Small home, bigger family

[illinoismommy]

I mean relatively "bigger" since we're going to have 3 kids (compared to the size of the home bigger). I am not sure on the square footage of our house but its a one story ranch with 3 bedrooms and 1 bathroom. There's a second bathroom but it needs a new toilet, sink, floor, it has no walls... so basically we have one bathroom until we have more money. Does anyone have tips on keeping it cleaned up with many people in a small amount of room?

One problem we have is our kitchen eating area. Its not big enough. We have a table that fits two chairs on each side but then its hard to walk around the table to get to a seat. I've tried every arrangement in the book and my husband still has trouble getting to the seat unless its the one closest to the stove, which is the one I need. I took out the leaf on the table which leaves 4 spots total. Maya sits in a booster. Does anyone know about space saving high chairs? Maybe that is where our third baby will have to sit for a few years. I don't see how we can fit 5 chairs around this table and still be able to squeeze around.

We have a single bathroom and its very tiny. We're looking at buying a storage cabinet to hang over the toilet because we need it. We need more towel racks too.

Just give me some ideas.... at least its less space to clean, but its feeling tight already.

[joby'smom]

:popcorn

Instead of a table what about a breakfast bar? I found a great table last year at a discount home store. It was marked down to $50. because of a scratch. It is taller and we have bar stoolish chairs around it.


My house is super tiny. We have 2 bedrooms, 1 bath soon to be 4 people, 2 dogs, 2 cats. Yowza! We are snug! I need help with closets and bedrooms.

[greendelight]

What about a small bench instead of chairs? Maybe 1 small bench will hold 2 little booties and take up less space.

[WanderingJuniper]

Benches are a life saver. We have a bench that the kids sit on. it allows the table to be much closer to the wall than if we put chairs there and because the kids are so skinny they can get in and out while the table is pushed very close to their seats. The original one we had was from a thrift shop for about $5.

[mamaKristin]

benches are great!

How about hooks in the bathroom at kid height instead of towel racks - they don't stick out at much. We have some of the 3M ones next to our front door, and the kids hang up their jackets there. A storage cabinet in the bathroom is great, and you always need more space in the bathroom!

I really take advantage of our basement storage spot, not sure if you have one. I keep lots of stuff in there that doesn't fit as well in our upstairs, we have a smaller house too. I put extra toothpaste, soap and shampoo down there, as well as pantry staples, to not overcrowd my kitchen or bathroom upstairs. I'm constantly decluttering things, and moving them to my yard sale pile too.

[Heather Micaela]

our squre footage is less than 800 and in addition to our family of 5 (and a half :giggle) we have a roomate and his son. 2 bedrooms. 1 bath

Here are my tips:
STORAGE
*Declutter daily - learn to live with the bare essentials. The less you have, the less you have to store, clean up, etc (If you want specific declutter tips LMK)
*store upwards - look for ways to add storage up the wall: hanging things, stacked shelves, etc. Ikea has great stuff for this (Or justuse their ideas)
*underbed storage - forget what Flylady says. If you use nice underbed boxes, under the bed is a perfectly fine place to put things

SPACE SAVING:
*Push furniture close together - we have two dressers fush up against each other. Our side table is right up next to the couch with plasitc storage drawers next to that

BATHROOM:
*hooks for the towels as already mentioned - one for each family member
*hang little baskets on the wall for toiletries to keep the counter area clear
*depending on how your toilet is, they make shleves to go over the toielt
(This is one example, you can get them much cheper http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000F7K1WA?smid=A2TBDGJEUH5S52&tag=dealtime-kitchen-mp-20&linkCode=asn)

KITCHEN
*Benches - I second this idea and it is what we plan to do soon. Find benhces that willl work w/ your table or find a table with benches that works in your small space. But a breakfast bar is not a bad idea either. Could you post a picture of your kitchen to help us think more?

[bananacake]

:popcorn

[Singingmom]

I want a bench too! I'm so glad the thrift store was mentioned... I hadn't thought of that but that's where I need to start.

