Comments on: Large Family and Small House Antics

By: Nicki

Nicki — Mon, 07 Mar 2011 05:51:14 +0000

You are SO right. Stuff is the problem, not space. We are a family of 7 living in 960 square feet. I am on a daily mission to get rid of stuff. Yard sales, donations, whatever works! It really does help you to evaluate what’s really important!

By: Shalyn

Shalyn — Mon, 07 Mar 2011 01:40:17 +0000

It is always inspiring to read about how others who live in small homes are grateful, thankful, and organized. I am always whining about our “lack of space”. Actually, it’s not the space that’s the problem, it’s the stuff and the storage issues. I especially like that the article talks about creating relationships among the children. Thank you!

By: Janet from Creative Writing

Janet from Creative Writing — Sat, 05 Mar 2011 23:16:26 +0000

Enjoyed this post! I’m also glad to see that I’m not the only one who struggles to organize the book addiction and the writing career, all in a smaller house!
Janet from Creative Writing´s last [type] ..Feb 9- Creative Writing Ideas- Creative Ideas for Writing Across the Curriculum

By: J

Sat, 24 Jul 2010 03:22:32 +0000

We are a family of 5 in a 2-bedroom townhouse. When the youngest was 1, we moved him out of our room & into the kid’s room, but built a toddler-sized bunkbed to free up floor space.
You can see a few pictures at: http://lempskies.blogspot.com/2010/02/toddler-sized-bunk-bed.html
It has worked well for us.
Other tips for small spaces:
-towel hooks at the kid’s level in the bathroom
-folding kid sized table & chairs to free up space at the table if you have guests for dinner (you can buy a set for $30-$40)
-simplify holiday decorations. We have a Christmas tree & wreath, but we have one Halloween box for costumes & 3 Christmas boxes (including the tree box). We don’t have “Easter baskets”, we use decorative baskets around the house that normally hold silk plants or candles, etc. Who needs to decorate for Valentine’s Day or President’s day?
-buying toys that can be used up like bubble bath, sidewalk chalk, etc. The kids have fun with these items, but they don’t forever clutter the house

By: Jessi

Jessi — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 16:19:16 +0000

Thank you for your post. I actually have the opposite problem. I have 8 children in a 5 bedroom almost 3000 square foot house. I have so much stuff that I cant even manage it. I spend all day cleaning stuff and putting stuff away, and yelling at kids for getting more stuff out. I’m pretty fed up with stuff! I am currently trying to convince my husband that we could live less complicated lives if we all moved into our mobile home that sleeps 10. In addition to too much stuff, I have been thinking about how much money has to go toward this big old house that I am just miserable in. Trust me ladies, more space doesn’t make you happier, just more weighed down. Free your self of stuff, us Americans live in excess, it’s ridiculous!

By: The Tie That Binds Us » Ask Brenda {April}

The Tie That Binds Us » Ask Brenda {April} — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 21:04:25 +0000

[...] question from a reader that remains anonymous: I just read your article at Homeschool Classroom. We are in the process of going through our hordes of stuff and clearing out. There is so much we [...]

By: Dani

Dani — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 02:10:55 +0000

Hey there! Thanks so much for your post! I too find God working on my heart about our circumstances right now, I say there’s not enough room, God says,” Dani, be thankful that you have a home, that your children have food and clothing and shoes on their feet and that you have a husband who values you more than anything and is willing to sacrafice absolutely everything for you and your children”. We are a family of five living in an 800 square foot home and honestly, I love it. My 3 girls share a room (they are ages 4, 2, and newborn), and my husband and I have our own room, I am so thankful that we have what we have and that I am able to stay home with our kids and give them the best. Some days being a stay at home mom I get a little wigged out, but it just takes putting things into perspective and remembering that kids are just kids and they aren’t trying to make me go bonkers (haha at least I hope not!) . I am learning to not stress the small stuff and to let my kids have fun and not to yell as much (hard some days but the days when I don’t lose my temper and calmly handle things are great days!) . It’s all in how you handle it and in the perspective with which you look at situations and day to day life like you said! In June my husband leaves for a year long deployment to Afghanistan (he’s in the Navy) and we will all miss him so much especially since all 3 of our girls are total daddy’s girls :) But I know that God can protect him just as well there as He can here. Thanks again for your post – very uplifting! :) Hugs and God bless! :)

By: Melissa

Melissa — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 03:48:47 +0000

We were 8 in a 960 sq ft home. Child 6 about did me in but before that it was fine. I know I would have made it work except we moved and feel blessed to be in about 1400 sq ft now. IT feels huge. :) Great post!

By: Amy @ Raising Arrows

Amy @ Raising Arrows — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 01:00:43 +0000

Some very good friends of ours with 10 children lived in a garage for many years while building their home. I learned so much from them and their organization and apparent lack of "stuff." .-= Amy @ Raising Arrows´s last blog ..When You Just Can't Hack Cloth Diapering =-.

By: Kelly

Kelly — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 15:07:10 +0000

I really enjoyed this post! I wanted to comment because we are blessed with a very large home. It can be difficult to keep it from getting out of control – there is more room for more stuff. Our children all share bedrooms and bathrooms and I think that has done a lot for their development. I have one child who is a natural neat-nick and his roommate is a total slob. They have had to learn to work together to keep the room to the required level of neatness. I tend to be a big fan of organization so I think things stay fairly well ordered.

My husband & I feel very strongly that since we are blessed with such a good size home we should open our home to various groups at every opportunity. We host business associates when they are in town, we host yearly parties for the students at a nearby Catholic college, I conduct a children’s Latin choir out of my home – we just try to use the space we have in service of God.

One thing I would suggest to anyone – regardless of home size – is to find a photograph of someone truly less fortunate than yourself and place it in a commonly used place. I find it helps keep the heart in a place a gratitude. Beside my kitchen sink I have a photograph of a woman in the Sudan holding her baby and her “house” (in reality a single wall constructed of straw and rope). You can find great pictures along these lines at silentimages.org