 kids, and another on the way. No attic or basement, just a basic 3 bedroom house. We are very cozy and it is so easy and quick to keep clean and organized.
Feel free to ask any specific questions.

[Helen_A]

Yup - we have 6 of us in 940 sq foot (and that includes the garage).

And here in the United Kingdom its considered a good sized 3 bed house as well :-)

[lolar2]

I was going to say, most places I've lived that's considered a medium-big house for a family of 5!

[BlueLeaf]

My house is about 800 sq feet for me, husband, baby, and two cats. It's snug, and we may upgrade in the future. The key is smaller scale furniture and not keeping a lot of clutter. It's hard for me because I haven't broken out my sewing machine in several years because of the space issue - there's just no room to leave anything out.

[PNWmama]

Yes, it's very doable. We have a 1000 sqft. and there's four of us. DD co-sleeps and we have a bunkbed in DS's room for when she moves into her own bed. We plan on adding another child in the future as well while we are living in this house. The biggest thing is that you HAVE to keep the clutter to a minimum. Whenever we bring anything new into the house I take something old out. Check out the small house thread: http://www.mothering.com/discussions...d.php?t=556784

Even though sometimes I wish we had more space, I really love living in a small house. Utility bills are low, and it is so easy to clean!

[fullofgrace]

Popping this over into The Mindful Home by request!

[jimblejamble]

http://www.flickr.com/photos/happyja...7600025082938/ <-- Some inspiration.

[RunnerMommy]

Wow mamas! I am so impressed and inspired. It looks like it's totally do-able, and almost preferable . Love the pics Jessica - you have such a lovely home.

[justmama]

I never realized that 900sq ft was considered really little until I started hearing the sizes of people's homes on another board I frequent. I was SHOCKED! I am a single mom with 3 daughters ages, 10, 5, and 2 and the 4 of us live in a 900sq ft 1ba/2bed home. I have the small bedroom with the small closet and my girls have the master bedroom with two closets. Two are in bunk beds and one has a twin bed. We keep the toys to a bare minimum(they have about as much as 1- 1 1/2of their friends for all 3 of them combined) and everything is shared. Living in a small space means that fighting is inevitable and there's nowhere to run to for space from your sisters. So to fix that, I instituted the bed rule. NO ONE is allowed on anyone else's bed. Your bed is your safe space in this home and no one is allowed on it or allowed to touch you or anything you put into your bed without asking. No one is allowed to play with you on your bed either. It cuts down on a lot of "she's touching me!!!!!! she's breathing on me!!! she won't leave me alone!!!!!" We don't have a ton of furniture and knick-knacks because they just take up space but I like to think we have a nicely furnished, decorated home that's simple and colorful and creative. Having a smaller house means less housework but it also means clutter is a bigger problem when it happens so you have to evaluate each item you bring into your home. If it doesn't get used on a weekly basis here, it doesn't stay. If it's not essential, it doesn't stay. Priorities are important in a small space, but it's totally doable.

[Amila]

We do! Soon to be a family of 5...940 square feet. We have a pretty good layout although it is only 2 bedrooms. We are looking to buy land somewhere to have some space, but honestly, the house we build will only be a tad bigger than this one. Here are some pics:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/45582209@N07/

They are kind of out of order- can't figure out how to move them around

[jimblejamble]

Originally Posted by RunnerMommy

Wow mamas! I am so impressed and inspired. It looks like it's totally do-able, and almost preferable . Love the pics Jessica - you have such a lovely home.

Ahh, I only wish that were my home!

[treeoflife3]

well, I don't consider it REALLY small, but our home is 1100sqft. The lay out isn't the greatest so it feels kind of cramped, but mostly in the living room. It is a smaller space and pretty dark. I think if things were a bit more open and bright, this would be a pretty perfect size for us.

When we first moved in, I felt really cramped, but the longer we are here, the more I love it. I love that I no longer feel the need to have a lot of stuff... I'd rather sell or donate most things to make more space in our home. I would have no problem having 2 or 3 children in this home. Maybe more, but TOO many people and I get stressed, no matter who they are haha! It takes some creativity to fit just right, but cleaning is a BREEZE.

[TheGirls]

I live in a 1000sqft house with 2 adults, 1 child, and twins on the way. We may have one more after the twins (decision to come after the twins, lol) but either way we don't plan to move for more space.

We have a good layout - downstairs (about 500sqft) is half living room, 1/4 dining room, 1/4 kitchen. A pretty easy layout to picture. Upstairs has a short hall with 3 bedrooms and one full bath off of it. Two of the bedrooms are 10x11 feet and one is oddly shaped and quite a bit smaller. When DD was born we all slept in one of the big bedrooms, now DP sleeps in there and DD and I sleep in the small bedroom. The twins will sleep in DP's room when they arrive. When everyone gets a bit bigger, we hope they will all share one room and DP and I will share another. We'd also be open to two kids in the other larger bedroom and one in the smaller bedroom if that's how it works out. If we have four the kids will be two & two in the larger bedrooms with DP & I in the smallest one.

The only thing I'd really like as far as space is a bathroom on the first floor. We do have lots of storage space (attic, basement, outbuildings) and part of our basement is in the process of being finished into a den/playroom area. I think the house is plenty big enough and I'm often shocked when my friends say they need a bigger house even though they already have 2000+ sqft.

[wombatclay]

Second the small house thread! There are lots of great tips there.

We're a family of 5 humans and a cat (and formerly a dog too) in a two room cabin, roughly 850sq/ft. To be totally up front, we've been building an addition that is going to bump the sq/ft up to around 1100. But still, we've been in this cabin for two years now so... it's doable! And if the space had been laid out better an addition wouldn't have been necessary.

Our last house was 1600 sq/ft and that didn't include the full finished attic and full finished basement. So I know how intimidating the 1600 to 800 shift can be! Our cabin has no storage so it really hurt. We ended up getting a storage unit to help us downshift... it was actually a huge help. I was able to see what fit, what did/did not get used, and avoid "re-buying". If you can get a unit for 5-6 months I'd go for it.