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Does anyone live in a 550 sq ft or less tiny/small house or apartment with children?

post #1 of 35
9/6/12 at 3:32am
Thread Starter 
I wanted to hear from people living in small spaces with children and how you find it?
Do you enjoy it? Hate it?
Are you into simplicity/minimalism?

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post #2 of 35
9/6/12 at 5:20am

We don't now but a couple years ago we rented a 400 sq. ft duplex. We had 3 children at the time. It had 2 bedrooms. One bedroom for the kids and one for us. We only lived there for 7.5 months and during the late spring, summer and fall. I didn't like it. I personally was so glad to find something bigger before winter set in. We have COLD winters with lots of snow.
 

post #3 of 35
9/6/12 at 7:00am

We live in a 600-ish sq ft duplex. "We" are 2 adults and 2 kids, 2 & 4 years old. Our duplex is a 2 bed/1 bath. I am estimating the square footage, and wouldn't be surprised if it's actually smaller than I think it is. Anyway, it's ok for now. We lack serious storage space... all of our extra stuff is stuffed into the attic, which gets blazing hot. We live in the southeastern US. We also had to ditch a good bit of furniture. We don't have space for a kitchen table and chairs, but do have a high counter, which we have two bar stools for. Kids eat at the coffee table. There is a good size yard outside, which we utilize daily. Good people in the neighborhood with kids our kids' ages. We are within walking distance of a playground and there are also several playgrounds within a 3-5 minute drive. Overall, we are dealing with it just fine for now, but I anticipate we'll need a bigger space in a year or two. I don't want to go too much bigger though... just enough to fit everything we need and to have a little personal space. In a way, we were forced to declutter, which was fine with me. Learned a few lessons about needs vs wants. I could probably lose more stuff if I had the time and energy to figure it all out. No real complaints other than the storage issue. Had to get creative with that in the kitchen. I do miss some of the furniture we had (kitchen table).

post #4 of 35
9/6/12 at 7:44am
Did it with 2adults, 3cats, and 1child-birth to 4.5yrs.

Overall loved it. It was an apartment. With limited storage and no outside space.

Biggest suggestion is to get furniture that fits the space. I made do with furniture that was gifted to me from family with larger homes.
post #5 of 35
9/6/12 at 5:09pm

We are doing it right now - 2 adults, 1 kid (age 3), 2 cats, and a baby on the way.  480 sq ft but with a back yard and porch access.  We are going into our third year in this apartment.  The cats are a pain in the ass.... they really don't like being in this small of a space anymore and let us know it.  I'm actually looking into rehoming one of them because she is so unhappy about it.

 

We don't love it and we don't hate it.  Having the right storage furniture really helps, as does keeping possessions on the low side of things.  Occasionally I have spasms of guilt about limiting the toys that DD can keep, but she really doesn't seem to care.  I recently released many things from our home that were just taking up too much space and we have some breathing room now which is so important.  (And there is still more to go!)  A small space is only easy to clean if it's not overloaded with stuff, and the stuff all has a home to go to.  I try to keep us at less than 70% of capacity, with a few empty drawers and shelves here and there because any more than that and we start having piles of stuff everywhere, and then cleaning becomes a huge chore.  Related to that, I try to have the discipline of only shopping for things we know we need.  So leisurely time-killing trips to browse Goodwill are out.

 

The only thing I don't like about our apt is that it can be difficult to entertain indoors because the space is so small and the energy can sort of "bounce around" on the walls.... with small kids that can lead to chaos pretty quickly.  OTOH, I have had four or five kids playing together quietly, but that is usually with a mix of ages, not a bunch of toddlers.

 

We are looking to move to a larger space next year, but it's hard to say what will happen.  I will look forward to having some more space, although I'm going to be careful not to rush to fill it up.

post #6 of 35
9/7/12 at 11:36pm

For the first 5 years of ElderSon's life we lived on a 36 foot sailboat. I have no idea how that compares with square foot measurements. Most furniture had multiple purposes - the couch in the salon was also seating at the dining table and bed at night. We were mostly in the Caribbean, so it was a tropical climate, and we were outside most waking hours. We learned to collect experiences rather than things. Although it has been many years now, I still have only a loose attachment to any objects. Even in a fairly normal sized home, I don't feel a need to fill it up. I only learned words like simplify and minimalist lately. It has always seemed quite natural to me.
 

post #7 of 35
9/8/12 at 5:21pm
BTDT - with three small children, and I would never, never wish to go back. I know people do it, and make it work, but I suffered through a yr and a half of it and hated every minute.

