How do you raise families in small houses?
Posted by Inner-Tumbleweed-754@reddit | AskABrit | View on Reddit | 118 comments
Strange question. I’m about to move into a 800 sq ft house (74 sq m) with my two kids. TIL that that’s about the size of the average home in Britain. For a Canadian that’s quite small. Particularly the kids bedrooms and living room will be much smaller than we’re used to.
So I guess what I’m asking is, is there anything common over there that helps you deal with space issues? A little weird to think about.
Ps. If it helps just pretend you’re talking to an American. Except I can’t use my yard for half the year 😉
Chance-Presence5941@reddit
Your question kind of answers itself, we're just used to it the same way you're used to a more spacious property. If you want to spend the GDP of a south american nation and dont mind having no access to amenities without driving, there are some pretty spacious properties in the villages that surround towns.
Public_Shoe_6119@reddit
I live in semi-detached, it's not massive, but honestly, I would probably find a big house a little uncomfortable, I like the cozyness feel of it, especially during the winter months, and in summer I'm barely home anyway, gotta get that sun while it's out...
amusingjapester23@reddit
In honesty, people just give up on doing things that they would need a big house for.
See 'The Royale Family'. They just watch TV all day, and the TV can't be turned off.
TouristParticular219@reddit
The way to do it, and with high amounts of obvious offence but as little as possible trying to be given, get over it
Peter_gggg@reddit
Don't want to turn this into the Yorkshiremen sketch
I grew up as one of 5 kids in a 2 up 2 down terrace, and an outside toilet and tin bath in the kitchin ( 60's)
Part of it is mental, getting used to lot sof bodies
My tips now
Remove the bath , and install a shower , ideally two, and two loos if you can. Electric if you can as no hot water required
Buy lots of stackable boxes
Do some serious possession decluttering . You won't have room.
Explore options for outside space: veranda, car port, gazebo, garden shed , rent a lock up.
Buy a box for the car and keep car stuff in that box in the boot / trunk
Dont work from home, or if you do make sure you have a paperless office
Noise-cancelling headphones
Tablets (Or TV can be a bottle neck you all need to watch the same )
WelshBluebird1@reddit
Just be aware that could reduce the marketability if you need to sell and of course means you can't use the bath to wash / clean things either whiodtcan often be useful.
Peter_gggg@reddit
Right now, he's asking about optimizing living space.
It's a modest cost to reinstall a bath, if and when he decides to sell
mkmike81@reddit
You'll just have to play hockey at the rink instead of at home (that's what we have to do!)
throwaway345789642@reddit
A small house feels a lot bigger when you get rid of crap you don’t need.
I say this with love, but too many people have too much crap. Downsize your crap, and you will fit in the home. It will feel like a lifestyle adjustment, but you will feel very free after doing it.
Kids don’t need as much stuff as you think they do. A toy library subscription will limit clutter. Get rid of baby equipment and outgrown clothes promptly.
blinky84@reddit
One thing I've noticed that may or may not be accurate, its that USians seen to be really big on decorating for holidays, having specific kitchenware used only once a year, that kind of thing. We don't do that as much over here, because we've just got nowhere to store it. Christmas decorations are usually as far as it goes
TooLittleGravitas@reddit
Yes, the great British tradition of 'getting the decorations out of the loft'. 🎄
florzed@reddit
Yeah this is so true. Also bulkbuying doesn't really work if you don't have a utility room/pantry to store it in. I went to Costco for the first time and my first thought was "it might be cheaper but I don't want this stuff cluttering up my tiny flat!!".
Missing-Caffeine@reddit
Costco sizes are grand if you have 3 teenagers at home, to be fair 😂 hence why the whole thing the "american fridge" with a maaaassive freezer as well
MasterJunket234@reddit
You'd be surprised at how many people lease a storage space in the US. It's a thriving industry.
TheEvilBreadRise@reddit
A fella I knew met a girl in Canada, they had a kid together and came back to England to live, had a decent sized 3 bedroom semi house with two medium sized gardens. Like one of thr nicer parts of thr local area. She thought they were poor because the house was small compared to what she was used to lol she kept badgering him to do better financially, but really to afford what she was accustomed to back home you'd have to be really wealthy here. In the end she went back to Canada.
Ruthiereacts@reddit
It’s just something you’ll need to get used to, my mums best freind lives in Maryland she has 16 acres of land and her 3 bedroom house could easily (I’m not kidding) turn into an 8 bedroom house and that’s just upstairs, her front room alone is the same size as my entire 3 bed flat, it was completely alien to me like why do people need such big houses and so much land, her land alone in uk would easily fit a council estate, plus it costs her an absolute fortune to run each month, and on the other hand uk homes are like mansions compared Japanese homes.
