The Magic of Blackout Curtains

I was not a believer in the magic of black out curtains before.  I believed in teaching your baby to sleep with some amount of light and noise. And though I still believe that to be true, living in 600 square feet with a baby and a toddler has changed things a bit.

This situation may be unique to our apartment but I wanted to share anyway.  Our one bedroom, that is now the shared kids room has two sliding frosted glass doors. Theo was such a good sleeper (I know, go ahead and roll your eyes at us) that we could close the frosted glass doors and just turn off a few of the lights in the apartment and he would sleep (even through dinner parties). But the coordination of two bedtimes and some crib naps in the day for Mae have led me to desire more darkness for their room.  

I hummed and hawed about options for the doors...replace the frosted glass ones with solid white ones? replace them with wood ones to add warmth to the space? Add snaps and canvas like the Ace Hotel?  In the end I purchased two roll down, white, black out blinds from Ikea (here is the link).  Trevor installed them quickly and we are so happy with this budget option.  I almost didn't get them because with our high ceilings, everything in our home is a custom size.  The rolldown blinds stop short about 5" from the bottom of the glass.  While aesthetically this drives me a bit crazy, it actually provides a small amount of light into the room, similar to two night lights. 

A few things I love about these simple additions are:  I can make the room darker for naps for Mae during the day.  At night we can leave the lights on in our kitchen for easier clean up. Also it allows us to work at the dining table at night with lights on whereas before we had to work on the couch in low light.  I like that I can roll them up during the day and use the sliding glass doors as normal and also to keep the roll downs away from baby hands.

And as usual with most changes we make to our space, I wish I had done this the moment Mae was born!  If you are thinking of making a small change to your small space that might make you or your babies more comfortable...do it! 

Morning Routine: Putting Away the Wall Bed

Shared this over on Instagram this morning but wanted it here as well.  Putting our wall bed away with the "help" of Theo.  It's pretty easy and especially much easier now that I don't have to wear Mae while doing it. ( Our bed is the basic Penelope from Resource Furniture). And for those who asked, we love it and couldn't stay in our small space without it.  I honestly have no complaints about it.

What I wish I could change about our small space

Normally I am of the mindset that if you don't like something about your space, you should change it. Giving up our bedroom and putting a murphy bed in our living room, was an easy transition that we have never regretted. Fitting two kids into a small bedroom has been relatively smooth. As we have made changes and improvements to make our space work for our lifestyle there is one thing that bothers me that I can't find my way around.

One of the main reasons we can do so much in 600 square feet is because of our open floor plan. But the fact that our kitchen is in the middle of our space is the one thing that really bothers me and I can't find a way to resolve it. Our kitchen is a full size kitchen along the north wall of our apartment.  It is white with clean lines and fixtures that still look modern 12 years after it was built. Beside the appliances being a bit old, there is nothing wrong with it, but I wish that I didn't always have to see it!  If I could redesign our space the kitchen would be more of a galley style kitchen or at minimum have a partial wall covering it.  It is easy to cook and clean in the open kitchen and keep an eye on the kids but a messy kitchen makes the whole space feel messy. Our open concept kitchen is the one problem in our space that I can't solve with furniture or paint or styling. My best solution at the moment is to keep the kitchen as clean as possible and free from countertop clutter (not an easy task!) but it still doesn't solve the issue. 

No space is perfect and I am grateful for what we have and what we have done with it.  But a slightly hidden kitchen is at the top of my list if we ever move. What's the one thing you wish you could change about your space? 

9 months in as a Family of 4 in 600 square feet

I was looking back on my worries about having 2 kids in our small space and thought answering my own questions might be valuable. Things change quickly with babies and what seems completely overwhelming at one phase is a distant memory at the next. I can't believe this post below was from a year ago (original post here)!  

Here's an excerpt:

At 24 weeks pregnant and counting with our second child, running after a busy 2.5 year old and working full-time I am having moments of panic over the arrival of Baby #2.  I hope that by sharing my fears here it can help if you are having similar fears.  My current fears in no particular order are:

- neither child will be able to sleep and constantly wake each other up
- we will be overrun by toys of every stage of development
- where will we put all the clothes?!
- exersaucer!! (ugh)
- laundry and dishes taking over
- how to get a toddler and a baby out the door to accomplish anything in a day
- will no friends ever visit again or invite us anywhere with 2 kids in tow?