Now, years later, we have 3,000 sq ft, 1/2 an acre of land, 5 beds/3 baths and our quality of life is like a million times better. Admittedly, it's not only the space that makes such a huge difference (but a complete change in location, lifestyle, finances, etc.). BUT, even if everything else in life were going as well as it currently is but we had to confine to a small living space, I know for sure I'd hate it. Just not organized and creative enough to live like that. Many other people are, though!
post #8 of 35
9/8/12 at 5:52pm

We have 2 adults, a 5 year old and a 10 month old in a 540 sq foot apartment.  It's 2 bd/1bth, but has lots of storage space.  We would LOVE to have some place bigger, but we really like our apartment.  If only there were just one more bedroom!  We have a lot of belongings, but living in a small space has certainly helped us to get rid of some things. 
 

post #9 of 35
9/12/12 at 6:06am
Thread Starter 
We're in the process of, hopefully, buying a three bedroom cottage built in 1900, arranged over three floors. It's 558 sq ft and we are a family of four! We're waiting for the survey to come back on the property at the moment. Thank you for your replies!
post #10 of 35
9/28/12 at 12:48pm
Ours is 900sqft, but we have three kids with another in the mail. It's hard! But I am loving the simplicity that has to come with it! Everyday I find something new that we don't need and it feels great to get rid of that clutter, both mentally and physically. It is a never-ending job to keep on top of the stuff that multiplies though, hmmmm...
post #11 of 35
9/28/12 at 1:23pm

We've lived in smaller apartments-- between 700-900 sq ft with two kids, two adults and a cat. We recently moved to a 1300-1400 sq ft house and I LOVE IT. There is definitely something to be said for the ease of keeping a smaller space clean, but the clutter was hard to deal with. I think it's doable if you have lots of storage and outdoor space, especially if you live in a climate that allows you to be outdoors a lot of the time. We live in WI and the winters were a little brutal in a small space. We all had cabin fever. 

post #12 of 35
9/29/12 at 12:35pm

I've been in 575 sq ft for over 2 years now with my almost 9 yo DD and 7 yo DS.  It's tiny, but the layout makes it feel bigger than it actually is.  We don't have outside space, which is a drawback.  My kids share a room and that has been becoming a challenge recently, as I have a boy and a girl.  Their school is awesome, though, and this is pretty much the only place I can afford to live in this area, so I feel like I'm stuck here for another 2 years (until my oldest is out of elementary school).  Ideally, I want to end up in Boulder in a small house that allows the kids to have their own rooms, but that's a little ways off.  If I had 2 boys or 2 girls, I think I could make this place last even longer.  

post #13 of 35
9/30/12 at 10:48am

We lived in a two bedroom (VERY small bedrooms) 513 sq ft house for 11 years.  The house lacked closets or a bathtub--it had a shower stall instead.  In December we moved to a 2100+ sq ft house with a usable cellar, so basically five times the space we had before.  I will be honest--although we were happy in the tiny house, we like our new house SO MUCH BETTER.  There is something to be said for space to move and closets!  Ironically, when we moved we got rid of about 50% of our possessions.  And even after we moved, I ended up taking at least three full carloads of things to Salvation Army because we decided we didn't need it after all.  So now we are in this huge house with half the stuff we had before!  We're still not used to it, LOL.

 

Anyway, I'd be happy to answer any questions.  Multi-function furniture and wall shelves were a lifesaver for us.

post #14 of 35
9/30/12 at 3:47pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by oldcrunchymom View Post

We lived in a two bedroom (VERY small bedrooms) 513 sq ft house for 11 years.  The house lacked closets or a bathtub--it had a shower stall instead.  In December we moved to a 2100+ sq ft house with a usable cellar, so basically five times the space we had before.  I will be honest--although we were happy in the tiny house, we like our new house SO MUCH BETTER.  There is something to be said for space to move and closets!  Ironically, when we moved we got rid of about 50% of our possessions.  And even after we moved, I ended up taking at least three full carloads of things to Salvation Army because we decided we didn't need it after all.  So now we are in this huge house with half the stuff we had before!  We're still not used to it, LOL.

 

Anyway, I'd be happy to answer any questions.  Multi-function furniture and wall shelves were a lifesaver for us.

 

 

That's absolutely beautiful!!!  Love it!!  Hope I can make this happen, too.

post #15 of 35
10/1/12 at 6:24am
Quote:
Originally Posted by journeymom View Post

 

 

That's absolutely beautiful!!!  Love it!!  Hope I can make this happen, too.