Jammyturtles@reddit
Throw away anything non essential before you move. It might not seem like you have a lot of stuff but when you downsize you're like fuck... I have so much shit.
Invest in smart storage solutions for your home. Its worth the money.
If kids are sharing a room, still try and give them some privacy, like curtains on their beds or a room divider.
Nikolopolis@reddit
You're right, this is a weird fucking question.
MoltenCorgi@reddit
It's not weird at all if you live in the US/Canada. I live in a 3BR home that's twice the size of the home OP is moving into, and it's an older home with insufficient storage for all the crap modern households have today. I live with my partner, no kids, and we are thinking about buying a larger home because we have no space.
I legitimately have a hard time grasping how people live in small footprints. Where is your stuff? How do you have hobbies? We also work partially from out home, though we also have an additional 1500sq ft studio off site that stores most of the bulky stuff. But we still need a dedicated office space here, room for our hobbies, pets, etc. I can't imagine giving up all the things I enjoy because I have to live a life of absolute minimalism. It feels like I would be denying major parts of my personality. And mind you, I hate clutter and I actually live with a lot less stuff than other people I know. I refuse to buy one-off kitchen appliances, I don't own a toaster or a regular coffee maker which is very abnormal for where I live. Our bathrooms are so tiny that I don't own much in the way of skincare/cosmetics while other women fill their bathroom counters/drawers with that stuff. I don't own any seasonal decorations except one box for Halloween. I'm not into clothes or shoes, so I own a fraction of what a typical American would have. I stopped buying books over a decade ago when I got a kindle and gave most of the physical copies away. But I do have a lot of interests that require supplies that take up space.
notmyusername95@reddit
What hobbies do you have that require a whole room? I think the difference in the UK and other places with smaller houses might be in making spaces more multi-purpose.
Recently, I moved back in with my dad for a short while. There were 5 fully grown adults, a cat and a small dog (who did not much like each other) in a standard terrace 2 up 2 down but with a bathroom and bedroom stuck on the back - so two small double rooms and a small single. 3 of us were working from home, one studying and one half from home and half out. 3 of us worked from our bedrooms, one from the kitchen table. We’re all fairly outsidey people anyway so hobbies were: running, gym, walking or solitary: reading, drawing, crafts (from the sofa or kitchen table) or tv.
The only real issue we had was when we all needed to go out somewhere together. It takes a while to get 5 people showered and ready for the same time, but it helps when you split a shower schedule across morning and evening.
MoltenCorgi@reddit
My partner’s guitars, amps, and synths can easily fill a whole room. He just got into 3D printing and now he has 3 printers and tons of filament. Exercise equipment can easily fill a room. Most of my hobbies take up less space, but I have lots of art/craft supplies, lots of plants that take up space but add a lot of ambience and help my mental health as it’s grey and dreary here half the year. All my stuff for knitting is confined to a single dresser, but that takes up some room. We’re photographers and while I’ve set a boundary and most of the gear lives at the studio, we still have several personal cameras and lenses each that we keep at home for personal work, and collections of antique cameras. My partner also has a fair amount of space taken up by his record collection.
That’s not counting stuff like hobby seasonal items we may only use sporadically. We also have a lot of pets with their own crap.
We do a lot of interiors photography. It’s not unusual for homes in the US to have entire rooms dedicated to a hobby or collection, a separate home gym, and I’ve seen quilters/sewing take up entire large basements or multiple rooms. Most newer construction homes are built with basements that are finished, larger than normal utility rooms, multiple walk-in closets, mudrooms, and butler’s or walk-in kitchen pantries are becoming a norm too.
CareTop6221@reddit
We are a house with lots of stuff and hobbies, I’ll say our house is messy at times. But in uk it’s a rarity to have a dedicated room for 1 thing. I have my gaming/study desk in my living room for example.
Boardgames are stored in the kids rooms or living room, and played with either on the living room floor, or dining table.
Knitting and other crafts are stored in a drawer, or under bed storage boxes.
Separate home gyms are rare I’d say, but in most towns/cities I’d say an affordable gym is pretty close. I have 3 that I can walk to within 20mins, that cost less than £30pm.
Houses often have sheds in the gardens which is where u would store less used things, but not everyone has a garden.
YarnPenguin@reddit
I live in a 130 year old pit terrace in an ex mining town in the midlands, but being childfree means I've turned one bedroom into a library for my 4000 books and the other spare bedroom is my office/craft room.
We also have a spidery, slightly mildewy cellar which has our Halloween and Christmas crockery in, being one of the apparently small number of UK households that switch up the dinnerware.
The drier and all of the garden tools is in the outhouse and the christmas decs and out of season clothes are in the eaves. I suppose we have quite a lot of stuff for a 2 person + dog household, but I think we probably also have enough storage for it.
