How to organize a 2400 sq foot house with twins

Paulsaggiebride

Tell me how you do it!  Our house looks like a dang daycare and it is only getting worse.  My husband says we need a bigger house, I agree but can't even imagine parting with the home we have now. I love it.

What do you do to minimize clutter when they are 8 months and have jumpers, walkers, exercausers...etc., laying around????

 Thanks for suggestions!

TeacherTiff

I currently live in a 2 BR 1200sqft apt with twins and a toddler. It sucks but it is what it is. (we're moving to a house soon but only 400 more sqft). If we can make it work here, surely you can reorganize a house with twice as much space to make it work for you. 

chickaboo1974

we have a 3000 sq ft ranch- I took the formal living room and turned it into a playroom.  We moved here when they were 9 months, I put a small basket of toys that I change weekly in the family room.  When they were in jumpers (never had walkers and they were done with the exersaucer) I put them in the family room.  Even now most of their toys are in their playroom- and as soon as they outgrow a toy I put it in the guest room to take to resale or sell to a member of my multiples club.

jalaiaa

2400 sq feet is pretty big. We did the boys in a 1200 sq foot house for their first year and a half and now have three in a house only slightly bigger. My advice is to get rid of stuff instead of getting a bigger house. This is one of those do as I say, not as I do things because we have too much stuff too. I'm constantly getting rid of things but feel overwhelmed by clutter. I think the answer really is to simplify stuff and not increase space though. Good luck. 

JustcallmeGG2

wow, this leaves little hope for me and my 1600 foot house.  lol

Paulsaggiebride

I am sorry, I sound like a complete idiot.   I know that MANY people make it work with a lot less room than we have.  The problem I guess is more about layout vs. actual footage.  I do appreciate the suggestions though.

 

pea-kay

It's kind of like purses - no matter how big or small my purse is, it's always FULL. How is that? I can get by fine with a small bag...

Anyway, we have a 1700 sq ft, badly laid out house with no plans to move, ever. So we make it work. The toys stay in two rooms - a bucket or two of them in the living room, and they have a playroom. Their bedroom is just for sleeping. When they were infants, they only ate in the kitchen, and that's where their highchairs were. 

We are still surrounded by clutter, but I think keeping their things in limited rooms might help.

shivNY

Our house is around the same size- all bedrooms upstairs.  We have a toddler and twins on the way. Once DS started playing with toys we made our dining room into a play room.  We never used it and we needed a space for his stuff.  Now we are completly renovation our first floor- we tore down the kitchen, bathroom and mud room and made it one big open space into our family room- it will now be a great room with kitchen, dining, tv room and desk area.  The fron room will still be a play room for now and eventually will be a formal living room down the road.  We moved laundry upstairs where all the bedrooms are.  It's mayhem now but it will be awesome once it's done and everything is open. 

hayleydeee

Wow, I can't imagine living in 2400 sq ft and wanting even MORE space! No one around here has houses that huge! Our house is about 1500 sq ft, and that's really big. Our last house was 908 sq ft.

As for the baby gear, I'm just really careful with what we bring into the house. It's important to me that my space isn't overrun with junky plastic baby gear. We don't have exersausers, walkers or any of that stuff.

What we do have is compact, lightweight and folds up. (Bjorn bouncer, Rock and play, Kid Co Go-pod, Johnny jump up for the doorway, pack and play). I don't think babies really need that fancy stuff to be happy. 

 

Temp6313048411121614

We have a 2100 sqft 2-story, 3BR, 2.5BA with a loft area. All of the bedrooms are taken. We made the loft into the playroom. If we didn't have the loft we would've made the dining room into a playroom. Our jumperoo actually fit over our exersaucer (they nested well together). We put walkers in the corner. We never used high chairs, we used bumbo's at the beginning then boosters.  We have a toy box and a laundry basket for toys on the main level and they're welcome to bring other toys down, but they always must be picked up when they're done playing with them.  I couldn't imagine the thought of buying a bigger house because you have so much baby gear, they probably don't NEED most of it, and this is a temporary phase.  Everyone's house looks like BRU vomited all over for the first 12-18m, it's a phase that will pass.

hayleydeee

Paulsaggiebride:

I am sorry, I sound like a complete idiot.   I know that MANY people make it work with a lot less room than we have.  The problem I guess is more about layout vs. actual footage.  I do appreciate the suggestions though.

 

No, you don't sound like an idiot! To me it's just surprising because I'm not used to anyone having houses that size.  

Maybe you could pack away some other furniture for a year or two? Extras like area rugs, buffet tables and accent chairs might be contributing to the cluttered feel. If there's stuff you're not really using you could stash it away for a while. Or just do a big baby gear purge! 

thetwinkies&Vivi

Our house is slightly larger than that and is a tri level. We have one giant formal living room that is the play room/baby gear room. The majority of toys stay down there, and for now the girls swings,bounceys,bumbos etc are in there. DD's room has a small amount of toys and her exersaucer. The twin's nursery will just be used for sleeping and dressing in the beginning. We also have a pack n play with some toys downstairs to contain DD. I really try to keep the majority of baby gear/toys in the playroom. It cuts down the overwhelming clutter in the house. I'd suggest trying something like that.

