I have had such an overwhelming response to the “Small Space Living for Big Families“. It has been awesome! I have had the opportunity to connect with so many other families from ALL OVER who are also making the most out of living with less. The Facebook comments have been… diverse. Most of them are extremely positive, but I did get some feedback from skeptics because all of the photos I shared were of the apartment empty. They couldn’t imagine what “real life” in 800 square feet with three small children would actually look like. For most people the concept is a nightmare.
Just to be clear, if you can afford and manage a large or even average home that’s fantastic. It’s a personal choice. Some people do it out of conviction, for us it’s necessity. Either way the idea is to find satisfaction despite what our culture says we must have. Our children don’t have to live a solemn life of deprivation, just because they don’t have their own bedroom and playroom.
For those that follow my blog, I post pictures of my family in our apartment all the time so you know we are real people and you’ve seen most of this before. For everyone else I have gone through some old photos that show how we manage year round in less than 800 square feet. Get ready for an overwhelming amount of snapshots.
We’ll start with January.
Nerf darts. I did a whole post about this and it’s even been featured on other blogs.
We definitely go sledding and stuff, but the kids can spend hours out in this little patio throwing snowballs at the sliding door and building snowmen in the winter. It’s basically turns into a giant sandbox when it snows which means I get stay warm behind the glass!
Here is a pic of the kids filling out their class Valentine’s.
My daughter’s birthday is in March and I wrote two posts about how we had the ultimate tea party for her birthday.
The kid’s share a room for now and as you can see they consider it “Fun Land”
This is when Ezie was still in a crib and they didn’t have bunk beds yet.
and this isn’t the best pic, but it’s the new setup. The swing chair is from Ikea. There is a small trampoline in the other end of the room. There is a toy box and a book shelf hanging on the wall with tons and tons of books. They share a closet too.
Here is Z is posing in front of the apartment with his end of the year school project.
Fun with food.
Our one little bathroom seconds as a salon.
Bubbles on the patio is always a great choice for summer.
The guys having fun making race cars and a track out of paper.
Living on the third floor of an apartment means lots of stairs everyday.
Another successful birthday party. This one was camping theme! Check out the whole post with all the details here.
Floor puzzle
Dancing and dress up time
Checking herself out in the master bedroom
Building a pinewood derby car with dad
Winning a trophy for pinewood derby! The suitcase is significant because my dad came in for the event and he spent the night. We have had many guest sleepover on multiple occasions!
More playtime
Crafts
We are always out of town with family for Christmas so we don’t do any big decorations, but we do Truth in the Tinsel and some other fun traditions.
Our one piece of furniture to sit on.
Many, many meals have been made in this tiny kitchen.
We love playing cards and board games.
Reading time!
They don’t usually sleep in our bed, but there are mornings we wake up like this!
The truth is we aren’t home that much. Thanks to generous gifts we have had annual memberships to the nature center, the sports and fitness club, and the science museum. We also frequent parks and libraries, along with play dates and road trips. So I am not trying to imply that we just love being cooped up together in our small apartment all the time. What I am trying to prove with this post is that we are a REAL family that has a lot of fun and shared memories using every last inch of our little space.
I feel like God has brought us to this place for a reason. We’ve learned and gained so much from this season of our lives. If I could change the past and give my children a bigger home and a more luxurious or glamorous lifestyle I wouldn’t do it. My dream house wish list is longer than my weekly grocery list, so don’t get me wrong I am a big fan of amenities, but for now it’s the simple life and I SIMPLY wouldn’t have it any other way.
Love these pictures Natalie! It certainly looks like you guys live life to the fullest! 🙂
Love this post!! Just because an apartment is small doesn’t mean you aren’t happy..
Your family looks happy and healthy. That’s all that matters!
LOVE this post and your new blog. It looks fantastic 🙂
Adorable family! Love these pictures.
You certainly have a wonderful home, regardless of the size!
What a full life you live! You are exactly right that you can do amazing things in the space you have. Love the pictures!
Looks like your kids have great sibling relationships and tons of fun together. A loving family is much more important than lots of space 🙂
Great pics and I love the Happy Camper sign!
Our family of 5 (plus 2 dogs) lived in a 1,000 square foot apartment for almost 4 years. Now we are in a house with more square footage, and while we do love having a garage and yard, I miss the simplicity and minimalism that we HAD to have to make the apartment work. Love your snapshots, looks like there is a lot of life in your apartment!
I love this – and love that you gave ‘photo evidence’ that this is real life for you guys! I have to give you props, girl… We only had one and 800sq ft would have felt snug – at least on some days! But the reality is we were always hanging out together and really only use about half of the square footage of our house on a regular basis – less, now that our girlie is all moved out! It’s doable, I’m sure – and you are living proof! For the kids – I am sure it is just normal life… they don’t look like they are lacking any of the important stuff! 😉