Serious_Escape_5438@reddit
Well the people rich enough to have multiple expensive hobbies can generally buy a bigger house. Most of us choose one hobby and the things just have to fit into a basket or something and you use the table to work. I'm sure most people would like a home gym if they won the lottery but if you can't you can't.
MoltenCorgi@reddit
You don’t need to be rich to have hobbies. You have to have interests. I have plenty of hobbies that don’t require a lot of money. And some of us stay in smaller houses than we want to because we love the neighborhood or location or it’s close to work and it would be difficult to find something else suitable nearby. I can’t think of any hobby I have where all the supplies fit in a single basket. That’s hilarious to me.
Serious_Escape_5438@reddit
In the UK to have hobbies requiring multiple rooms you have to be rich.
volunteerplumber@reddit
I love America, and love traveling there so I'm not trying to be Anti-America or anything. That said, this comment kind of makes me realise how you guys have the highest amount of "waste" per person.
Maybe the world would be a bit better and less wasteful if we didn't need to buy some much crap. Having a large house just makes us waste more as far as I'm concerned.
LadyBAudacious@reddit
800 sq ft? That's HUGE.
only-3-words@reddit
Patience and dedication
vctrmldrw@reddit
Children are only small.
Ataralas@reddit
Just had to look up the sq ft of my home to answer this 🤣ours is 749sq ft which is obv smaller than yours. It’s a 3 bed although the small bedroom is only suitable as a single/nursery. Both the others are large doubles. Living room is big enough for quite a bit of furniture. One bathroom and a mid sized kitchen. We have a lot less ‘crap’ than people in bigger houses as we just don’t have space for it. There’s 2 adults, a toddler and a dog here currently, baby due in January. I think brits are generally more used to having smaller living spaces as this is actually the largest place we’ve had since we moved out of our parent’s homes. We do plan to move at some point once I’m back at work in 2026 after my maternity leave but more so because the schools this side of town aren’t as good as the other side of town so want to get more chance of being in catchment for when the toddler goes to school! People often have kids in cabin beds with desks, bookcases etc underneath to save space in bedrooms. Or 2 or even 3 kids sharing a room with bunk beds so you have a separate room for guests or as an office space etc.
Jesters__Dead@reddit
Maximise outdoor storage
BackgroundGate3@reddit
This is why IKEA is so popular in the UK. They have storage solutions for the smallest spaces. That and being disciplined about getting rid of clothes and toys as soon as the kids have outgrown them.
S4FFYR@reddit
UK/US dual here. The biggest issue I always have is a lack of storage space. Buy furniture that doubles as storage- divan beds, ottomans, coffee tables, sofas etc that can convert or have storage space hidden in them. Most houses in the UK don’t have walk in closets- at best, a mudroom at the front door and an airing closet for linens, maybe a small sliding door closet in a bedroom if it’s a newer build. Theres honestly a lot of wasted storage space in my house, but as we rent, we can’t do any renovation projects to create better storage.
addanchorpoint@reddit
my landlord build overhead storage cabinets at each end of the hallway ceiling, it’s fucking genius.
the_fox_in_the_roses@reddit
Walk in closet! Luxury!
Hewn-U@reddit
Both ways!
SaltyName8341@reddit
I have one built-in to my 2012 semi,never used it except as storage
Inner-Bodybuilder-46@reddit
Absolutely noone refers to homes in terms of square feet, except agents. It makes no real sense to Britons. Obviously we can understand it, but it's not a common reference.
AnmlBri@reddit
How else is one supposed to reference the size of their home relative to anything else?
Inner-Bodybuilder-46@reddit
With a banana
AnmlBri@reddit
Ha, fair enough. I forgot this is the internet. 😛
Longjumping_Skin957@reddit
Brits usually discuss houses in terms of number of bedrooms and whether or not it’s a terrace/detached/semi detached
So you’d hear us say we live in a 3 bed semi (for example)
marshallandy83@reddit
This is correct, and I for one fucking hate it. Why can't the likes of Rightmove allow me to filter on square footage?
In fact I'd go one further and ask for cube footage (I love me some high ceilings and big rooms).
TheEvilBreadRise@reddit
Exactly, 3 bed terrace but it has two big gardens....
BreqsCousin@reddit
Which is really annoying! We really should get on that.
I'm trying to move right now and some 2 bed flats are nearly double the size of others.
MuddyBoots472@reddit
I’m basing my thoughts on the top reply saying 2 up 2 down
CaerwynM@reddit
Exactly I can extrapolate how big a foot is, bit how that relates to a house I have no idea
VardaElentari86@reddit
I wouldn't even say i understand it.