Here are my current answers to these questions.  Nine months in, with a crawling baby and busy 3.5 year old:

- neither child will be able to sleep and constantly wake each other up
Well, yes and no.  This is a serious challenge in a small space. Staggered bed times seem to help.  Theo is a pretty amazing sleeper and sleeps through almost anything including Mae's cries. Though we do tend to respond to Mae's cries quickly because we fear they will wake Theo in the night.  Nap times are also tricky because Theo can play loudly and yell at times which can disturb her sleep.  She has learned to nap on the go in the stroller or carrier so I often do one good nap at home and 1 or 2 on the go. It's not easy but I feel like slowly we are finding our way.

- we will be overrun by toys of every stage of development
We do have a lot of toys for different stages of development but at the moment, Mae mostly just wants to play with Theo's toys.  We have just what fits in our two toy bins and ikea shelf.  Clean up is constant but quick.  Definitely not a big concern at the moment.  I hope that as Mae grows and becomes more mobile our small space will encourage quick sharing and compromise (hahaha! sometimes I write things and even I don't believe it, but here's hoping!)

- where will we put all the clothes?! 
Surprisingly all the clothes are fitting in their tiny closet. Mostly this is due to efforts to edit their closets.  I'll share more on this later but it's a combination of focusing on less clothes of better quality and saying no to hand me downs and gifts.  

- exersaucer!! (ugh)
Yep the exersaucer was annoying but necessary. We borrowed one for Mae's 5 months to 9 months.  It's gone now, good riddance. I know some people are able to go without an exersaucer but I find them invaluable for a short period of time when babies can't move but need entertainment. 

 - laundry and dishes taking over?
Yes, we do a load of laundry every day or two.  We have nowhere to put the laundry to fold it except on the couch.  So we have to fold it and put it away quickly. I like to think editing everyone's clothes will help a bit but babies and toddlers are messy so I don't think laundry frequency will change anytime soon.

- how to get a toddler and a baby out the door to accomplish anything in a day?
To be honest, getting a baby out the door is the easy part.  It's the 3 year old that makes it so tough.  We do get out though, even if it takes 45 minutes to get dressed. We get out for classes and parks and walks, often multiple times a day. It's rarely easy and always worth it.  I do now see the benefit of a backyard to get some energy out with limited adult supervision. 

- will no friends ever visit again or invite us anywhere with 2 kids in tow?
Life with 2 is crazy and we certainly don't get out as much as we used to, even as much as we did with 1 kid in tow. But we still have wonderful friends who love our kids and accommodate our earlier dinners and dine and dash schedules.  We also try and get away separately to see friends.

A stranger in a coffee shop who saw me in the early months looking tired and frazzled told me that "it gets better".  When I asked her "when?", she said, "soon but you have to lower your expectations".  At the time I was disappointed with her answer but I understand better now. I've had to accept that life is different and I can't accomplish what I used to do.  Slowing down and being as present as possible, while letting go of my former schedules, is what lowering expectations has meant to me. If I can slow down then two kids in a space, big or small, can be wonderful.

Sentimentality in a Small Space

I am often asked how or where we save sentimental objects in our small space.  The truth is there isn't a lot of room for sentimentality in a small space. Well I should clarify, there is lots of space for sentimentality and memories but not for the "stuff" related to them. But letting go of things doesn't mean that you lose all of your memories. Your memories, relationships and friendships are yours and the good feelings you get from those relationships are not lost if you recycle a birthday card from a friend. Sure we save a few really special anniversary or major birthday cards and I saved all the cards from the kid's birth.  But beyond those pivotal (paper) moments we are quite ruthless with paper clutter. 

Our Entry Mailbox by Ferm Living

Any paper that enters our home is recycled unless it is deemed critical. Important papers are put in our mailbox at the front entrance and then sorted and filed when we have time (or the box overflows, whichever comes first). Trevor and I each have one file box that we store any important paperwork, documents or sentimental items.  These boxes live in our master closet and we are diligent about not expanding beyond the 2 boxes. We keep things to a minimum by letting go of the physical item whether that means by recycling it or saving a digital copy. We take great advantage of Cloud Drives and USB's to store photos or scans of anything we don't want to forget. I have also taken photos of kid's artwork or a thoughtful card so I can remind myself of it one day without having the physical space taken up.  Currently, I store the kid's documents and sentimental items in my file box but will soon need to add another box for them.  Yet again, with sentimental items I am quite strict, ultrasound photos, hospital bracelets and a few printed photos and cards are about all I save.