 

Thank you!  It was a ton of work, but we were determined to have a fresh start at the new house.  I parted with many little-used kitchen items, about 80% of my books (only kept what I can't get on Kindle, or ones that were personally inscribed), the dusty "collection" of nutcrackers I had built, all the cookbooks I never used (which to be honest was most of them), my giant thrift store collection of Pfaltzgraff (sold it and replaced it with basic Corelle, which takes up way less space!), a ton of clothes I hadn't worn in forever because of size or style, old blankets and sheet sets we had been keeping "just in case" (in case of what I don't know since we didn't even have room for other people to sleep at that house), most of our holiday decorations (just kept the ones I actually liked and would still use), a number of done-before puzzles and outgrown board games, etc etc.  I still have some things that after reflection I will probably be getting rid of, but my personal "stuff" is way more under control now.  The more I got rid of, the easier it was to say, "I won't miss this when it's gone."  My kids voluntarily did the same thing.  My daughter even decided to donate most of her gigantic knick knack collection, a huge deal since she'd been unwilling to let go of any of it for years!  My son kept his books, his board games, and his Lego sets and that's about it.  He is not a "stuff" person.

post #16 of 35
10/1/12 at 10:21am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by oldcrunchymom View Post

We lived in a two bedroom (VERY small bedrooms) 513 sq ft house for 11 years.  The house lacked closets or a bathtub--it had a shower stall instead.  In December we moved to a 2100+ sq ft house with a usable cellar, so basically five times the space we had before.  I will be honest--although we were happy in the tiny house, we like our new house SO MUCH BETTER.  There is something to be said for space to move and closets!  Ironically, when we moved we got rid of about 50% of our possessions.  And even after we moved, I ended up taking at least three full carloads of things to Salvation Army because we decided we didn't need it after all.  So now we are in this huge house with half the stuff we had before!  We're still not used to it, LOL.

Anyway, I'd be happy to answer any questions.  Multi-function furniture and wall shelves were a lifesaver for us.
There will only be one closet in my older daughters bedroom in the entire house and we also will simply have a shower and no bath. We do have three bedrooms though, so my two daughters will have their own space on their own floor in the attic. We're living in a bigger house currently so we really are downsizing...I feel excited because I love the idea of a tiny home but I know it's going to be challenging to make everything fit/decluttering enough to make the space work well....any tips would be great!
post #17 of 35
10/1/12 at 10:31am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by honeybee80 View Post

I've been in 575 sq ft for over 2 years now with my almost 9 yo DD and 7 yo DS.  It's tiny, but the layout makes it feel bigger than it actually is.  We don't have outside space, which is a drawback.  My kids share a room and that has been becoming a challenge recently, as I have a boy and a girl.  Their school is awesome, though, and this is pretty much the only place I can afford to live in this area, so I feel like I'm stuck here for another 2 years (until my oldest is out of elementary school).  Ideally, I want to end up in Boulder in a small house that allows the kids to have their own rooms, but that's a little ways off.  If I had 2 boys or 2 girls, I think I could make this place last even longer.  
Thank you for your reply! I know what you mean about layout making it feel bigger then it actually is, 558sq ft house is layed out over three floors in a cottage townhouse, also there are three bedrooms so my daughters have a room each on their floor in the attic. We have an extremely small bathroom and kitchen though, I guess as most of the room is being taken up by bedrooms and living area. We're lucky to have a small garden which we're going to turn into a traditional walled cottage garden with lots of roses/flowers. We chose the house because of location to the girls school, it is literally four minutes walk down the road.
post #18 of 35
10/1/12 at 10:33am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by MPsSweetie View Post

Ours is 900sqft, but we have three kids with another in the mail. It's hard! But I am loving the simplicity that has to come with it! Everyday I find something new that we don't need and it feels great to get rid of that clutter, both mentally and physically. It is a never-ending job to keep on top of the stuff that multiplies though, hmmmm...

I'm looking forward to the challenge, but I'm kind of nervous too as I like clear surfaces/sides which is going to be a challenge in such a small space!
post #19 of 35
10/3/12 at 12:52pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by mamaUK View Post

I'm looking forward to the challenge, but I'm kind of nervous too as I like clear surfaces/sides which is going to be a challenge in such a small space!

It is a challenge, but I think that's what makes me work at it every day. I am determined to fit us in here, and I will do what it takes. As long as it's reasonable of course! We could build on, but I really feel like it's a puzzle that I MUST. FIGURE. OUT! And I don't give up on puzzles, lol.
Anyway, it makes it kind of fun.

Clear surfaces....ahhh, how nice would that be. But I think even in a bigger house, with kids, unless I clean them constantly, it's not going to happen.
post #20 of 35
10/4/12 at 3:21am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by MPsSweetie View Post

It is a challenge, but I think that's what makes me work at it every day. I am determined to fit us in here, and I will do what it takes. As long as it's reasonable of course! We could build on, but I really feel like it's a puzzle that I MUST. FIGURE. OUT! And I don't give up on puzzles, lol.
Anyway, it makes it kind of fun.
Clear surfaces....ahhh, how nice would that be. But I think even in a bigger house, with kids, unless I clean them constantly, it's not going to happen.[/]

I love your attitude about this, so positive! I'm determined to make it work too, there are so many positives to tiny house living for us! Clear surfaces might be a dream then for me!
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