Small house...2 kids, under 2...feeling a little stressed (long).
We've been in our home for 3 years now. It's been on the market for 6 months, and we've only had 2 showings. I'm figuring we'll be here for a little while longer so I'm needing to organize for the arrival of our baby girl...very soon!
We have a 2 bedroom home. It's only about 800 square feet. It's a cape cod style (you walk into the living room, the 2 bedrooms are side by side in the back of our house and then there's the 1 bathroom and kitchen...that's our first level). So, basically I have to be very creative to reduce clutter and make my home seem bigger than it is and look presentable...at least for my own sanity.
We're figuring that when the baby comes she'll stay in our room with us for the first 3 months. My dilemma is trying to organize our home to get ready for her. I'm a little overwhelmed. We literally have no closets (except for the ones in our bedrooms and you can't even fit a full size hanger in there, so they aren't much help). In our bedroom I was going to use our dresser for her stuff...i.e. I'll put her changing pad on top and you it as the changing table with some baskets. I was thinking of putting a shoe organizer on the back of our door and putting her little things in there.
We're thinking of buying a PNP to use as her bed for the first few months.
I'm sorry this is so long...thanks if you're still reading!!
Any organization tips or ways to be creative with space?
Re: Small house...2 kids, under 2...feeling a little stressed (long).
I think the PNP is a good idea, because then you can fold it up for showings. I also like the shoe organizer idea.
Have you tried those suction bags for your clothes? Maybe put your off season stuff in there to free up some space for other things? And use it for her clothes that she doesn't fit in yet? Also, thinner hangers really help free up space in cramped closets.
When I start feeling cramped, I make a donation of stuff I no longer use. I just gradually fill a laundry basket, and I purge. That makes me feel a ton better. I'm not sure if you've already done this since your house is on the market, but maybe it would help?
We store some things above our kitchen cabinets. That helps for things like vases that you don't use very often. I use the space below my clothes in my closet really effectively as well as above it. Those rubbermaid tubs are nice for putting stuff away, but when you have nowhere to put them they just get in the way. I really like the ones that are thin and go under the bed more because then I don't notice them.
Doublestack bookcases to create more space? Put a short bookcase in the closet to organize stuff? Get those hangers where you can hang 5 shirts downward?
Have you checked out Home Depot, Lowes, Ikea, The Container Store, etc for closet organizers? There are also clothes organizers at Target and Walmart that hang in your closet to save space.?
?Is there space in your son's room for a small crib? Ikea has some smaller ones at very reasonable prices. Or you can put a smaller crib in your room.?
I feel ya...we also have a small house and two under two. We would love to move but aren't even bothering with trying to sell right now. Our square footage is a bit more than yours and we do have 3 bedrooms, but with us, the kids, and our 4 cats & dog it still seems super cramped.
Anyway, it sounds like you have the right idea. A PNP in your room sounds fine for the first few months, and I'd do the changing table on the dresser and just use the top drawer for her stuff. It's amazing how little they really need at first. Are you planning to have her & Jack share a room at some point? I think I would do that once she was STTN. If you need additional (cheap) storage, we have some of those plastic three-drawer bins that work good for baby clothes. It's easy to find other uses for them down the road too.
Oh, and I'd second looking at NYC apartments for ideas. Those people know how to make do with VERY little space!
GL!
I am relieved to see that others have similar issues... I will give you my suggestions. We have a cape cod with two downstairs bedrooms and a finished area upstairs and an old, scary basement. We have only one closet that we can hang clothes in.
I have one child, pets, and a baby on the way and have no desire to sell my house in the current market because there are many things about it I love, but the lack of closet space isn't one of them. :-)
We use those garmet racks and we have some in the basement and some in the upstairs area. You can get ones that close up for pretty cheap at Walmart or Target so your clothes won't get dusty. We switch out clothes with each season and purge, purge with a yard sale and Amvets donation each year.
We put many things in storage tubs in the basement and we switch out my daughter's toys so it doesn't get so overwhelming, and she likes always having "new" stuff as we rotate.
I store linens in the bottom cabinets of my china cabinet, I store random stuff in my kitchen cabinets. A lot of my daughter's clothes are stored in bins that slide under her crib (super cheap at Target). Her shoes and socks are also stored under her crib.
Good luck!! The reason I have no closet space is that many years ago, people didn't need it, and my house is over 100 years old. But people got by. I know clutter gets stressful but I believe I have made my house cozy but not cluttered. Hang in there!
Something else I thought of tonight. (Back story -- today was our MAJOR grocery run - Sam's and Meijer-- for the once every 2-3 mos restock of staples + regular groceries. The kind of run that has you cringe when you think of the cost but you know long term it's more economical... especially when $80 of that was for 2 boxes of diapers).
We go UP. Our pantry is a closet, and we turn things so that they go upwards. You would be amazed at how much fits when you head towards the ceiling. Instead of laying something the way you think it should lay... try making it skinny and tall instead of short and fat. It's amazing how much space that can save.
HTH!!!
I can't thank everyone enough for all the suggestions. DH and I are going to figure out what we can do.
We already do many of the things mentioned. We have purged many things and probably will do another round of that. We also keep our off-season clothes in bins in the basement. We keep 4 underbed storage totes for some everyday clothes. We also have one of the garment racks in the basement to keep clothes there as well.
I'm going to google the NY apartments thing for some tips...I didn't even think of that!
I feel very blessed that we have a roof over our heads and a safe place for our babies. I know the market is ridiculous right now, but I'm hoping that with Spring coming, we'll get some more action:)
Thanks again!!