By digitally storing most paper and only hanging onto essentials, we are comfortable in our small space and are busy making memories rather than storing them. 

Small Living and Marriage

Here's the thing about living in 600 square feet with a toddler and a baby, you both have to be into it.  By both, I mean, you and your partner.  If one of you is secretly gunning for extra square footage or hasn't bought into the idea that less is more, then it's going to be a tough go.  This was brought to my attention recently when I was complaining to my husband Trevor about some of the difficulties of living small.  I was whining about something like no space for baby gear or nap schedules or comparing our space to others (comparison, the thief of all joy!).  I was pushing buttons and implying that the space wasn't working for us. Trevor, (with a few more hours of sleep than me) didn't take the bait and quickly reminded me that we choose to live this way, small and with fewer things, and that we are gaining a lot from this choice. I asked him to remind me because in this baby and toddler haze, I sometimes can't remember my own name, let alone our mission to live consciously with less. 

• We are living within our means and not taking on a larger mortgage that would be stressful to us.
   
• Less overhead expenses means more experiences are possible like travel.
   
• Staying focused on less consumption of material goods for us and our kids. Not buying things for the sake of buying. Filling our house with things we don't need or want just for a moment of shopping bliss.
   
• Less space means less space to maintain, we don't have a yard or large house in need of constant upkeep. Once our space is clean we can spend our time together doing things rather than maintaining our living space.
   
• We have so many amenities and experiences at our fingertips living in the heart of Vancouver like Science World, the Aquarium, Pacific Spirit Park, World Class community centres, the Seawall, Ocean and Mountains (and great coffee and food ...goes without saying)
   
• All the adventures we can have in our Van this summer! I forgot all about Ferdinand (something we couldn't afford if we lived in a much bigger place)
   
• Most importantly we are all healthy and happy and together under one (small, shared) roof.  

I am grateful that when I am faltering, he is there to raise me up.  And while I was busy worrying about my own small space gripes, I noticed one morning that Trevor gets ready for work basically in the dark so as not to wake the rest of us. I saw him tiptoeing around one morning and realized that he never complains about this inconvenience.  And sometimes he does his workouts in the (dark and depressing) parkade after we are all asleep because the gym is closed and we don't have any extra space for a workout.  So while it may seem that because I write the blog, that I do this alone but I most certainly do not.  Where I am the worrier, analyzer, doer and researcher in pursuit of beautiful things... Trevor is the dreamer, cheerleader, protector and relentless pursuer of functionality. I'm always trying to make our space beautiful and he's always trying to maximize functionality and after the differing opinions, we find our balance and home.

Transforming the Space... Again

[Note: I wrote this the week before we moved both kids into the same room.  While I'm no longer moving the bassinet around, the thoughts and feelings shared below are still relevant]

The transition to two kids has been very challenging for us as I am sure it is for many people. That is not to say we aren't incredibly grateful and so blessed for a family of four but anything this wonderful doesn't come without some hard work. In the past six months of little sleep and toddler meltdowns I have been hyper-aware of all aspects of our lives and if they are helping or hindering our family.  

One of these focuses is our small space. I have found the daily physical transformation of our home, to be the most challenging part of living small with two kids. By this I mean the physical moving of furniture and toys required to create the different uses of our space. When the living room is also our bedroom and the playroom, and we don't have an extra room to hide anything that is in the way, some fancy rearranging is required.  I'll walk you through my morning:

Trevor leaves early for work so he can get home and spend time with the family before bedtimes. So in the mornings I wake, tend to baby and toddler while making and putting the bed away. Folding away the murphy bed transforms our bedroom back into our living room, leaving room for Theo to play.  I then carry the bassinet into the bedroom.  Next, I pull the baby chair out of the bedroom and set it up where Mae can see me and her brother.  (I love the Nuna but wonder if the Baby Bjorn might have been a better choice for us as it is much lighter and smaller).  At the end of the day we repeat these steps in the reverse order, obviously it is much easier with Trevor's help.

I am very pleased with the fact that we have few large items for our baby and toddler and the ones we do have are multipurpose, quality and design conscious. But some days when I am wearing a fussy baby and my toddler is hell bent on revenge, these physical acts can seem insurmountable. My logical brain knows that these days will pass and I won't need the baby chair or bassinet anymore and there will be new challenges in our space.  But as I live through these long, messy days I wanted to share with you these challenges. Maybe you have similar ones in your small space?  Or maybe in a larger space these are not things you experience.