Existing-Tax7068@reddit
We're used to it. I used to host students for the local language schools. My house is about 120m², I'd have four students in the summer months, with myself, my husband, two teenagers, and two young children. My Asian students thought I had a big house and large family, the Arabic students thought the opposite.
PetersMapProject@reddit
The average number of kids that people have has declined since most of our housing stock was built, so if anything it's got easier over time.
My top tip would be to keep the clutter to a minimum. If I'm buying something that won't be used up / worn out in the near future, I ask myself "do I have anything which will do the same job, and so I want to look at this item for the rest of eternity".
Have a good clear out before you move.
newbracelet@reddit
That's the thing, average family size has decreased but stuff is so much cheaper and more widely available each family member takes up much more room.
My grandad was raised as 1 of 10 in a house similar to the one I was raised in as 1 of 4. We fit in our house, but it was cluttered and full, I can't imagine cramming an extra 6 kids in. But I would get a sack of new toys each Christmas, and my granddad would get an orange in his sock.
PetersMapProject@reddit
It is an irony that as "stuff" has become relatively cheaper, the storage space (housing) has become so much more expensive
fatveg@reddit
I brought up my two in a house of a similar size to yours, 2 up 2 down terrace. Two boys so share a bedroom. You just get on with it, never really noticed a lack of space. They are 21 and 17 now, so practically four adults taking up the same space.
Two issues we have
We don't have our own space, which I'd sometimes like. You may need a so called third space (mines the pub and live music), but my wife doesnt need one, just for us all to get out from under her feet. I sometimes crave an empty house, then when I get one I feel so lonely!
If you are coming from a big house it may be a shock. If your kids are small it won't be too bad.
x860x@reddit
“get on each others tits” is a new favorite of mine now!
Curryflurryhurry@reddit
I felt a flush of patriotic pride when I read that phrase
BigBunneh@reddit
I had no idea it hadn't made it across the pond :D
MuddyBoots472@reddit
Do they even use the word tits in the US/Canada?
alkahinadihya@reddit
I certainly do. But then again, I also say cunt. 🤷🏽♀️
BigBunneh@reddit
That one is way more common amongst really good friends over here than it used to be - growing up it was the one word that would cause a fight if someone was called it. I still can't use it myself, personally.
morefetus@reddit
No, it’s considered rude.
BigBunneh@reddit
Interesting. In the UK it's probably on a par with "bugger" - you wouldn't really want your young kid saying it, but it's on the very mild end of swearing. However, chatting to friends, it's fine, ie - "I went arse over tit" for "I fell over in a dramatic way", or "That's gone tits up" for something that's gone wrong.
BigBunneh@reddit
The question on everyone's lips.
AdZealousideal2075@reddit
Amazon sometimes isn't your friend
Enchanting_puddles@reddit
I raised 5 children in a house smaller than this. 3 bedrooms 1 bathroom. We had parents room, girls room (11'x7'), boys room (6'x7').
Bunk beds are great for space saving or high sleepers if they have their own rooms. If not a high sleep buy beds that you can fit storage boxes underneath.
Kids don't need as many toys as you/they think they do
You really don't need as many clothes or shoes as you think you do.
If anyone is going to bath/shower they have to ask everyone if they need to use the loo first.
Get rid of your clutter.
Use vacuum bags on out of season clothing or bedding/ sentimental soft items.
Use the vertical space for storage. Shelves, high cupboards, kallax units etc.
Smaller furniture.
Mainly just less stuff.
dividedmassopinion@reddit
Keeping it clutter free. Clutter makes places feel smaller.
HmNotToday1308@reddit
I'm American and my house was like 8000sqft and we had 200+ acres. I moved to London into a 3 bed 8000sqft house.
We have 3 kids - 15f, 7f and 1m and would like to have a 4th but that's unlikely tbh.
Things we've done to help -
Every piece of furniture is storage - stowaway table and chairs in the kitchen. Sofa has ottoman in the one side. Our bed is a lift up ottoman bed.
Hanging storage - I hang things in groups on those hangers that hold multiple items. So all school shirts on one, bottoms on another etc.
Vaccum bags in loft for seasonal stuff
Once something is outgrown it goes.
We don't own a lot of stuff. How mant pairs of jeans and shoes do you actually need!? Overall we each have 3 pairs of jeans, a couple pairs of leggings, one pair of boots, two trainers, dress shoes, school shoes and sandals. That's it. We don't have the space to store random shit. Coats are honestly the most annoying thinv because at this time of year we need all coats for all seasons and they take up the entire hallway.
I buy food for the week and that's it. I know Americans especially like to bulk buy but I have no where to put it and it'd just get wasted.
The girls share a room and have bunk beds. Each bed has its oen curtains that can be open or shut if they need space.
