How to cope with raising a family in a small space

I know I can’t possibly be the only one. 

Times are tough in the housing market right now.

Covid-19 has caused some people to lose income.

I know there are other mothers with two or more children

That are living and raising them in a very small 

or crowded housing situation,

For whatever reason.

 

Whether you are renting an apartment

While you wait for your dream house to finish being built,

You are sharing a house with your husband’s entire family,

Or, like me, you are stuck renting the same condo 

for yet another year due to circumstances beyond your control,

God bless you and you are not alone.

It may never be ideal,

But at least I’m here to give you a few tips 

on how to make it more bearable,

Even almost enjoyable.

 

Tip #1: build UP not OUT.

When you are considering shelving and storage for your things,

You don’t want them to spread out further into what is probably

Your only small living area.

You definitely don’t want to store item on the floor. 

It makes thing look more cluttered.

Tall book shelves, stackable bins, DIY cubby cubes from Target,

A tall dresser or high boy and floating wall shelves are your friend.

 

Tip #2: don’t be embarrassed to store things inside of other things.

I actually saw this on a Youtube video.

A man was giving a tour of his tiny NY apartment.

It couldn’t have been more than about 300 square feet,

Including a bathroom.

Things were stored in the microwave.

Items that would normally be out on display in the average living room

Were situated in a storage cubby under his bed.

And the bed was a murphy-ish bed, 

So it stored inside of something else during the day.

This may be a little extreme.

But in our case, we only have one little kitchen area

But my husband has been collecting things for our “real” kitchen

For a few years.

Therefore, there are always pans and a Dutch oven in the real oven.

(They are not a fire hazard)

When I have baked something I don’t want my toddler to reach,

It goes up in the microwave.

The same goes for our bathroom. 

We only have one.

The baby’s bathtub sits in our full sized tub

When it’s not in use.

 

Tip #3: Pick and choose your battles when keeping stuff

You can’t be a hoarder and also live comfortably in a tiny condo.

You have to clean out and downsize things as they are not needed.

It’s a great opportunity to give things to someone else who really needs them.

 

Tip #4: Adopt techniques to make the space look larger.

There are two easy ones:

a)    Hang a large mirror on the wall and

b)   Hang curtains that go floor-to-ceiling

If you OWN this space (we don’t) you can paint it too,

Which means you can paint vertical stripes that will make it look bigger.

 

Tip #5: Embrace the fact that this situation most likely excuses you from certain social obligations.

People who have a large house are often the ones 

who get asked to host friends and family when they come into town.  

They get asked to have the big holiday dinner at their house.

They sometimes feel obligated to offer their large living room 

For that baby shower or that kid’s party.

No one asks to host bible study or have you make Thanksgiving dinner 

When you have a conjoined living and dining area, only one bathroom

And no extra bedroom for guests.

Enjoy it. 

It’s temporary.

 

Tip #6: This one only applies to people who are living in a town that is “fun”…

Consider that you have made a small sacrifice in order to enjoy a location.

I know I do. 

I live in a tourist town in coastal north Florida.

We have everything.

Beaches, a downtown that looks like it’s right out of Europe,

Island vibes, great dining options and fun things to do with kids.

I often say “why go on vacation when you LIVE in vacation?”

(That’s also just a cop-out for the fact we don’t have money

For a nice vacation. Oh well.)

 

When people are scoping out a new area to move to,

They get presented with an important question:

“location or house features?”

Some people are blessed enough to afford a nice house

AND a great location,

But most of us would have to choose.

Some people in this county where I am

Have a huge home with land for animals or growing plants 

or just being apart from any neighbors

But they live way on the outskirts 

If not all the way in another town. 

Other people have a very small and simple home.

It’s brand new, though it went up in a subdivision 

where they all look alike and the neighbor is 10 feet away…

But they are just minutes from the beach.

In my case, location won by default.

But I choose to look at it this way:

We could go and rent a much bigger place 

Inland where the only things around are other houses

And a Walmart 

Or….

I can rejoice in the fact that though I sacrificed

Having a dream home for the time being,

I didn’t sacrifice staying in this glorious vacation town.

 

If you don’t live in a town where the attractions

seem to jump out at you,

you can still take a little time to count the blessings it does have.

Maybe it has amazing schools.

Maybe rent here is lower than the average.

Maybe there is a metropolitan area not far from here

Or a massive state park.

It’s all about looking for the bright side.

 

Tip #7: Remind yourself that this is a season

Just like everything that is hard in life,

It’s only here for a time.

Children grow out of phases.

Money flow comes and goes.

Your marriage hits a rocky place,

Then later it grows smoother again.

Most likely, your living situation will change too.

And it may fluctuate.

You may move into a larger house next year,

Only to downsize again when your spouse 

Gets a new job in another city.

Or, it may just be a stepping stone

To an even larger house.

But this too shall pass…

…This season of life where 

there is not enough closet space

and everyone is fighting over a single bathroom.

It will pass. 

 

Home is where memories are made,

And twenty years down the road,

When you look back,

It won’t really matter how dated or tiny that home was.