A few coins have definitely gone into the "this space is not working" jar due to the physical transformation of our space required on a daily basis. But at 6 months in with 2 kids we are still committed to living in our small space, having less things and focusing on experiences. 

Shared Kids Room (Ours!)

At the start of 2017 I can officially say we have moved Baby Mae into Theo's room.  It has only been a week so I will certainly not have the lessons to offer like Em Morrice in her interview here, but I can share some early experiences.  It happened by chance over the holidays as we had friends over and put Mae's bassinet in Theo's room so as not to disturb her.  Both kids fell asleep in the room together, so when our friends left later that night we decided to not put the bassinet beside our bed.  

Since that night we haven't moved her back.  Mae has fussed a bit in the night (she has two teeth already!) without waking Theo (he is a heavy sleeper).  The really nice part about moving Mae into the bedroom is that I don't wake at every noise she makes.  I hope this is teaching her to self-soothe a bit.  Because she is still only about 10-15 steps away I can certainly hear her yell or cry and tend to her right away.  But I no longer wake with every grunt. 

The first night they shared a room, Theo awoke claiming a monster was in his room and I'm pretty sure it was Mae's nasally breathing.  I have since reminded him at night that Mae shares his room now and sometimes she's a little bit loud but there are no monsters in his room.  He seems to be sleeping better.  

At the advice of readers we have tucked an air purifying fan near her bassinet to add some white noise.  The fan doesn't seem to make a huge difference at night but it is critical for any naps we manage to get in the house in the day. We are still considering adding black out fabric to the doors on the kids room to create more room separation.  Currently the room has two frosted glass sliding doors.  The doors are nice for adding light in the day but at night they are bit problematic. 

We plan to move Mae out of her bassinet shortly as she is almost six months (!!!)  and starting to sit up and outgrow the bassinet all at once. I will share this transition as well. I am also looking forward to sharing more interviews in the Shared Kids Room Series soon!

Bye 2016

I'm signing off for the holidays to take some time to re-focus and spend time unplugged with family and friends. It's been a big year for us, with the addition of sweet Mae to our family, living small and minimally has never been so challenging. I am immensely grateful to have this community to share our efforts at living with less in a small space, with kids. Thank you so much for visiting this space and bringing your thoughts, support and feedback. 

I recently watched the much anticipated documentary, Minimalism (trailer here) by The Minimalists. It has me looking at our house and our choices and thinking there is still much more we can do to simplify our lives. And even more importantly, the movie helped reaffirm or at least remind me of, why we live small.  It's definitely a film to watch this holiday.

If you are looking to catch up on some posts here are some favourites from 2016:

How's it going so far in 600sqft with 2 kids

Featured in Vancouver Magazine

Questions answered: where are our poopy diapers, strollers and baby stuff

Our Improved Entry

Simplifying Toys

34 weeks pregnant

Can't wait to get out in our Westfalia again

Rational and Irrational Fears of Living Small

First post ever (that now makes me cringe a little)

Sleep and More Sleep

How to Decorate for Christmas in a Small Home

I find things get a little crazy around Christmas season, where bigger seems best and everyone is rushing around buying anything and everything as fast as they can.  This is a season where at times, I do get a pang of envy when I see big living rooms with large trees by bay windows but I know that right now this small space is right for us, even if it doesn't allow for a 7ft tree. We are still able to have a small tree full of loved ornaments, Christmas music playing on the stereo and a room full of love (gosh that sounds cheesy but really isn't Christmas the best kind of cheesy anyway?).  If you are in a small space too and feeling that you can't get as festive as you want to, see below for a few ways I have found that work for adding Christmas cheer to small homes:

Decorate what you have - Hang lights on your walls or ceilings. Put a garland on a mirror. I usually draw something festive on the chalkboard wall and put a Christmas message on the letter board. Because small spaces become easily cluttered focus on adding a bit of Christmas charm to what you already own rather than trying to find the room for many and larger decorations. 

Choose a small skinny tree - I've found an alpine fir to be a good option for a somewhat tall and skinny tree.  We only have one spot in our home that can accommodate a tree, just to the right of our sideboard in the living room.  I try to get as tall a tree as possible without exceeding about 2' in diameter, this year it is about 5' tall.