The biggest issue for us is the bathroom and by that I mean my husband thinks that he can stay in there longer than it took me to birth 3 kids and gets annoyed if disturbed. He's gotten better.. Especially after I made him clean up after I peed myself waiting on him during pregnancy...
mother1of1malinois@reddit
74sqm would be small even for British standards. Your average 2 up 2 down would probably be more like 90sqm of space, more if it’s got a kitchen extension like lots do.
I’ve personally lived in a small house with one child and it was perfectly manageable, I still really miss the house! We moved to a bigger house when our second child was born and I don’t feel like we really utilise the extra space, we could definitely of stayed in the small house if our kids ages would of been closer together ☺️
PlasticGuitar1320@reddit
I’ve been living in the uk for 16 years, I grew up in South Africa where the room sizes are much bigger and we had huge gardens.. I lived in London up to 2020. At that point we had 2 kids sharing a box room and our newborn in our room… we then moved to Essex where we got more space for less rent. We still have the two oldest boys sharing a room ,they have 2 ikea struva loft beds in their room to maximise the space and my youngest has a box room with a toddler loft bed(play space underneath) in his room. It’s still a lot less space than we are used too but it’s livable. We do clean outs and declutters Atleast once a year. The lack of built in wardrobes and storage is probably what irritates me the most here..
cari-strat@reddit
Think storage in everything you do. For example the kind of beds with ottoman storage, or cabin beds with drawers and desks underneath, depending on their ages. High sleepers with a desk or gaming station underneath.
Wall mount TVs, find things that are multipurpose (for example we have a dog crate that we built a wooden topper for so it doubles as a useful table surface instead of just being a wasted area.
Look at clever ideas for things like toys - for example plenty of wall shelves, hanging storage etc.
Our kitchen was tiny, one side only had a very slim work surface because it was too narrow for base cupboards. However we realise the slimmer wall cupboards would fit, so we just added legs and a kickboard, three wall cupboards above the work surface and three below, and basically doubled our kitchen storage.
Arwenti@reddit
Furniture with disguised storage Fewer possessions but they mean more. Accept that the washing machine is in the kitchen and there’s no ‘utility room’ Rooms have multiple uses!
If you have cats - we don’t have the same predators and they need space to roam so can go outdoors (but you can limit them with additions to the top of your fencing to your garden)
CynicalRecidivist@reddit
We are in a similar house size and I had to get rid of my large wooden furniture from when I lived in a larger house and moved into the smaller house.
We had to use furniture to maximise storage space - for example - not using cupboards that reached to waist height but use the footprint of the space and go up to the ceiling (if you follow). So our computer desks we built into the alcoves at the sides of the chimney breast include storage and go up the ceiling with the printers and computer paraphernalia above our heads in cupboards.
Incorporate storage in household items where possible - such as beds, benches, the odd space under the stairs. Use bespoke furniture to fit the contours of your rooms to maximise use of space. Ikea, for example can be created to fit the dimensions of your room. When I lived in a larger house I had large, free standing wooden furniture - but I had to get rid of that and make bespoke furniture that hugged every crevice of our new home.
In our kitchen we couldn't fit a table, so we made a booth section, which takes up less space and the table can be slid over the bench and against the wall when not in use. Thus it doesn't stick out into the narrow walkway.
We have just finished making a large shed in the small garden to store things like seasonal items, over flow of cost-co shopping etc.
Keep mess under control and regularly de-clutter, being quite ruthless.
Significant_Hurry542@reddit
I know a guy much older than me (late 60's) who grew up in a two bedroom flat with his mother father and 12 siblings ...... Yes all 15 of them in a 1 bedroom flat.
ulez8@reddit
So I am from the UK but lived in the USA (NYC & NJ) for 12 years.
We had 1,100 sq ft in NJ (a townhouse) and it was considered small by our friends... It was an entirely normal house to us, and I suspect we live in the same amount of space now we're back in the UK.
The biggest thing is that our climate is milder. We have "big coats" for winter, plus hats and scarves, but I don't need snowsuits for my kids etc. Depending on when you live in the UK, you may not see snow for 10 years at a time.
We also don't have hot weather all summer so just less stuff we used to own for the town pool etc. we might have a swingset but not a ton of garden toys, though some garden toys are in the garden shed.
Your shed ( kids toys) your garage (bikes, sleds (if you live in the north / Scotland) and your loft are all important for storage. You move things in and out seasonally.
No seasonal anything except for a box of Christmas decorations. No Easter stuff, no decorative gourds, no fake fall foliage. My kids might bring stuff home from school, we do stick things up, I'm not a monster 🤣. But l, like, nothing heirloom. No special plates for any festive occasions. We buy special paper table clothes and paper napkins, then chuck them away. I had friends in the USA who had THREE whole sets of china, special flags for basically every minor holiday.... I couldn't get my head around it.
