Small-ish living

[TxZen]

I have been looking at smaller homes..less than 1000 square feet. Can I say I am TOTALLY excited!!! But around here, they are dang expensive. I might have to move out of town to find something reasonable.

I measured the floor plan in one house I liked, including the closet sizes. It is my goal to get all of my clothes to fit into a closet that size. I marked off the width in my own closet and let the challenge begin.

Oh and this house has a linen closet!!! :laff::laff::laff::laff::laff:

I am also looking at furniture and what I would truly need. Over sized furniture is not going to work. I was thinking 2 larger size chairs with a table in between and maybe another chair for guests. Most of these houses have an open plan. There are islands with bar stools and I plan on having a table with 4 comfy chairs which equals more seating.


I am not looking to buy right now, just get an idea of what's out there.

1. I would have to come up with something for an indoor washing machine/dryer. Many are outside here, in older houses.
2. Some fixing up is going to be necessary, so I am going to do some homework and learn about costs, contractors, materials, etc.
3. I am really defining what's important to me- what is necessary and what is a perk. It's a tough but interesting process.

[razz]

What I decided to do for furniture is four simple living room chairs, a decent dining table with four chairs, an old buffet that I will refinish which stores my big dishes and paper napkins etc., one medium coffee table and two small side tables. I can move the LR chairs to the dining table for extra seating if needed. It has worked well for me. I did get two bar chairs for the the peninsula but rarely actually use them, in fact. They are nice when I am doing a lot of prep for freezing or canning though.

[Ultralight]

:laff::laff::laff::laff::laff:

It is as though you are really coming alive now!

[ApatheticNoMore]

You'll probably want a sofa or at least a loveseat someday not just chairs (ha trust me, I just have chairs - although my philosophy on that is almost if one shows up at a thrift someday and I feel it's meant to be it will happen :laff:. I could buy new but I'm really in no hurry, it would be nice to have though)

[awakenedsoul]

Hi TxZen, Glad to hear you are enjoying looking at smaller houses. My cottage was built in the 1940's, and it's only 567 square feet. The washer and dryer is in the kitchen! I love it! I hang the clothes outside on the clothesline. It's a nice, big, old fashioned kitchen with a breakfast nook. I hope you are able to buy something soon. You sound psyched!

[ToomuchStuff]

What about instead of a table an ottoman, that has storage in it. With no couch, this allows feet up, where you could sleep in a recliner, but sometimes, I just want to stretch, without a chair leaning back.

[Teacher Terry]

WE don't have a big house and actually moved the washer/dryer from the kitchen to the garage. This only works if you don;t live somewhere where it gets really cold. Hope you find what you want.

[TxZen]

Thanks for all the ideas and inputs!!! I probably will have some sort of ottoman. I like my cat naps curled up in a chair. :)
There is always the possibility of enclosing the washer and dryer. I live in Texas and I don't much like finding snakes and other creatures crawled up under or in my washer and dryer. :)

[Teacher Terry]

I don't blame you at all. Ugh! I suggest the garage then.

[mschrisgo2]

I live in a 600 sq ft apartment. It's saving grace is that it has a 6 ft x 6 ft (extra) walk-in closet for storage. There is a 6 ft long regular closet in the bedroom. The laundry facilities are in another building, and only open from 8-8, which is a pain. But I digress. I had 2 chairs, Ikea Poang, for several years, then I picked up a loveseat off craigslist for $50-- I Love it!

Though I've moved beyond it now, for several years, my goal was to have only furniture I could move by myself.

[Aqua Blue]

mschrisgo2, having only furniture I could move myself was my goal when I moved here three years ago. I got rid of the heavy cherry bedroom set. I thought maybe I would regret it, but I haven't. I have a small old three drawer chest by my bedside with one drawer for undies and such. The rest of my clothes are in the closet. I have 14 pieces of furniture in the whole house; sofa, 2 occasion chairs, one end table, 2 old bamboo chairs in the kitchen, a small drop leaf table, a dresser, piano, chair in the second bedroom(blow up mattress for guests), bed, above mentioned night stand, reclining chair and small cabinet serving as end table beside it. Sometimes I see something and think that would be nice, but I don't get it. This amount of furniture is fine day to day. I do have a couple of those white folding tables and nice folding chairs in the garage to use when I have larger number of people over. It is enough

[TxZen]

I don't blame you at all. Ugh! I suggest the garage then.

