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Small House Living with Kids

Small House Living with Kids

When we’re finally ready to start a family, one of the first things that comes to mind is the house we’ll live in.  Do we have enough space?  Should we move?  My husband and I decided to raise our growing family in a small house that only has 1000 square feet…by choice! With the right space saving techniques and awesome products designed for small houses, small house living with kids IS POSSIBLE!

 

“Love grows best in little houses, with fewer walls to separate.  Where you eat and sleep so close together, you can’t help but communicate.  If we had more room between us, think of all we’d miss.  Love grows best in houses just like this. – Doug Stone

Can a Small Home Work for Your Family?

I honestly think most families these days could really benefit from shrinking their space.  Are there downsides?  Sure!  But the benefits far outweigh any cons.

I hear from lots of couples who really want to start a family but can’t afford to move out of their small apartment or buy a bigger home.  Then there are the families who have bitten off more than they can chew and are living in a house big enough to hold all the clutter they could ever want, but the financial stress is almost too much to bear.

Why not consider downsizing to a smaller home and significantly downsizing your financial stress?  I’m here to tell you from experience that if small house living is what you want, it IS POSSIBLE, even with a growing family.

Small house living - Living in a small small house with kids is possible with just a little planning!

 

Our Small House Living Story

When my husband and I finally realized our dream of moving south, we found ourselves living in an RV in a new state with a 5 week old baby.  As we shopped around for houses, I couldn’t decide what I wanted.  Do we want a little house in the country with some land?  Should we buy a townhome since we don’t have much time to maintain a yard?  Where will we put more babies if we don’t buy a big enough house?

Home searching proved to be so stressful for us because I couldn’t make up my mind, and my husband would have been happy anywhere as long as it wasn’t in that RV.

Related:  Check out these tips to get a small space organized

Related:  4 Ways to Make a Small House Work for Your Family

Unlike him, I didn’t feel rushed.  Our baby wasn’t crawling yet so we didn’t need much room.  I just wanted to make the right choice for our little family.

After looking tons of houses (and even putting some offers in on homes that weren’t meant to be) my husband fell in love with a tiny 2 bedroom, 1 bathroom house about 40 minutes from town.  It had over 2 acres and was priced well below our budget.

I wasn’t sold.

Small House with Kids

Our little one was getting a little bigger now and I was already thinking about a future baby number 2.  “We’ve already outgrown it!” I told him.  “We want more kids and have no more rooms for them.  What if we have a girl?!”

My husband gently reminded me that any house was bigger than the 300 square feet we were currently living in in our RV.  We continued to look at houses until the day he reminded me of a conversation we had one day when we were dating.

I had told him that I didn’t ever want a big house.  I wanted a little house with little bedrooms, little closets, and lots of outdoor space.  I told him I wanted to raise our kids to appreciate experiences and people, not things.  I didn’t want the space to accumulate more stuff we didn’t need.  I just wanted porches to spend time on with our neighbors, friends, and each other.

Living in a Small House

I finally realized he was right.  We closed on our home September 11, 2015.  Just in time because Nugget started crawling immediately after!

A big factor in making this work is the fact that we attachment parent and co-sleep.  Our little Nugget sleeps right next to me and nurses on demand.  We plan to do the exact same thing with each baby without asking our toddlers to relocate to their room.

One day, I’m sure they will decide to move on to big boy beds.  When that day comes, they can move to our “office” aka 2nd bedroom, with the knowledge that one day, their brothers and sisters will be joining them.

I’ve realized that with some organizational skills and the right sized furniture, you can make just about any space work for you.  If we were able to live in an RV for over 2 years, families can easily make 1000 square feet work for them.

Organizing Small Spaces

The truth is, the biggest struggle you’ll face with small house living is finding a place to put all of your stuff.

While the solution is obvious, it’s way easier said than done to declutter your belongings and get rid of a ton of things you own.  I highly recommend purging your belongings regularly like we did.

The next thing that will solve most of your small house living woes is to have the right furniture for your small space.  These are my favorite pieces (that are also inexpensive!) that should solve most of your furniture issues!

Small House Furniture

The best thing you can do to make a small house work for your family is to buy furniture that actually fits in the space and is multi-functional.

Living Room

I’ve always loved sectionals and was pleasantly surprised to find a small sectional that fits the space perfectly!

Dining / Kitchen

For a dining table, try one with a drop leave that can shorten the table when not in use.  I LOVE this one and I absolutely love the Zinus brand.

We’re about to upgrade to this farmhouse table just because I feel like 3 high chairs around our current table will be a little bit of a tight fit.  I’m justifying the fact that it isn’t an expandable table because we plan to homeschool and this table will be perfect for that!

Another investment you’ll be happy you made is in stackable dining chairs like these.  They’re lightweight and can be moved to other rooms as needed (like when company comes) and stack neatly in a corner when not in use.

Bedroom / Making a Family Bed

The one place we can’t sacrifice space is in bed.  With baby number 3 on the way, we have almost outgrown our king bed already.  This is the king bed we have and are in love with.  We’re purchasing this full-sized bed this week to push next to our king to make our gigantic family bed that we can’t possibly outgrow.