Have an alternative tree - Before Theo became a toddler and enamoured with Christmas trees I always made an alternative tree, a branch, greenery on the wall or table top tree. It's a great way to have Christmas spirit without the actual space a tree takes up.

Bring the outdoors inside - a real tree, fresh garland, greenery in a vase or a fresh wreath are all ways to decorate that smell great and fill up a small space in the best way.  I'm loving juniper and cedar berries this year.

Use your vertical space - don't forget to hang lights high or put decorations up in unexpected places away from busy hands.

A little goes a long way - I always have to remind myself that in a small space a little decoration does go a long way, as you can usually see it from most parts of the home.  Pick a couple of spots to make festive and leave the rest.

Surviving Grey Winter Days in Small Space with Lighting

I've found that having as much light as possible in a small space is very helpful for comfort and sanity.  Natural light is always best but when natural light isn't in abundance like on dark grey Vancouver winter days, the glow from lamps helps to brighten.  When I'm home in the day I keep every light in the house on, hydro bill be damned.  I also find that having many lighting options in a small space helps create defined areas in an otherwise undefined space. By different lighting options I mean, overhead lighting to light the entire space and then specific task lights like table or floor lamps to add more light or to provide softer directional light when the overhead lights are off.

Over the years we have added task lighting in different corners of the home to create zones and flexibility. This became increasingly important with one kid and now even more so with two kids. For example we have a floor lamp that points down onto the corner of the couch that allows us to light the living room without light spreading too far into the kids' room. This allows us to turn off the track lighting in the kitchen that would shine into the kids' room but still have our living room comfortably lit at night.  While we have trained both kids to sleep with a certain amount of light I don't think it is fair to have bright lights shining on them while they sleep.

Recently I was finding that after turning off the kitchen and hallway lights after the kids' bedtime (approximately 7-8pm) that our living room felt too dark.  So I took the gorgeous brass Cedar and Moss light (Tile Cone Sconce) that was not being put to good use in the kids' room and hung it on our gallery wall. I initially hung the beautiful handmade sconce in the kids' room (previous post and thoughts here) thinking I would be attending to Mae in the night there and would need some low directional light.  At 5 months old I still have her beside our bed even though she regularly sleeps to 5am (please don't ask about naps... they are almost always on me... and it is not working for me) I am not quite ready to move her into the room.  Also I think that when I do move her into the shared room and have to deal with any middle of the night issues, I will quickly bring her out into the living area so as not to disturb Theo. 

Our small living room now has a soft glow in all corners at night without disturbing the sleeping babes.  And back to my original point, on gloomy Vancouver days I also turn on this light to add brightness to an otherwise unlit corner.  Funny how one small change can brighten my days.

The sconce is wall-mounted but plug-in so easy to move around the home.

Seasons of Baby Gear

I don’t know if it’s because this is my second go around or if it’s because Mae is sooo much bigger than Theo was at this age but it seems that we are outgrowing our newborn items much faster.  This is bringing into focus for me how quickly everything can change with kids and how, as my mother often says, everything is a season.  In our small space I have moments where I feel overwhelmed by all the “baby things” we have (and we have very few comparatively), but then I am quickly reminded that all of this is a season and soon we won’t need many of these things.  While each developmental phase brings some new gear or toys with it, I don’t believe there is a phase that requires as much gear as the first year.

For example, the play mat/activity gym (similar here) we have is big and bright and I feel that I am always shifting it around the house.  But before I know it the play mat won’t entertain her anymore and she will be crawling and getting into everything.  I will pass the play mat on to a friend and then I’m sure I will have a moment of sadness missing that stage. I know I will also forget I was ever missing those 2 square feet of space.

I guess what I am trying to say is that while the days are long, the months are short and the things that are making me crazy in our space won’t be there forever.  I haven't found there to be a time more full of "things" than the first year of a baby's life.  So I know if we can manage our small space during this time it will only get better.

Dreamy Multi-use Table

I did it.  I bought the dream table.  It went on sale and I couldn't help myself (sorry the sale seems to be over now).  See my previous post here where I fell in love with this Menu Flip Table.  Now that it's in our space, I love it even more.  It opens up the small corner of the living room where once a (beautiful) bulkier table sat, allowing more light to pass through.  Also, the top is somewhat flexible so when I sat on it for a dinner party at our place the other night, I was able to comfortably sit on the stool for much longer than expected.  The Flip is also very light despite the legs being solid wood and I have been sliding it around to suit me when I am feeding the baby and need somewhere to place my coffee or a bottle.  