Yes!!! It's life in Texas. :)

[TxZen]

Interesting concept of owning only what I can move. I have always been in that mindset. Even now, the couches and an old 1930's dresser are the heaviest things we own. Everything else could be broken down and move by one person.

I just keep thinking of loading up boxes, bags, totes, whatever and having to load it, drive it, unload it, unpack it..yuck!!!

I had a great conversation at school with some other students. Realize, I am the oldest in there, at 41. They ask me life questions- which I think is hilarious but I answer honestly. They asked me what would I tell them about life--oh sheesh!! I said live simple, minimal, travel as much as you can, embrace life and don't get caught up with keeping up and save a little for the future.

Guess I need to listen to my own words and get back to my simple ways!! :)

[Tenngal]

I have been looking at smaller homes..less than 1000 square feet. Can I say I am TOTALLY excited!!! But around here, they are dang expensive. I might have to move out of town to find something reasonable.

I measured the floor plan in one house I liked, including the closet sizes. It is my goal to get all of my clothes to fit into a closet that size. I marked off the width in my own closet and let the challenge begin.

Oh and this house has a linen closet!!! :laff::laff::laff::laff::laff:

I am also looking at furniture and what I would truly need. Over sized furniture is not going to work. I was thinking 2 larger size chairs with a table in between and maybe another chair for guests. Most of these houses have an open plan. There are islands with bar stools and I plan on having a table with 4 comfy chairs which equals more seating.


I am not looking to buy right now, just get an idea of what's out there.

1. I would have to come up with something for an indoor washing machine/dryer. Many are outside here, in older houses.
2. Some fixing up is going to be necessary, so I am going to do some homework and learn about costs, contractors, materials, etc.
3. I am really defining what's important to me- what is necessary and what is a perk. It's a tough but interesting process.

re: washer/dryer, you can probably do a stackable unit in about 3' of space. Just don't use the LINEN CLOSET

[happystuff]

Just helped my sister pack up pods for a move and it really spurred me back into my "decluttering". I love the idea of only having furniture I can move myself. We inherited a lot of This End UP furniture. Free and great while the kids were little, but I'm ready to let go of it!

Congrats and good luck with your continued efforts!

[ApatheticNoMore]

Interesting concept of owning only what I can move. I have always been in that mindset.

been there done that. First of all I can't really drive uhaul pickups as I drive a compact car (I don't mean the semis, I mean I cant' drive a LARGE pickup). I've tried but I'm not going to win any driving awards. Because they are way big, so my split second driving calculations, which work well for a compact car, are all off. So are we then down to what can fit in a compact car? The usual problem is the bed. To make that type of arrangement work you usually need some kind of sleeping on the floor arrangement or something, otherwise how do you move the bed yourself?

Limit heavy things maybe and limit things, but hire movers. That's all my future plans: hire movers whenever I have to move again, learned the hard way, by driving pickups too big for me and having near misses, developing (luckily short lived) back pain etc..

[Gardenarian]

We moved all our stuff ourselves, though it took numerous trips and we have a Honda Odyssey van.
We had to take the bedframes apart; I think they were the only things we had to put back together.
Oh, and we hired a piano mover. It doesn't usually pay to move a piano but ours is an heirloom (or boondoggle, depending how you look at it.)

[ToomuchStuff]

Interesting concept of owning only what I can move. I have always been in that mindset. Even now, the couches and an old 1930's dresser are the heaviest things we own. Everything else could be broken down and move by one person.

Dressers I can move by myself with devices like dollies of various sorts (including up and down stairs). A couch I haven't had for years, on the other hand, because I can't. I had one I had no help with, and one inherited tank of a sleeper sofa, that I had to cut up, to both get out of the room and hauled off.


been there done that. First of all I can't really drive uhaul pickups as I drive a compact car (I don't mean the semis, I mean I cant' drive a LARGE pickup). I've tried but I'm not going to win any driving awards. Because they are way big, so my split second driving calculations, which work well for a compact car, are all off.

In a cops mindset, if your driving by split second calculations, you are not allowing yourself enough time or space and driving too close and or recklessly.
I have a big truck for work and if I didn't, I would probably have a hatchback/stationwagon.