Jen0204

We live in a one floor, 2 bedroom condo that's under 1000 square feet.  We have 2 cribs, a dresser, a rocker, a bouncer, and 2 rock n plays in the nursery and in our living room we have 2 swings, an exersaucer, a play mat, and a jumperoo.  In our kitchen (the only hardwood floor room) we have a walker.  The only things we have 2 of are the things they use to sleep/nap.  Everything else we have one of and we rotate them.  When they get older, we'll do the same and they'll have to learn to share.  Unfortunately we owe more then our place is worth so we're not going anywhere any time soon.

In our living room we did move the coffee table.  The couches kind of split the living room into a living area and an office area with H's computer desk.  We moved the coffee table behind the main couch in his office area and we put the exersaucer and jumperoo where the table was.  We also have a small bin with books and toys in the living room.

I'm sure when they get older and have more toys it will be harder, but at that point we'll also get rid of the swings we we can have toy storage there.  We also try to minimize how much stuff we have and are constantly decluttering and getting rid of things.  

MrsCali_Bride

TeacherTiff:

I currently live in a 2 BR 1200sqft apt with twins and a toddler. It sucks but it is what it is. (we're moving to a house soon but only 400 more sqft). If we can make it work here, surely you can reorganize a house with twice as much space to make it work for you. 

This, but make it a 5.5 year old instead of a toddler and around 850 sf of living space. We're looking at houses that are around the 2000 sf range but until we get into one we are making it work.

Storage or decluttering is my suggestion. Whether getting storage units specifically for their toys or replacing pieces of your existing furniture with pieces that have hidden storage, you need to find a place for everything to go. The only thing a bigger house is going to do is give you more places for toys to eventually end up and it will give you more area to clean on a daily basis.

SpinningJess

TeacherTiff:

I currently live in a 2 BR 1200sqft apt with twins and a toddler. It sucks but it is what it is. .... If we can make it work here, surely you can reorganize a house with twice as much space to make it work for you. 

This, only it's an 1100 sf house.  Don't keep stuff you don't need.  Give away any toys they aren't obsessed with.  My son hasn't missed a single thing in the 2 garbage bags full of stuff I purged several months ago.  Purge your own closet and get rid of shoes, purses, clothes, and coats you haven't used in the past 12 months. 

BananaPancake

LOL, this is like saying, "I make $700k a year and can't pay my bills! Help!"

 

2400sf is plenty of space - is your floorplan the worst EVER or are you just disorganized? Sometimes a floorplan can really make things seem ten times worse than they are. We have 2100 SF and three toddlers right now with twins on the way. It looks like there are a couple of things we'll need to work with, but we're planning on having all of the girls in one room and the twins in another. We actually have two bedrooms for the kids, we sleep in the MIL suite and the Master suite is used for a family room. We live in a rancher that's shaped like a big L, and having everything on one level does make it seem a lot more sprawled out. We also have a TON of natural light and big windows which makes it feel like we have a lot more space. 

 I would start putting some stuff in the attic. 8 month old babies really don't need more than a small basket of toys because  they really don't get "bored" at this age. Every toy is brand new every day. It's magic! I would get the bouncers and all of the "baby holding stuff" - all but one pack n play for safety during bathroom breaks and mailbox runs. They're going to be getting VERY close to running around and having less "stuff" will encourage them to start exploring more. We store most of the toys in "already there" stationary items. Mega blocks in the entertainment cabinet, wooden blocks in the drawer of the coffee table, wooden puzzles are in the leather ottoman, etc. Everything is labeled with a label-maker and stored in see-through bins in the top of the closet. All of our toys are stored out of sight and our house can look completely baby-free come 7pm. I need that some nights! 

 You might also consider a consult with a professional organizer. My mom is a professional organizer and some of her tips are invaluable. We are also always willing to take down a wall, add a closet, make things work for us. If you own your home and a small construction project would make something ten times easier, go for it! We have a walkthrough closet between the girls' room and the nursery and there isn't a day that goes by that I don't thank the previous owner for knocking out that wall! Genuis!

 Another thing we do 

Reilly626

Is this like bragging to those who don't have that much square footage? Or a joke??

Nmschultz

I am dying laughing! I feel the same way! 8 month old, twins due in November, and a 2 br 950 sq ft house. Talked to the realtor and no luck on selling bc of economy...I am surprisingly optimistic that it "won't be that bad!"

festivus

Nmschultz:

I am dying laughing! I feel the same way! 8 month old, twins due in November, and a 2 br 950 sq ft house. Talked to the realtor and no luck on selling bc of economy...I am surprisingly optimistic that it "won't be that bad!"