For me, a slim stylish table that is also an additional seat when we have guests was worth the extra investment and just another small change to our space that makes it more livable with 2 kids in 600sqft. It certainly feels like we are making some positive changes to our space to accommodate our new addition, or maybe I've just been getting a bit more sleep ;).

Best Small Space Vacuum

I have been dreaming of this vacuum since I first researched "best vacuums for small spaces" last year.  See, we have had a Roomba for many years and while we initially loved it, we always had to supplement with a handheld vacuum to get the nooks and crannies.  And, as our small space gained more baby gear and furniture, the effort of moving everything in order for Roomba to do it's thing became more trouble than it was worth.  Roomba was great when it was just two adults living in a small space but It was time to upgrade.  I needed something small and light and ideally cordless with limited assembly and handheld functionality.  Basically I needed as few barriers to vacuuming as possible as life right now feels like there are a lot of barriers to cleaning up (see: crying baby, naughty toddler, sleep deprivation etc. etc.).

My extensive research found that while there are other great cordless vacuums, the Dyson V6+V8 were the best.  In our efforts to have less but better we sold our Roomba, gave away our basic handheld and worked out how we could own a Dyson V6. We opted for the basic model without all the bells and whistles and a 20 min clean time (with a full charge) which is just enough for our tiny place that is capable of big messes.  We patiently waited for a sale at The Bay and used all of our Aeroplan miles to buy it.  It really lives up to its reputation and we are so happy with our purchase.  Currently, we have it tucked under our couch for storage.  I wish we could wall mount it somewhere out of sight but all of our electrical outlets with wall space are spoken for at the moment.

I'm not saying this is the right vacuum for everyone but for our small space with big messes it has made vacuuming easier and taken up less space doing so. I feel that if we can keep making innovative improvements to our space like this, the possibility for staying here longer keeps growing (can you tell I've been getting more sleep ?!  Things are looking up!)

A Nordic Addition to the Gallery Wall

I have been looking to add a larger scale piece of art to our gallery wall for a while now.  While at times I am tired of our gallery wall, with only one or two walls in our small home to display art, a gallery wall allows us to show our differing tastes and change up the art often.  

During my search, I fell in love with Danish artist Silke Bonde's beautiful, minimal watercolour prints and have been dreaming of adding one to our wall.  Have you seen her artwork before? Or her apartment and studio for that matter?  Everything she touches is simple and serene and how I hope our apartment looks (not quite there yet). I was working out what Danish dollars equal in Canadian dollars and trying to estimate duties and taxes when I stumbled upon Canadian Scandinavian design shop Gron + White.  Gron + White is the exclusive Canadian distributor of Silke Bonde prints and is the most gorgeous and inspiring online shop for Scandinavian design and lifestyle items.  Along with some of my favourites like Menu, Ferm Living and Norman Copenhagen, they carry smaller designers I wasn't yet familiar with.  Basically I want to fill my entire tiny home with everything in their store! To start I chose the Leaf Lines Print by Silke Bonde.  With 2 young kiddos, my days of quietly wandering design stores are quite limited at the moment, so I am grateful for an easy to navigateCanadian design store that I can browse from my laptop, wine in hand, after the kids are in bed.

Thanks to Gron+White for the beautiful print. The lovely owner Britt and I are also working together on a giveaway on Instagram so keep an eye on my account there for details! Also take a look at the Nordic Mood section of the Gron + White website for inspiring Scandinavian homes. I think I have already pinned almost everything here :). 

Gallery wall, always a work in progress...

Small Bathroom Solution

I know, I know, this is a terrible picture of a toilet, our toilet (and our bathmat that I am so tired of), but I have a reason! I have to share this genius small space solution from my friend Wendy. She found this compact rectangular garbage bin that fits in the space between most toilets and cabinets.  I noticed it at her beautifully designed small apartment she shares with her husband and 3 yr old daughter and I couldn't help but copy.  We small spacers must share all our best solutions, right?? 

