Mummascribbles – Getting the Most out of the Space You Have – Mummascribbles

If you live in a spacious home with room to spare then read no further, this is not for you! When you have a smaller home like we do – usually described as ‘quaint’ by estate agents – you need to squeeze as much as you can out of the little space that you have. And this is never more important when dealing with a growing family. With baby number two on the way, we know that space is going to be at a premium in our little two bedroom house. So if you are in a similar position to us, here are a few tips to getting the most out of your little nook.

One room with many uses
The communal areas of your home need to serve many purposes, which can seem a little overwhelming at times. Take your living room, for example, that serves as a playroom, TV room, relaxing room (once the kids are in bed) and a place to entertain guests. For me, it’s also a blogging room and for the other half, a computer game room! 

That’s a lot of different uses for one room and it doesn’t end there. Your dining room is pulled in several directions, along with your kitchen. I think it’s safe to say that your bathroom just has the one use, but you never know – maybe your bathroom has become a place to clean, go to the toilet AND do the homework! Us parents can never go to the toilet in peace can we?

When a small space is what you’re dealing with, it’s time to get your IKEA designer head on and start to utilise every nook and cranny – storage solutions are your friend.

If you have little ones, you can find yourself drowning in soft toys, games, strollers and noisy contraptions that seemed a good idea at the time you bought them.

To successfully claim back the area once the children are at school/in bed then you need to carve out some space for storage that can tidy away all the children’s things. Then you can relax in a space that, for now, is just yours.

And, if you’re feeling proactive, you can try to involve the kids in the tidying up process too. It’s never too late to start implementing this into their day. I do however find that whilst Zach is really wonderful at clearing up his toys at nursery/music class/nannie’s, he seems to forget his abilities when at home! 

Working around the children’s schedule
Any well-seasoned parent will tell you that it’s a nice thought to think that your wants and needs can come first sometimes, but the reality is that they don’t. The only peace and ‘you’ time that can be enjoyed is when the little ones are not there or sleeping, and this is where you need to work your life around their schedules.

If you need to do some work, it’ll have to wait until bedtime but then you can transform the space you have into an area that is conducive to working (i.e. no Peppa Pig merchandise). A combination of excellent storage and the ability to have a transitioning space to meet the needs of the people in your home is the key to maximising the space you have. Rather than just having to work alongside a gazillion toys!

An easy transformation
As well as changing up the use of a room, you can also adapt the size of a room, especially if you have internal folding doors. As the children get in from school, you can open up two rooms to offer a large playing area to entertain and enjoy some quality time together. Then, once the land of nod calls you can close the doors to create a small, cosy area for you to catch up on a good boxset or enjoy an intimate dinner.

This also works well for creating two spaces for very different functions, such as a noisy playroom and a quiet space for your older children to get their homework done.

Keeping only the essentials within reach
With just two people you can accumulate a lot of stuff, and adding children into that equation creates a whole load of stuff to deal with. This is where you need to be ruthless, more ruthless than you’ve ever been before. Streamlining your life is not cold and heartless – quite the contrary – it affords you more space and less to worry about.

Items that create a nostalgic feeling but don’t actually serve a day-to-day purpose are those that need to be stored away. An attic (if you have one) or under-bed storage are the best options for this but try to keep these items to absolute must-haves only. Every possession needs to fight for the right to a space in your home. This article from the Guardian gives advice on how to become a minimalist with a great 30-day plan to help you on your way.

All others need to be sorted into rubbish, charity shop fodder and possible ebay sales. Let the clear out unburden you, help out your local charity and earn you some holiday spends…we had a clear through of our million books recently and this lot are waiting to go to the charity shop!

How do you manage to keep everything in order in your home? We seem to have stuff everywhere and it just accumulates throughout the week!