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SeaStar
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| Posted: Feb 18 2012 at 2:18pm | IP Logged
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Small House Living
I thought this article was very interesting and inspiring. What do you think?
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Melinda, mom to ds ('02) and dd ('04)
SQUILT Music Appreciation
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JodieLyn
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| Posted: Feb 18 2012 at 2:42pm | IP Logged
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I think she ruined it when she said "the kids get excited about camping in their playroom!" Ok.. how small can the house be if the kids have a playroom seperate from their bedrooms or the living room. 
There is definately a "too small" category and there's definately a "not enough storage area" with either big or small houses.
In general I do agree that too much space is just too much space.. but right now with 12 of us in 1067sqft I dream of adding on.. two bigger bedrooms and a second bath and opening up the 2 smaller bedrooms into a family room type area. that would only get us to around 1600sqft. But I bet if we talked about sq ft per person that we'd be better able to agree on the advantages or disadvantage of size.
When the lack of space is driving me crazy I've found it can help to listen to a song like "Little Houses" to give it that happy, good feeling about the size.
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Jodie, wife to Dave
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CrunchyMom
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| Posted: Feb 18 2012 at 3:28pm | IP Logged
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We had a playroom in our last house, which was small (1000 sq. ft). We had three bedrooms, the boys slept in the teeniest one (we had built-in bunks) and we kept the toys in another for a time.
Anyway, it's possible. Not that YOU could have a designated "playroom" in the same space
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Lindsay
Five Boys(6/04) (6/06) (9/08)(3/11),(7/13), and 1 girl (5/16)
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[URL=http://mysymphonygarden.blogspot.com/]Lost in the Cosmos[/UR
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kingvozzo
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| Posted: Feb 18 2012 at 3:31pm | IP Logged
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JodieLyn wrote:
| I think she ruined it when she said "the kids get excited about camping in their playroom!" Ok.. how small can the house be if the kids have a playroom seperate from their bedrooms or the living room. . |
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Until recently, we had a playroom in our house, until we let our oldest have his own room. Smal house is relative, of course. I consider our house small; we have 1600 sq ft for 6 People. In some ways I still haven't recovered from our move from TX, where we had 2300 sq ft. (and one less person).
It has forced us to be more creative with our use of space, that's for sure. Easier to clan in som ways, but it definitely feels more cluttered. We just built a deck, and I'm hoping that will mke the house feel more spacious in the summer.
Winter is tough. Cabin fever is very real. I imagine a smaller house is easier when the weather is more temperate.
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Noreen
Wife to Ed
Mom to 4 great kids and 10 sweet ones in Our Lady's arms
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JodieLyn
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| Posted: Feb 18 2012 at 3:45pm | IP Logged
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Oh I have absolutely nothing against playrooms.. when we first moved here and my oldest son was 3 and didn't want to sleep alone we had a playroom.
Just pointing out that the house couldn't be "too small" if they have that extra space. But for instance her comment that it's easy to put things away in a small house because the distance to get it put away is less... has to be balanced with enough storage to be able to easily put things away.
Smaller isn't better if it's too small for your use of the space I guess was my point.
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Jodie, wife to Dave
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ShannonJ
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| Posted: Feb 18 2012 at 5:12pm | IP Logged
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I really think it is the functionality of a house that counts. I have lived in smaller spaces that would easily accommodate living comfortably and have lived in larger houses that take a lot of thinking to organize the space. Really I would love to have a small, very well planned house.
Quote:
But for instance her comment that it's easy to put things away in a small house because the distance to get it put away is less... has to be balanced with enough storage to be able to easily put things away.
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So basically, what Jodie said. 
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~Shannon
Mom of dd 12, ds 9, & dd 5
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lapazfarm
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We are currently living in what I consider a large house--one of the largest we have ever lived in at about 1400 sq ft. However, it is also the most poorly laid out house we've ever lived in and all that extra space is totally wasted. We've lived in tiny houses that felt roomier than this one just because the space was more efficiently planned and useable. So space isn't everything, for sure!
I think the article is right about it being easier and faster to clean a small house, as long as it isn't too cluttered to begin with. I remember the joy of that from the last house we lived in (about 1000 sq ft for 7 of us)and being able to vacuum the whole house without ever having to switch plugs! Yippee! LOL! But, we live very simply and have very few possessions (aside from books and art supplies), so there wasn't a clutter or storage issue. Outside storage is also a big help--having a shed to store camping gear,fishing gear, tools, etc is a life saver for small house living.
Heating/cooling costs are definitely higher for larger houses. No doubt about it.
Small houses are also much easier to tolerate if you live in a climate where you can spend a good bit of your day outdoors. This is a real problem here with all of the rain--hence the larger house--but when we lived in NC or FL we spent so much of our time outside that the smaller houses never felt claustrophobic. Short winters help, too!
Just my 2 cents!
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Theresa
us-schooling in beautiful Fairbanks, Alaska.
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SuzanneG
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| Posted: Feb 24 2012 at 12:46am | IP Logged
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I agree with everything that she wrote. That said, given the CHOICE and money, I would ALWAYS choose SPACE over all of those benefits. I LONG to not bump into people constantly and trip over everything. I didn't grow up "on top of everyone" and it takes a lot of getting used to.
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Suzanne in ID
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mamaslearning
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| Posted: March 05 2012 at 7:42am | IP Logged
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SuzanneG wrote:
| I didn't grow up "on top of everyone" and it takes a lot of getting used to. |
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Yes! That's me as well! I had one sister, we had our own bedrooms, bathroom and our own living room (playroom with tv, video games, etc.). It has been a difficult transition to living in a house with 6 people when I have no reference point on how to organize for so many people.
I enjoyed the lightness of the article. She gave some good reasons for downsizing from a large house (one with too much extra space) to house that accommodates her family. It's *smaller* in that sense, but not *small* in the sense of being overloaded (going back to the sqft per person).
I'm always enjoyed these types of peeks into small living. 
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Lara
DD 11, DS 8, DS 6, DS 4
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4Real Forums : Our Lady's Loom, Larder, and Laundry
Topic: The Pros of Living in a Small House
