We are five months into living in 850 square feet as a family of four. Daniel and I turned the dining room table into a makeshift office space when we need to work; we clear it up, moving the computer monitor onto the floor, for meal times. Our balcony houses a mini garden, with herbs and tomatoes growing from pots and bins. They city is our backyard and after dinner, we head to nearby parks or grab dessert at a shop around the corner. We have come to love our little space and our city lifestyle. Contrary to popular belief, condo living isn’t cramped or second-best to house-with-a-lawn living.
Small changes
In a land where BIG is better, living in a small space, especially a condo, is rather unconventional. However, it is by no means novel; most of the world live in small homes. In Hong Kong, a friend resides in a 900 square foot apartment with his wife, two children, father-in-law, and live-in nanny. If they can do it, then so can we!
We made some changes to our home to better accommodate a family of four. Of course, we had to get rid of a whole lot of junk to free up space, but we also completed minor renovations. The walls were painted to brighten up the space, and additional storage solutions were installed in the kitchen. The biggest change to our living arrangements was swapping bedrooms with the kids; Daniel and I gave up the master and moved into the smaller bedroom. This didn’t turn out to be the sacrifice we thought it would be- instead, the idea was genius. Now that the kids have the bigger bedroom, everything they have is stored in there. At the end of the day, their toys and junk (like rocks that Big Brother likes to collect on walks) are out of sight in the kids’ room, leaving Daniel and I to hand out a relatively peaceful adult space in the evenings. Gone are the days of train tracks strewn all across the living room floor.
Related: Small Space Living: Our Condo in the City
Embrace Small Space Living
City conveniences and financial flexibility aside, small space living is teaching us some valuable lessons:
Realize it is a lifestyle. Small space living is a way of life. It is not about the inability to afford a bigger place. It is about aligning values with living conditions and creating a home based on what is important- whether that be the ever so important matter of living near hipster coffee shop or having gorgeous well-manicured front lawn. It is the careful consideration of financial, cultural and- for some- even environmental implications, and subsequently, making an intentional choice about the size of home.
Live with less. Clutter in a small space is overwhelming. It completly takes over, making the home feel smaller that it really is, and even claustrophobic. It is critical to keep belongings in check and at a minimum. We are learning to only keep things we need and/or truly love in our space. The alternative is to be buried under stuff, perpetually live in a messy space and maybe one day be featured in an episode of Hoarders.
Be resourceful. Small spaces do not need to feel small if space and furniture is used appropriately. Use vertical for storage. You learn to see every inch of space, whether it’s on a wall or under the couch, as prime real estate. Give furniture dual purposes. A stool can double up as a side table or television console can store toys. Small space living is an exercise in thinking outside of the box.
Have a sense of humour. Sure, there are frustrating moments when living in a small space- especially with children. There are days where all I see is clutter and mess. Entertaining can also be difficult; we are limited to the amount of people we can invite over and even with small groups, people can end up feeling like sardines. When it is trying, a sense of humor definitely helps. Revel in the fact that you only have one or two toilets to clean.
Small space living has made us lean, more efficient. We make every square foot count. In addition to swapping bedrooms with the kids, their bedroom is also their play and art room. We converted the closet in the second bedroom into office space. We keep all of our clothes- yes, all four of us- in master bedroom walk-in-closet. We installed wall shelves in said closet and use the vertical wall space to store our travel gear and Christmas ornaments. Thinking of better ways to store belongings or streamline our home has become a game.
The Last Word
We are choosing to live in small space because it aligns with our lifestyle and financial goals. Small space living isn’t the choice or even a good solution for some families, but for us, it makes sense. Living in a small space allows us to save more and maintain an urban lifestyle. The city is our playground; museums and markets are mere subway rides away. In the evenings, we clear the living room and put toys in the kids’ room and then spend time in an open space that quadruples as our dining room, living room, kitchen and office. Truth be told, it isn’t alway easy, but the ability to run around the corner for bubble tea is favourable. That and the ability to pay off our mortgage in a few years. It’s all about the lens in which we view things. When see living in a condo as choice, it becomes easier and even lucrative. Now, don’t get me wrong, we don’t intend to live in our condo forever, but for the foreseeable future, we like the way things are. Even given a million dollars in cash, we would dwell our 850 square foot condo.