We previously had a small circular bin (approx 12" diameter) that sat out in our narrow washroom taking up very valuable space.  Most recently, Theo had taken to smashing the magnet of his Thomas the train on the garbage bin while he hangs out on his potty leaving it in terrible condition.  Since we switched to the rectangular bin we gained space, reduced visual clutter and removed a distraction from our toddler. This particular bin is by Simple Human and was found at our local organization store ( Same Bin Here).  I didn't shop around for the best price because I was too excited to stop the daily train smashing. Anyway, had to share.

Rugs, Rugs, Rugs

I am on the hunt for a new rug for our living room. It seems almost unnecessary to add a rug to our living room as our enormous couch covers most of this area.  We also need to leave a pathway through our living room to our patio door. Yes, everything in our small space is a compromise of sorts, as every room does double or triple duty. Our living room opens onto our patio, so a rug that covers that walkway risks getting very dirty.  At the east end of our living room, the murphy bed determines the furthest distance the couch can go, and likewise the rug.  Thus, we are left with approximately a 6' x 9' rectangle and you really only see a 1' x 9' strip and a few feet between the two parts of the sectional.  Regardless of these tricky dimensions, I find a rug invaluable for adding texture, colour and warmth (especially during fall and winter). And I say colour with my tongue in cheek as I lean heavily towards neutrals.

The debate I always have is how much to spend on a rug.  Everyone with kids knows your rug is always at risk, but I think I can find a balance of style and quality without having a heart attack every time a kid (or me) knocks over my wine.

With all that said here is my roundup of rug picks: Thanks also for your helpful tips on my Instagram!

Joinery NYC - Handwoven Rug

Rugs USA - Braided Wool Rug

Rugs USA - Morroccan Textured Stripe

Rugs USA - Vintage Medallion

DesignDoctor DK - Block Area Rug

Rugs USA - Chembra Block Print

Ikea - Raskmolle

How to Live in 600sqft with a Baby and a Toddler: Questions Answered (Part 3)

More than any question I get asked lately is...

How is it working in 600sqft with 2 kids?

So here is my best attempt at answering this question:

I am a firm believer in the concept of a 4th trimester, where your baby is just getting used to being out in the world and you are recovering from pregnancy and birth as well as adapting to this new person in your life.  I remember the hazy days of the first few months of Theo, filled with overwhelming love, fear and anxiety over every feed and coo. This time around has a lot less worry and anxiety and a lot more exhaustion and tender nerves.  While it's an adjustment for the adults in our home to now care for two kids in varying stages of neediness, we underestimated the effect the addition of Mae would have on Theo's behaviour and emotions.

We are hoping that all the effort we are putting in now to minimize Theo's difficult and reactive behaviour will pay off soon.  Hoping that will be right around the time Mae starts sleeping through the night ;).   

So herein lies the difficulty in answering this question.... How is living in 600sqft with two kids at this moment?  Well I figure it's similar to living in 2800sqft with a 3 year old and a 2 month old.  It is wonderful, chaotic, tearful, exhausting and hilarious.  And almost none of that has anything to do with our home.

I think the real test of our space (and sanity) will come when we try to move Mae into Theo's room.  Currently we set the bassinet out in the night beside our murphy bed, as Mae gets up 2-4 times a night right now.  Once her stomach grows a bit and she is more consistently able to go without food in the night, we plan to move her into Theo's room.

I think it's important to not blame the craziness of the 4th trimester on our home.  With our firstborn we came out of the haze at about 4 months and decided to give up our bedroom and install our Murphy Bed, forever changing how we live in our space.  This time around we have been making small changes in the 4th trimester but we will wait for any major changes to our space (murphy bunk beds? renos?) until at least the 4 month mark or consistent sleep (ha!). 

What I do know about living in 600sqft with 2 kids is that it has renewed and refreshed our commitment to living with less things, editing our possessions and refocusing on what's most important.... quality experiences and time together. Less things, means less piles of laundry or mess of toys or stacks of shoes.  More than ever we want to limit what we own to essential high-quality items that require no extra energy thinking or fussing about. As we work out how to accomplish this I will be sure to share, as it will be a process and not a quick fix.

How to live in 600sqft with a Baby and a Toddler: Questions Answered (Part 1)

I've been getting some great questions on this site, through emails and Instagram. Some similar questions seem to come up quite often.  I thought if I answer a few of them here it might help others living small, just looking to optimize space, or make your space feel huge in comparison ;).  Also, maybe addressing these questions might lead to other insightful questions.

Where do you put baby's clothes, sleep sacks, towels, receiving blankets, etc?

