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joann10
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| Posted: April 25 2007 at 8:47am | IP Logged
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Rebecca,I am not the same Joann.
You sound as if you are doing a great job also. I certainly agree with knowing what everybody is doing. I can hear everything, and so can everyone else in the house. 
I think one of our best storage spots is under beds. You can fit many things inside storage boxes and then just slide them under.
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meaculpa365
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| Posted: April 25 2007 at 9:26am | IP Logged
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hi wanted to share the best thing we found in transitioning from a 3 story home to a small rancher-each dc has a dresser, 2 shelves & 1/2 of a closet. when that space is filled-we declutter & get rid of other items till anything new will fit.
we also invested in about 40 clear plastic shoe boxes. just about everything fits into them, they stack & you can see exactally whats in there. i use these in the bottom of hall closets, under beds, on shelves, under the kitchen & bath sinks too.
we have had to find a happy medium w/ school & living all in an open dining/living area. shelves-all open keep the stuff tamed...it has to a least look organized. everyone here has a plastic drawer unit in the closet, under the hanging clothing. they can pick if it has clothes or toys, papers, candy stashes etc.
we also put up shelves above windows & doors for small or lite weight stuff
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asplendidtime
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| Posted: April 25 2007 at 2:43pm | IP Logged
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Another thing we do (probably everyone does) is hang a set of hooks ($1 at Dollarama) on the back of their doors halfway down (so they can reach). We have them hang their coats, jammies or clothes to wear again, and bath towel there. Easy access! Easy to put away! And there's not enough space in the hall closet or bathroom for all those things.  We have a deacon's bench in which we store hats, mitts and scarves or in summer hats and sandals. We've had good success with training them to put their things away.
I agree with storage under beds, but as a funny aside, ever had the dc unload an under-the-bed-box? I have!
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Rebecca~Mama to
Noah 17,
Katie 16,
Mary 14,
Tim 13,
Jonah 12,
Josh 10,
Zoe 9,
Will 7,
Peter 6,
Laura-Mae 4,
Emily-Joy 2,
Genevieve & Gabriella 1
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teachingmom
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| Posted: April 25 2007 at 11:56pm | IP Logged
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I really enjoyed seeing your pics and visiting your blog, Joann. As others have said, you are my hero and I'd love to hear more -- particularly regarding bedrooms. I live near Maryan and agree that it is difficult to be in a smaller house in this area. My house (which I really love) is considered very small by local standards, but it's positively spacious compared to some described here. It's all so relative, isn't it?
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~Irene (Mom to 6 girls, ages 7-19)
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JodieLyn
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| Posted: April 26 2007 at 12:11am | IP Logged
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Oh you'd love my behind the front door hooks.. we don't have a closet near a door.. we have 3 strips of wood.. one as high as I can reach, one as high as the smallest child able to hang up their coat at the time could reach and one put inbetween those two.. 5 double hooks across the top and bottom and 4 across the middle offset to the others.
It can handle all our winter jackets and snow pants.. and then we have a box behind the recliner (on the other side of the door) for the hats and gloves.
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Jodie, wife to Dave
G-18, B-17, G-15, G-14, B-13, B-11, G-9, B-7, B-5, B-4
All men who have turned out worth anything have had the chief hand in their own education.
-Sir Walter Scott
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SuzanneG
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| Posted: April 26 2007 at 1:23am | IP Logged
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Can I just say how great it is to see those big manly boys of yours sitting around the table next to the little baby in a high chair? Why is that just so marvelous? 
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Suzanne in ID
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Mom of 7 (Girls - 14, 12, 11, 9, 7 and Boys - 4, 1)
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joann10
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| Posted: April 26 2007 at 7:24am | IP Logged
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Suzanne,
My biggest manly boy-20-works full time and could be on his own now. I figure we have to be doing something right here in our "Little House" because he would rather stay here and be cozy. I think my big boys spoil the little ones more than anybody else. I believe it is their fault my last two babies only want to sleep on someones chest.
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SuzanneG
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| Posted: April 26 2007 at 9:23am | IP Logged
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SWOOOONN - SIGH - FAINT!!!!!!
Someone needs to interview you on Dr. Phil or whatever other wierd shows there are nowadays (maybe the News ). The world could use a dose of your small house, your 10 kids, and your manly men-sons who sleep w/a babe on their chest! 
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Suzanne in ID
Wife to Pete
Mom of 7 (Girls - 14, 12, 11, 9, 7 and Boys - 4, 1)
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Sharon B.
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| Posted: April 26 2007 at 12:36pm | IP Logged
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Fabulous! I agree with the "can hear the kids and everything they watch on TV, or what they are talking about". Love grows in small spaces. Our house is 1550 and we are considering an addition to make it around 1800, which is still modest in our neighborhood, in order to accommodate another bedroom for the addition of more children. (We are adoptive parents and the oldest of our four are a sibling group with a 17 year old sister who was adopted by another family. She may be joining us when she turns 18.) I think you give great testimony and are a wonderful role model. I pray that whatever you've done in raising your oldest son(s) to encourage them to stay home instead of go off to college or move out on their own is something I have done as well. How blessed you are!!!
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helene
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Joann, I think your family is fabulous and I hope mine can be like yours someday.
We finished our basement to expand our horizons to about 2200 sq. ft. but my parents raised all 9 of us kids in a small ranch with one bathroom. We simply managed, we shared, we respected each other's spaces and things...however small....and I never once felt crowded or cramped. I didn't know I was cramped until I got married and shopped for my own house! (ha!) Another bonus is that all of us are still close (all still Catholic too!)and very important to each other. God bless you all. I would also love to read more about using small spaces efficiently.