Winter/summer clothes get vacuum- packed into bags that go under a bed / on top of a wardrobe when not in use. That basically means in April/May and late Sept you're putting off doing this 😆
Storage in/under furniture. Ottomans to hold kids toys or blankets. Drawers under beds to hold spare bedsheets.
Go high: tall storage (pan rack, spice racks) in your kitchen, use height in your bedroom (loft beds and bunk beds), slim tall wardrobes (IKEA) with sliding doors, tall bookshelves etc.
Fewer clothes in general: You need lots of layers in a mild damp climate, so you're changing up how you put together outfits anyway.
Shopping for food twice a week instead of buying in big box stores and having tons of stuff in your house.
Less stuff in general.
TheTritagonistTurian@reddit
What I will say as someone who grew up in a tiny two bed home with two adults and 4 kids all living in it is that the kids don’t know any different, not once as a kid did it bother me, actually I loved it, I shared a room with my brothers, my favourite people, I ate dinner with my family I cuddled on the sofa with my parents.
As an adult I get it, it’s not ideal, you feel cramps and boxed in but don’t ever feel like you need to make a drastic change you can’t afford for the kids sake, they’ll like being boxed in close to you.
Then_Slip3742@reddit
I just stack everything in huge piles and pretend not to see it all.
Impossible_Slide3198@reddit
Glad am not the only one.
QOTAPOTA@reddit
I grew up in a small terraced home. I couldn’t tell you the square footage but I’ll walk you through it. You enter the front door to a hall. This is probably 1 square metre before you hit the stairs. To your left is the living room door. That living room was about 5m x 4m. Off that room was another door to the kitchen. Kitchen was 4m x 3m. Off the kitchen was a bathroom. 3m x 2m. The measurements might not make sense but it’s a rough guide. Upstairs were three bedrooms. Mine was about 2m x 2.5m. They call it the box room.
2 adults (my parents). My older sibling and me. At least I didn’t share a bedroom. It was home. We were happy. It was fine.
Although my mum got annoyed when we banged on the door whilst she’s having a bath!
rising_then_falling@reddit
I grew up in a tiny basement flat (80s). The rules were:
But the first one is probably the key.
anabsentfriend@reddit
Agree with all this. I'd also suggest a ruthless declutter once a year, particularly of kids stuff. It's amazing how it seems to pile up.
My friend got into a routine with her kids of having a yearly donation / sell session.
They would keep any money raised from toys they sold and also chose what to donate to charity. It was a good learning experience about those less fortunate as well as tidiness.
BeezCee@reddit
We would do that before Christmas so Santa could bring us new toys!
Errenfaxy@reddit
Same way you do with small cars; make it work
Potential_Grape_5837@reddit
I would start by looking at your Amazon order history. See if you can print out the last three years of it. In the spirit of Marie Kondo, ask yourself how much of it sparked joy.
This whole exercise will primarily come down to how much stuff you have, but if you're going to make a go of it in a smaller space, you will also have to make sure and address the subconscious accumulation habits all North Americans develop even if they don't mean to.
United_Education_11@reddit
Spend as much time outside as possible when the weather is warm enough and go to community centres during the winter (for pool, ice-skating, etc).
-myeyeshaveseenyou-@reddit
Currently raising two kids and a cat in 700 square foot. It’s pretty annoying as the layout of my house is just rubbish. I’m pretty sure it could be much better than it is if the layout was just better.
That said we manage. Our bathroom is small but everything works. Our kitchen is small but fits a table big enough for us to eat at, it can be folded to be smaller but I haven’t needed to do this. Living room is good sized and we just spend most of our time there.
My son has a high bed like a bunk without a bottom bed, so underneath is used for his toys and clothes storage.
peachandbetty@reddit
One bathroom issue - we grew up very comfortable with the idea that when one person is in the shower, another is cleaning their teeth and another is on the toilet.
Bedrooms - I had two brothers who shared a room until I left home, then the eldest moved into my old one. Bunk beds.
Living space - we don't need much. Sofa for sitting. TV mounted to the wall so that doesn't take space. Nesting tables. Nothing else needed.
It would be interesting to understand what challenges you foreaee specifically so we can advise?
upturned-bonce@reddit
Less stuff and less furniture, and being a lot more clever about how you store things. We moved from Canada too, and had to offload an awful lot of stuff. Really prioritise and downsize. You get used to it after a bit.
On the plus side, you don't need snowsuits, skates, a sled, etc, so you don't have to store them.
lapsangsookie@reddit
IKEA Kallax
ev_hepworth@reddit
I was born in the uk, grew up for a few years in Canada, then moved to a tiny house in france where we were planning to renovate the adjoining barn to make a larger house.