We have one narrow and deep closet that currently houses all of Theo and Mae's clothes and accessories.  It is currently in no condition to be photographed but I will work on that (Previous post about the closet when it was just Theo's.... Here) .  While not pretty, it is holding all the things we need.  This is possible by only keeping 1-2 seasons of clothes in the closet at a time and only clothes that fit now (in Theo's case) and for a 6month period (in Mae's case). So right now, it holds summer and fall clothes for Theo size 2-4 years (his sizing is all over the map) and summer and fall clothes for Mae size 0-3 and 3-6 months.  Clothes that are too small are quickly packed up and given to friends.  Clothes that are too big are in white plastic Ikea totes on the top shelf of our Master Closet.

As for sleepwear and blankets, you don't need as many as you think.  I find we only really use 3 -4 swaddle blankets. We have about 7 right now, 3 of which I never use and plan to donate shortly. Also, we have one small quilt for the baby that is out all the time.  For sleeping we rotate between 2 ergo cocoons (one is in the wash, the other in use) with onesies or sleepers underneath. 

For baths, we have one hooded towel that hangs on a hook on the back of our washroom door.  Theo is now big enough to use our towels.

Where do you put the poopy diapers and wipes?? We don't want to stink up the whole apartment?

Good question... and a bit more embarrassing to answer.  Currently we have an Ubbi Diaper Pail but I don't find it perfectly keeps out the diaper smell and I have a very sensitive sense of smell.  So we put the diaper pail on our covered patio.  This isn't ideal as I don't like to look at the diaper pail when we are hanging out on the patio, anymore than I want to see it in my house, but it seems to be the best solution for us right now. 

Previously we kept the diaper pail in the baby closet, which worked well for a while.  I also think the bathroom is a good spot for it if you have the space.  I know not everyone has the option or desire to keep it outside.  Friends of ours who also live small just put dirty diapers in the regular covered garbage in their kitchen and diligently take the garbage outside each night.  We are not so diligent so this hasn't been an option for us. 

Where do you keep your stroller/attachments/car seat?

Another great question... we share our one car (the Westy is only insured part of the year for adventures) so while I would love to store our stroller in the car, I need it at the ready everyday. Our stroller sits in our entry way.  This is a bit tricky because it is always blocking a closet... in one position it blocks our entry closet which holds our shoes and coats.  Roll it out of the way of that closet and it blocks our pantry.  This is a dance we do daily.  When it frustrates me, I like to think of the apartments in Japan or Hong Kong where they have moving walls in their apartment to access different rooms.  A quick roll of the stroller then doesn't seem so bad. 

Our carseat is always in our car, along with the adapters.  We are on foot most of the time, even on weekends, so the carseat doesn't factor into our life that much.  I consider this a great benefit of our walkable neighbourhood.  

How do you navigate the inevitable awkward conversations when family ask where that very special whatnot is? (You gave it away/got rid of it)

I'm going to save this one for its own post.... stay tuned.
 

Arranging and Re-arranging

In our small space there is not a lot of opportunity to rearrange our furniture.  Most furniture pieces have one exact spot and no where else to fit.  But with the addition of a 4th tiny person and a steady rotation of family and guests lately, we have been looking to maximize space and flow.  The other day I pushed our extending dining table up against the chalkboard wall. Normally it sits a foot or so out from the wall with Theo sitting on that side.  By pushing it against the wall, we gained at least a foot of width in our kitchen/dining area, while losing access to one side of the table.  If it is just the three of us (oops, now 4!) for dinner we don't need to pull the table out from the wall and can comfortably sit on the 3 remaining sides.  If we have guests, we normally pull out the table even more and extend the table anyway, filling up the kitchen/dining space for the night.

I've been enjoying this new set up as extra open floor space makes the whole apartment feel larger.  The other night friends were over and noticed the tiny change which led them to turn the table 90 degrees perpendicular to the chalkboard wall.  It creates a small pinch point near the oven but clears access to the kid's room and creates more space between the dining table and living room.  We'll sit with this layout for a bit and see how it works for us. All of this adjustment does have me questioning the length of the dining table.  I now wish it was shorter in its smallest form but still able to expand to seat 8 (See a previous post about choosing our dining table Here).

I know adjusting our dining room table location is a small change but I find living in a small space requires many minor adjustments which may lead to bigger changes in order to live happily and comfortably.