The best part about these beds are these bedframes.  They sit up nice and high and have TONS of storage underneath.  We use this space for extra kids clothes and even our clothes that are currently in use.  We just slide out the under bed storage, take out whatever we need, and slide the bin back.  It works so well for our family and adds tons of square footage to our family bedroom.

Perks to Small House Living

One of the biggest perks is the price.  Obviously, a house that boasts only 1000 square feet isn’t likely to be at the top of many people’s short lists.  Full disclosure, our home was $64,000 on just over 2 acres of land.  Another financial perk is utilities.  With only 1000 square feet to heat in the winter or cool in the summer, your energy savings can really add up.  Plus, there are less rooms with less lights to be accidentally left on to consume expensive electricity.

Living in a Small House with Family

But We Have/Want More Kids!

I know what you might be thinking.  “But how can I entertain in such a small house?”  Or “it’s easy for you to say, you only have two kids!”

Related:  Why You Should Consider Living in a Small House – Even with a Growing Family

Related:  Small House Furniture

Well, we’re currently expecting baby #3 and don’t plan to stop there.

My husband and I would like to have 4 kids one day and feel that we would be perfectly happy in this home.  A little cramped?  Sure.  But at the end of the day, we have more money to make memories outside of our home because we aren’t house poor.  We are able to travel to see friends in other states.  We are also able to “homestead” and be more self-sufficient.

My advice to anyone looking for a home to grow their family in is to really consider your values and priorities.

I don’t judge anyone for having a large home.  In fact, most of our friends live in homes that are at least 2000 square feet.

However, we feel such a cozy home gives us opportunities we wouldn’t otherwise have.  Not just financially, but socially.  We’re never far from our baby in our home, we don’t spend hours and hours cleaning and organizing it, and we ultimately have more time to spend with each other.

When our kids leave our home, we’re confident they’ll remember the memories we made in our adorable little ranch, not long for a childhood with more rooms and more things that will eventually wither away.

We do plan to add on a master suite with a bathroom one day when the kids are older adding about 300 square feet, but it just isn’t a priority for us for the foreseeable future.  After all, our things are just that…things.  It’s our memories and relationships that will last forever.

There are so many benefits to living in a small home, that we feel it’s the perfect fit for our family.  If you are on a limited budget or have the desire to become more self-sufficient, small house living with kids is a great option – one that I hope you’ll consider!

 

Do you think you could ever live in 1000 square feet with your family?  Why or why not?  Let me know in the comments!

You don't need a big house to have a big family! This article is an amazing look at small house living with kids. Learn how to hack your small house to make it work for even a growing family!

Aimee

Tuesday 21st of May 2019

I love this! My husband & I are selling our 1500 sq ft 3 bdrm, 3 bathroom house next spring and buying a small 900 sq ft cottage. We plan to live and save money as we raise our daughter and hopefully welcome another baby down the road. We are tired of breaking our backs to maintain a large house with all the Bill's that come along with it as well as vehicles etc....We are house poor and we don't want to live like this anymore. I always dreamed of a close family and I feel living in a smaller space with less financial pressure is the answer to our prayers! Thank you for this article I really enjoyed it!

Lolly

Sunday 23rd of September 2018

We were house shopping 6yrs ago....we wanted LAND and a house. We left a 1500sf 3/3 townhouse with half an acre, and moved into an 1100sf, 2/1 house on 37 acres! The nice thing about the house was that the living room and kitchen are open to each other, and so the living area of the house feels spacious and open! Bedrooms are typical 1950's size, which I like. Plus the MBR and LR/KIT ceilings go to the roofline....so visually there seems to be more room....without 8' ceilings!

We managed to have both of our kids share the small, second bedroom for 4yrs before we were at a place where we could build an addition for their new rooms. We built 2 bedrooms, a 2nd bathroom, a pantry, and a mudroom....and we're just under 1600sf. It still feels like a small house, too, which I love! And....we still have alllll that land outside for the kids to roam on!

Heidi

Thursday 6th of September 2018

Hi! I've been looking at a lot of small house living posts and came across yours. We are a family of 8, downsizing from 2400 SQ feet, 3 bed/3 bath to 1200 sq ft 3 (much smaller) bed/1 bath. The single bathroom stresses me out most with 6 kids under 9, but we designed it so that the toilet and shower each have their own separate rooms. While we're all feeling a tinge nervous about the move and how it's all going to go, we're very excited to get rid of extra clutter and spend time together as a family, exploring our 100 acres of land and saving more $, which will hopefully allow us to travel this great country of ours! Thanks for your post, you give me hope!

Stacy Heins

Sunday 24th of June 2018

Thank you for posting this. My husband and I are considering buying an 820 sq ft house, we have 2 dogs and want to start a family. The small space makes me nervous, but I admire people who make small spaces work. We had a big house before and it just accumulated things, and took forever to clean. Small spaces can be so cozy and cute. I want a small space but am nervous because society tells you its impossible with kids, thank you for being an inspiration and showing that this can work!

Angela

Saturday 16th of June 2018

I am glad people are considering smaller homes. I grew up in a house with 900 square feet and one bathroom for six people — my two parents with four daughters (me plus three sisters). I think people expect more room than they really need which simply collects more things. Focus on creating a happy life instead of keeping up with your neighor’s latest and greatest. I currently live in a spaceous 700 square foot house with my husband. We are currently considering how to reduce the space we need while encorporating more nature into out everyday lives.

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