We call our house "the little white house" for a reason. It's liddo.
Don't get me wrong, we LOVE our home and we are so grateful for it. But it has become a challenge for us to learn to make the most of every single space. It felt perfect for the two of us but add two girls and watch the years roll by and the stuff adds up, making the home feel that much smaller.
So just in case you're living in a space that is squishing the sanity out of you, here are a few things we've done to help make the most out of our small(ish) home.
Get rid of the clutter
I hate clutter. HATE. IT. This is not a tough one for me. But for some people (looking at you, Matt) it's a little more challenging to let go of "things". If you have an already small space, the only thing that will make it feel smaller is to have unnecessary junk. My general rule is that you shouldn't keep anything in your home that you don't believe to be either absolutely beautiful or absolutely useful. Using this rule, chances are you can rid yourself of lots and lots of stuff!
Have a designated work space
This one's for my girl bosses out there. Maybe you don't have a fabulous and fresh room decorated to your taste and just begging you to come in and get creative. But you can create one small space that's designed only for you to do your thang. Figure out the items you need to do your job and then keep those things together in one spot. I love working at my kitchen table while I wait for my desk to be completed. I try to always keep fresh flowers on the table. I also keep a yummy smelling candle (pumpkin spice, yall. It's always fall in our house). As long as I've got my laptop, planner, and a table top, I'm golden. Make the most with what you've got!
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| Current work space :) |
Make use of unexpected spaces
We didn't even realize how much untapped potential our home had until we started having to get more creative with utilizing every area. There's a huge wall with some dead space in front in our den. That's where we decided to put my desk. Yes, it's kind of an unusual spot for a quasi office but it actually really works! Instead of just sticking a desk there, we built shelves and storage on either side. Necessity is the mother of invention and out of our struggle came some pretty cool creativity. So look around and start thinking about areas where you've got floor space or wall space that could be used.
Be grateful for the space you have
Not too long ago I had gotten into a pretty bad habit of grumbling about how small our little house was. Its only three bedrooms. It's just under 1800 square feet. I mean what a hole we live in! My perspective changed a whole lot after I watched a documentary about families living in India where they had 10-15 people living in a space the size of Reese's room. Or smaller. No beds. No tables, Nothing. Just a roof. I know that's drastic but the new perspective was just the push I needed to move from grumbling to grateful.
Someone once told me that what you have right now as someone elses dream come true. That got me thinking, what if I looked at what I already have as my dream come true? Yes, I can still dream about a closet big enough to host bachelor viewing parties but til I get there, I want to have a grateful attitude about this current situation we've got going on.
So that's what I've got so far. What about you? Do you have any tips you wanna share about living in smaller spaces? I'm all ears!
Thanks for stopping by!
Laura