One bedroom, one small bathroom, one kitchen-living room-playroom space downstairs. 2 kids under 10 and two very stressed parents over 2.5years.
We made it work - you need to know the basics of what you need and what you don’t need. Remember things like if you have a garage, in the uk cars don’t ever really need to go in there - it’s never cold enough to freeze them to the ground like Canada. Turn it into storage space or another room, I now live in the uk and we have organised storage and two pet rabbits in our garage.
Use your attic in a similar way, vacuum pack cold weather clothes in the summer and warm weather clothes in the winter. When the kids grow out of stuff, give it to friends with kids or charity shops, maybe sell on Vinted if you have time/space! Try and get the kids out of the house, playing outside a lot. If you have a garden that helps a lot. Buy furniture that is also storage - I slept on a mattress on top of two short wardrobes from ikea for a couple of years, which made all my stuff less cluttered. Bunk beds were also used in my house if your kids will have to share a room.
You can also rent additional storage from lockups, which we did in france for a long time as we had moved from the average Canadian family home in Montreal to quite a small space and still had lots of stuff.
Have a yard sale or get the kids to sell a lot of old clutter on Vinted, Depop, eBay etc.
Good luck to you! Hopefully, with the new govt., the uk will be on the up and up. Canada was a beautiful place to grow up but so was England and I am hopeful that your family will love it here :)
Etheria_system@reddit
Make sure that your beds all have storage space under them - under bed storage goes a long way in terms of making it easier.
Serious_Escape_5438@reddit
We grew up in a house about that size. It was small but well, you just have less stuff. My partner grew up (not in the UK but still) in an apartment about half that size with two siblings, his parents and an uncle. He shared with his brother and sister until they left home in their 20s in a triple bunk. They're all healthy and well adjusted adults. But they did spend a lot of time out on the street.
CareTop6221@reddit
Clever storage solutions, less clothes than the standard American/Canadian (we don’t have whole closets so in general people just have less) seasonal clothing isn’t really a thing, as it’s all seasons all year. So we just struggle on the 5 days a year it’s too hot or cold for what we own. Definitely less “holiday” decor.
In our house we enjoy spending time together, I also think smaller homes means you don’t loose connection with teens, as they don’t have a choice (that could just be us and our genetics/parenting though). Kitchen wise, we shop more often and don’t store as much so we have smaller kitchens and fridges. Our shops are also closer and walkable so that’s not as big a deal.
R2-Scotia@reddit
800 sf is small even for here. My grandparents 2 up 2 down council house was bigger.
AugustCharisma@reddit
It’s not. The UK average is 72sqm.
Delicious-Cut-7911@reddit
I had wall-wall wardrobes with plenty of storage space. Keep clutter to a minimum in the living areas.
Otherwise-Extreme-68@reddit
Just own less shit
Annjak@reddit
Kids share rooms, good storage, keep the clutter down, get used to being really annoyed by bikes (4 adults here... 5 bikes to navigate past in the porch), rooms do double duty (we eat at the kitchen table, part of the living room is my wfh office), go outside lots, remember our seasonal variations aren't huge so to don't need to put away winter clothes or bedding really, over the bath 'maiden' drying rack for our clothes as we don't own a dryer and this utilises dead space, under stairs storage is our kit room for paddle boards, ice hockey gear etc
WeDoingThisAgainRWe@reddit
It’s only a lack of space if you’re not used to it. Most of us who know what it’s like in a small house grew up with it so didn’t have to shoe horn a bigger life into it. You’ll need to cut your life down to size basically.
Barghist@reddit
Ruthless decluttering before the move and a firm "one in, one out" rule when it comes to new purchases.
coffeeandloathing@reddit
IKEA kallax shelves and the fabric boxes/cubes that fit perfectly in the shelves. They can hold a load of kids stuff, easy to organise and clear up, I even have one as my TV stand, with the boxes for all the random shite you accumulate. On top of that, every 6 months I do a sort out for charity or keep with my daughter. She loves the idea that other kids will get to enjoy the toys and books she's grown out of, and I keep the clutter down. There is also a box in a kallax that any clothes that have stopped fitting her go straight into for donating.
Agreeable_Fig_3713@reddit
We don’t really spend much time at home. It’s more like base camp. We eat here and sleep here but the kids go out to play with their pals in the local area and surrounding and don’t come in till it’s dark and nearly bedtime. The kids have clubs and things they go to as well, my husband plays rugby locally so it’s often just me and the toddler that’s actually in the house.