Also, you can get a travel high chair seat that straps to a regular chair. There are some other ideas at this Target link I just googled too...

http://www.target.com/gp/search/601-8907024-8200941?field-keywords=travel-high-chair-seat&AFID=Google&CPNG=Baby&LNM=travel_high_chair_seat&LID=15373942&ref=tgt_adv_XSGT0755

If you're short on bedroom space, consider putting dressers inside the closets, or getting plastic 3-drawer dressers to put in a small closet. They're good for storing toys in there, too and make good use of the bottom of the closet where things would just get tossed.

[Heather Micaela]

I wanted to add that we put plastic drawers on top of an existing dresser for more space

[Tuesdayschild]

You can get "high chairs" that clip onto the table.

http://img.alibaba.com/photo/51016390/Baby_Chair_with_Soft_Seat_Cushion_and_Safe_Belt.jp g

Can you create an eating area in your living room? Sort of split the room in two? And maybe make a homeschooling work area in the kitchen instead (not so many chairs needed?)?

[illinoismommy]

but a bench would probably be too short for the table :think ..... so I must be nesting because I have been standing in our closets measuring and am considering knocking everything out and putting in one of those closet systems, when we can.... then maybe I could go without dressers which would free up room....

[Titus2Momof4]

Well, what if you went with the breakfast table idea for you and David, and used one of those Little Tykes (or Step 2) picnic tables for the kids, since those actually fold up quite easily? :think

[illinoismommy]

some great ideas, thanks....

[2sunshines]

We have a small house too (2 bedrooms, 1 bath) for 5 people. For storage I use a lot of little bins and label them. I also hang those shoe racks over the back of doors to categorize things in (like art supplies in the dining room closet, hats and mitts in the front hall closet, diapering supplies over the door in their bedroom, etc).

I store stuff in rubbermaid bins that we aren't using right now. For example, the only clothes that are in drawers are those that are in season and in use. Everything else is binned and stored.

[Naked Camper]

great thread Janet. :yes

Maybe you could retitle it to something like "space saver ideas" or something of the such.

I'm loving all these tips and am now really wanting to de-clutter. There's so much junk in our bathroom and hall closet that we haven't used in years - but it still sits there for that magic *one day* that it will be needed :rolleyes

And here I was complaining about the three of us - soon to be 4 in a 900 sq. foot house with an unfinished basement for storage :O

[mom2threegirls]

When my girls were babies we used the little booster seat high chairs that snap onto a regular chair. They make them even for tiny babies (some of them recline and a lot of them have padding, etc) and are REALLY easy to clean (unlike a regular high chair!)- our's actually went in the dishwasher! :rockon Could you put one of those (or two!) on the chairs and then get a bench for the table? ITA with everyone else saying to get a bench. You can get them at table heighth. When we moved to our new house the dining area was a little narrower than at our last house, and I wanted some of the chairs for desks upstairs, so I picked up a bench that matches the table nicely for $50 on ebay. It actually goes up about an inch higher than our chairs and are PERFECT for kids (and you can fit a ton of kids on it, whereas before I could only get 2-3 chairs in that space). And, as a bonus, it was cheaper than buying a couple of chairs.

I also second the wall/over the door shoe organizers- and not only for shoes (I personally don't really like them for shoes because they get dirty ;)). They are great for kids clothes, toys, office organization, etc. and they are easy to find for cheap a lot of places.

When we were in our much smaller house with the 5 of us I had NO furniture that I didn't love that also didn't serve a purpose. That meant being very very selective about what pieces came into the house, and stayed in the house. Same went for toys and other clutter. My kids don't miss what they never have ;) and the stuff they didn't play with that wasn't special to them went away. Wall shelves, wall pockets, and cabinets were a big lifesaver.

Another big thing is just being absolutely brutal with what stays and what goes. Even in our new house, which is a LOT bigger, I'm getting rid of tons of stuff to avoid clutter. If I (or another member of the family) don't love it AND it doesn't serve a purpose than it goes.

[purstrength]

I used a clip on high chair when I was babysitting...it was great! :rockon

Just remember to make sure the table is sturdy with it and baby weight attached. They usually don't work well if the table only has one center leg...much better if it has four legs.

*edited for spelling error. :doh