We're in a 1000 sq ft ranch, 3 bedrooms and 1 bath. We make it work by accepting that the kids are our priority over how things look and at least temporarily choosing function over form. So, in the living room (where we spend the majority of their awake time) the glass top coffee table was moved out. One glass top side table was replaced by a storage ottoman (the other is barricaded in the corner by more storage ottomans but still accessible from the couch...). A chair was moved into the guest room to make room for a jumper and exersaucer. Books were removed from bookshelves and packed away. In their place are bins for toys.

It's certainly not ideal for hosting huge gatherings, but my LOs don't care about that. Eventually we'll move or add on, but we'll make due until then. And, luckily, we do have a pretty big yard.

E&RMommy

Don't feel bad fellow Texan.  We like big houses here.  We just ditched 3100 for 5200 sq feet.  More space is more space for junk though. 

We made our living room baby central - baby jail (gated for security to keep babies in once they were mobile).  We kept their toys, swings, etc there.  Then the nursery had the remainder.  The rest of the house was free of baby stuff.  You really can make it happen; you just have to designate space and keep kiddo stuff out of the other areas.

 

wannabigfam

I hate clutter, oh how I hate it.  I really like the ikea shelves that have the pull-out color drawers - like this https://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/S49819508/ except ours is white with different colored drawers.  I take pictures of the toys and put the picture on the front of the drawer so the kids can learn how to put things away where they are supposed to go.  We have 4 of them like this https://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/30171123/

 We have them in our toy room / family room which we've just made into a playroom.  We also have one of these https://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/80135298/ in white for books and larger toys that don't fit in the buckets.  Basically we have enough storage w/ these systems that if it won't fit on there / in the bucket then we need to purge something :-)  Then in our bedroom, we have a basket (laundry basket size but colors match our decorations) that I have toys in for when I take a shower or need kids entertained upstairs.  In bedrooms, a similar size basket in the closet and then another https://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/80135298/ shelf for books and a few small toys.  

I think we have too many toys to begin with; part of the problem is that I love cute toys myself :-)  Probably more than the kids do!  Also I buy the toys I want them to have, but then we also get Christmas gifts and birthday gifts and so that's when it becomes just too much.  I tried to do the "rotate the toys out" thing but honestly, that became too much work :-)  I feel like now with the bucket system, toys are "out of sight" for long enough that it feels like a nice surprise when I pull them out of the bucket once a week.

Lately I have started thinking about the possibility that kids really don't care for toys.  They seem happy doing whatever mommy and daddy are doing and as long as they have attention from us they are happy.  With that in mind, I've been trying to purge a few things and just keep things I think are essential for fine motor skills and the best educational toys and then of course we keep a ton of books.  

 

Good luck!   

GeauxTigers82

E&RMommy:

Don't feel bad fellow Texan.  We like big houses here.  We just ditched 3100 for 5200 sq feet.  More space is more space for junk though. 

We made our living room baby central - baby jail (gated for security to keep babies in once they were mobile).  We kept their toys, swings, etc there.  Then the nursery had the remainder.  The rest of the house was free of baby stuff.  You really can make it happen; you just have to designate space and keep kiddo stuff out of the other areas.

 

OP, I'm in Austin too, and also have a "big house" by some standards (I guess it is us Texas people). I realize it cost a lot to live in some places, but I need my space. I do agree though, that the more space you have, the more crap you get.

We have 6,100 sf and I still had to close in one of the attics to store baby clothes (that I'm going to sell on Ebay...one day...just to prove DH wrong!). DD1's playroom is upstairs with all her "big girl" toys, and the twins' playroom is downstairs, off the kitchen. I try to keep all the toys in the playrooms (their rooms are for sleeping and the loft is where they watch videos, etc.). I'm very organized, but toys still manage to find their way all over the house! When the girls were in swings, bouncers, etc. I did have them in the living room, etc. It's much easier now that we only have to deal with toys (and highchairs).

As far as this being a "bragging contest," I don't think that's the issue at all. We all know it cost more to live in CA than other places, so sf doesn't really mean much. Now, if we started mentioning the price of our houses or our saleries, then we might be after some bragging rights I think OP was just trying to make a point that twins come with a lot of stuff!

everam01

You must have a lot of crap in your house. I would recommend having a big garage sale. 

ValentineG

I don't know I'm trying to figure out how to do a three year old and triplets with a 1400 square foot house.  Good Luck.

ValentineG

BandEddie:

Paulsaggiebride:

Tell me how you do it!  Our house looks like a dang daycare and it is only getting worse.  My husband says we need a bigger house, I agree but can't even imagine parting with the home we have now. I love it.

What do you do to minimize clutter when they are 8 months and have jumpers, walkers, exercausers...etc., laying around????

 Thanks for suggestions!

I'm having triplets in a 940 sq. ft loft we can't sell or even rent (thank you very much economy). I can't even burn it down since it's attached to the homes of people I like :P We're totally, utterly porked. Can I have your house please? I would pretty much punch a nun for 2,400 sq ft. LOL

Get rid of your stuff. Be ruthless in your Goodwilling. It can be done. I tend to talk through things like "Will keeping this make me happy or drive me nuts?" It works!

 

Thanks for giving me a laugh today!!