Federal-Mortgage7490@reddit
Laundry is hard in the winter or rainy days when you cannot hang out. Most small houses don't have a utility room. Hanging damp clothes to dry in the house is miserable and causes mould. Tumble dryer is an option but gets expensive and is not good for clothes. Basically, there are options but none of them are very good.
maceion@reddit
In UK, in industrial town with one main employer, I used the 'register', a book all employees signed on starting employment. This thick book started in 1820 and was still going in 1860s. In 1915 or so we had entries where there were 15 people male and female lodging in a single room and kitchen (No bedrooms). Industrial poverty is not a nice thing.
New_Pop_8911@reddit
My grandad, in the 1920/30s, lived in a 3 room tenement, with his 9 siblings, parents and grandparents, no bathroom and a shared loo at the end of the corridor. A different world that I hope we never go back to.
BigBunneh@reddit
As someone who grew up in two similar sized house with two sisters and both parents (and a dog), I would say the most important thing is organisation of "stuff", and the clear uses of each room. We kept our toys in our own rooms, they were our go-to space for playing - sisters shared the second double room, I always had the "box room". A raised bed gave me more floor space under it, for storage, freeing up the rest to use. Toys very rarely made their way downstairs unless it was family stuff - that kept downstairs as a bit of a haven for family use and parents when they had that rare time to relax - don't deny your own sanity byt having to wade through clutter.
Rusty_Tap@reddit
What people are forgetting here is that in the UK, we sleep in houses, but we live in pubs.
TheRealSlabsy@reddit
Treat it like camping. You'll be fine.
NYCLOZ@reddit
That’s pretty much it. Even the biggest houses can feel cramped when they’re floor to ceiling with mountains of stuff. Also invest in some clever storage if you’re able
chroniccomplexcase@reddit
I was lucky to grow up in large houses as a child in the UK, but as a teacher here, I’ve seen many kids grow up in tiny houses. Like 6 kids in a tiny 3 bed terrance house with no garden. Bunk beds are popular and clever storage. Many of these houses don’t have a dining room and food is eaten in the lounge on your lap. The dining room area is then utilised as a spare bed room area if it’s a separate room or extra living area if not.
Many parents will take the smallest room and the traditional master bedroom given to the kids. I’ve seen these in 2 bed houses/ flats where the parent/ parents will take the small bedroom and children the larger one. Those who don’t have gardens will use parks and free outdoor spaces. Even cities like london are incredibly green and full of parks. I have worked in schools that let families use their fields for sports/ playing at the weekend/ school holidays so children have access to open spaces.
Also many kids even from a young age will play out in the evenings and weekends where space is a premium. So they are just eating, sleeping and washing in the house. It’s super sad that so many kids are growing up in over crowded and small houses or even in single rooms in hotels/ bed and breakfast style places. Schools do a lot, putting on holiday clubs and wrap around care where kids not only have access to free food/ drink but also extra space to explore. You also get things like the National Trust giving free vouchers for families to use where there are acres and acres of open land to explore.
AlternativeIssue24@reddit
Cover them with a towel and put them in the airing cupboard
PetersMapProject@reddit
That's a funny way to store your children
AlternativeIssue24@reddit
Works for dough 🤷🏻♂️
UserCannotBeVerified@reddit
We used to do this with mess... just shove it all.in a corner, throw a blanket over it and tuck it in a voilà! Looks like a trendy beanbag chair! The magic blanket strikes again!
Ancient-Thought5492@reddit
Get into a routine of selling stuff at carboots or donating to charity. You have to keep stuff flowing out the door else it will just become oppressive.
When buying stuff, you have to really think about if you need it.
Make sure you have a place for everything, and when stuff doesn't fit in that place, get rid of (sell/donate) some of it or store it away somewhere. Like for shoes, we have wall mounted shoe racks in the front hall, if there are too many shoes then I have to put some away in the cupboard upstairs.
vcockle@reddit
My love for vacuum storage bags knows no bounds! In summer, vacuum pack winter clothes and visa versa
maceion@reddit
That is a very generous space , compared to living on a barge. You do not buy stuff if you do not absolutely need it.
jamescoxall@reddit
As a kid I always had a cabin bed. I think they call them high sleepers now. Basically a set of bunk beds but instead of the bottom bunk there was some sort of storage/seating/desk arrangement underneath. A lot of functionality in a small footprint.
An under stairs cupboard/closet space was converted into a library/reading nook with a beanbag and a few shelves.
Attic storage was maximised. Outdoor spaces were utilised, the shed and the garage were basically Dad's private suite, he had an armchair and a fridge out there at one point.
Every room was a flex space, capable of filling a couple of different uses.
CrazyPlantLady01@reddit
Smaller furniture and less of it. Use all cupboards and nooks cleverly for storage. Hoard less stuff. Do you have a shed/garage/loft?