Helene
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Happy Mom to five girls (20,17,13,11and 4) and five boys (19, 15, 10, 8 and 6)
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Erin
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| Posted: April 26 2007 at 9:07pm | IP Logged
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Joanne
You have me intrigued, how do I work out the square feet of a house? Is it the same as area? Length times breadth?
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Erin
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Seven Little Australians
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joann10
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| Posted: April 27 2007 at 6:59am | IP Logged
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Erin,
That is all you do. Length times width. You use outside measurements. You don't take into account any of the inside walls or anything like that.
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amyable
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| Posted: April 27 2007 at 7:09am | IP Logged
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I'm pretty sure realtors use a different measurement (like if you were told your house was a certain sq. ft. when you bought it, or are looking at realtor.com to compare houses).
They measure each room (length x width), and add it all up. They don't include hallways, closets, or unfinshed areas (like a basement). I believe the measure they give also excludes bathrooms. No garages either.
So Joann, if your house is under 1000 sq feet by measuring the outside of the house, you sure ARE my new hero!  That will give you a much higher measurement than the actual useable space in your home.
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Amy
mom of 5, ages 6-16, and happy wife of 
The Highly Sensitive Homeschooler
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joann10
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| Posted: April 27 2007 at 7:48am | IP Logged
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Oh my goodness! 
When we bought this house it was through the dept. of agriculture and I am sure they needed the measurement from the outside perimeter. So, our outside perimeter is 990 sq.ft.
I remember realtors actually measuring around the outside of the house.
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kris
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Joann,
I really understand how things get cramped once your kids ( especially boys) start getting BIG. :) We fit fine in our little house when the kids were all small, but once the boys starting getting into their teenage years, it got tougher.
One thing we did in our old house was convert the living room into the dining room and vice versa ( don't know if that is possible in your home). We needed the space more in the dining room (eating and schooling) and made the living room more of a *sitting room :)
Even though our home is bigger now our dining room we are still cramped in our official dining room. We have a huge
family room, though, and I am really trying to figure out how we could convert again :). (Both are off the kitchen) Usually we aren't all home at dinner time since my 3 oldest have jobs/and or college classes in the evenings most of the week, but it is tight on the odd night we are all home and I don't know how we are going to fit baby in there once she gets old enough to sit in a high chair. :)
You are an inspiration!
Kris
Tim's wife
mom to Al, 20, Zak, 18, Dylan, 16, Noah, 14, Naomi, 12, Jackson, 10, George, 8, Jed, 4, Manny, 2 and Gabriella, 4 mos
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amyable
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| Posted: April 27 2007 at 8:06am | IP Logged
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I hope I didn't come across rude Joann! I'm sorry. Maybe it's a regional thing? My FIL and dad were both realtors at one point, but both on the East Coast. Maybe it depends on the type of house?
I'll recheck with my dad - I'm wrong a lot!
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Amy
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The Highly Sensitive Homeschooler
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joann10
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| Posted: April 27 2007 at 8:13am | IP Logged
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I think that the USdept of Agri had their own ideas of what they wanted. As I am thinking about it, realtors were surprised at having to do this measurement.(it was 16 years ago)
I found a sticker inside one of our cupboards. This is a prefabricated house and it says that the floor area is 960 sq ft.
I don't think you are rude at all. You got me wondering too. We have done nothing to the house- so I guess the floor area is 960sqft
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amyable
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| Posted: April 27 2007 at 8:15am | IP Logged
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Well I didn't ask my dad yet (he sleeps late ) but a little google search makes me think we are both right in a way -
What I'm reading is that you DO measure the outside of the house, but then you also minus out any "non-livable" space ...livable spaces must have walls/ceilings made of typical building materials (i.e. finished off), must be heated by a convential heating system, etc.
See, I'm wrong a lot! 
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Amy
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The Highly Sensitive Homeschooler
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kingvozzo
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Re: the square footage of the house...We just rec'd a revaluation form from our town assessor's office, and this is what is says about "finished living area:"
The square footage of the primary building calculated from the exterior measurements. The FLA includes all above ground finished and heated areas. A finished basement or rec. room below grade is not included in this living area calculation.. Two story volume foyers and staircases are considered two stories of living areas (a 100 sq. ft foyer counts at 200 sq ft of living area). Other cathedral area is included as one story of FLA. (I wonder why staircases count as double, and other cathedral areas count as single? Seems misleading?)
My dad is in construction in NYC, and he said that there is a min. height for ceilings to be considered livable floor space. This is one way builders will get around the lot restrictions on the size of houses. The will slant the ceilings (esp. in bedrooms), and then that space under the slant isn't included in the square footage of the house.
No matter how you count it, Joann is an inspiration to me, too! Our house is approx. 1600 sq. ft (we moved from 2200 sf in TX), and everyone is wondering when we're moving because the house is too tiny. I keep reminding them that the family who built it in 1900 had 9 children, and only one of the baths that we have now. They did okay, I think we can manage with 4. (or 5, or 6 etc, God willing!)
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Noreen
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kingvozzo
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| Posted: April 27 2007 at 9:30am | IP Logged
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kris wrote:
One thing we did in our old house was convert the living room into the dining room and vice versa ( don't know if that is possible in your home). We needed the space more in the dining room (eating and schooling) and made the living room more of a *sitting room :)
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We thought of doing this in our house, too. Our dining room is huge (as in it can fit out table with BOTH leaves in it), but the family room is smaller. We decided against it, because if we switched, we'd have to go through the family room to get to the dining room (seemed like messes likely to happen.)
You are forced to think creatively when you have a smaller home!
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Noreen
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4Real Forums : Mothering and Family Life
Topic: 12 people 990 sq. ft.