Seriously, bigger space or epic adventure?
Always love your posts… We live in a “small space” as well. Our house now is a semi-detached and half as small as our last home! For myself, I really prefer smaller spaces, we’ve had to adjust and have minimized our belongings as well, we choose wisely now and still ‘declutter & donate’ as needed! Tomorrow we are actually having a “donation pick up” so I am going through the kids toys & clothes tonight, my clothes tonight, etc… I don’t like clutter or excess, it stresses me out. So i’m with you there! 🙂
Thank you for your kind words, Carla! Glad you are enjoying my posts 😀
“Declutter and Donate” is the motto of a small space living family, eh? We just donated another load of “garbage” over the weekend. There is still so much I want to donate for the Christmas season too!
I think if both people lived and worked in the big city, it would definitely make sense to have a smaller space and use public transit to get from point A to point B. In our case, we were both working outside of the big city for awhile, so it didn’t make sense to live in an urban environment. Although I now work downtown, to be honest, I still prefer living in the suburbs. I work remotely for the majority of the week. Our neighbourhood is very quiet and is close to major highways so we are not too far from either set of parents. We are minimalists. While we do have a house, I am not a big fan of accumulating stuff and prefer to keep it that way. Our house probably is not that much more for what people pay for a condo in Toronto. So, to each their own. 🙂
I totally agree with “to each their own”. City living and/or small space living doesn’t work for everyone, but it shouldn’t be written off simply because it’s not conventional or what Jones are doing. The point is everyone should make decisions/goals based on their lifestyle choice and financial situation and make appropriate plans.
Most of my friends prefer the suburbs too. They enjoy their cars more than walking and don’t like crowds of people. I was at Eaton Center with my best friend last week and I think she was going to have a panic attack. LOL. I, on the other hand, strive on noise. I honestly feel lonely when I visit my parents in the suburbs. Haha.
What a refreshing post! We are a family of four living in a 899 sq ft condo apartment. My husband and I have lived here for nine years, 4.5 of those with two kids. We are 4.5 yrs away from paying off the mortgage. For us, it’s a purely financial decision. We can’t save for retirement or in RESPs or TFSAs at the rate we want to save if we become house rich but cash poor. We are the only family among our friends who live this way. I sometimes wonder if people think we are destitute. Little do they know we’re on our way to being the millionaires next door. Thank you for demonstrating it’s possible to raise a family in a small space. Sounds like you have clutter under control – we’re still working on that. So glad I stumbled upon your blog!
Hi MJ! Thank you so much for your comment. I too am glad you found your way to our little space in the great wide internet.
I would love to hear more about your experience living in a condo as a family of four! Our youngest is only 6 months so we are still fairly new to it. How old are your kids? Cheers to you for being so close to paying off the mortgage. Imagine how much more you can save in less than 5 years! Oh, the possibilities.
We are the few among our friends in a condo. We know some families of three in two bedroom condos, but everyone intends on moving on houses when a second child comes around. To each their own, I guess. I do hope that people are willing to consider living a bit differently- outside the proverbial white picket fence- and perhaps even aim for financial freedom instead of being burdened by a mortgage only because conventionally families with children live in houses with yards.
Again, nice to have you here. Please come again!
Our kids are 4 and 7 – two girls who share a room. We bought during the boom in Calgary in 2006, three months after getting married. Previously we both still lived at home to pay off our student loans and pay for our wedding in cash. It was an overwhelming time. I watched our dream of buying a “starter home” for $100K less evaporate. I was pretty resentful. Then I smartened up. In 2007 my husband took me to Mexico to visit his mom’s side of the family. These were people who don’t have much. Not even running water. I didn’t take a hot shower for two weeks. We came home and our apartment felt like a palace. We were taught a lesson in humility and decided to be grateful for what we had, start a family, establish an emergency fund and start saving for retirement to take advantage of compounding. We may or may not move once the mortgage is paid and before our oldest starts junior high. That’s because we want the freedom to explore other things – like funding my own “sabbatical” to stay at home with the kids for a couple of years first. We’ll see! We trust that God will show us the way. Home isn’t a certain square footage or having a yard. It’s the memories you make as a family. If we ever do move, I’ll be an emotional wreck!