What are your experiences living in a "small house

[hunter63]

Aften hanging around for a while, reading all of the experiences of the design/build/types of small houses, I guess I was wondering how many people live in them full time.

As we get older we (wife and I ) seem to pile up "stuff" and all of it being very important to us (at least mine is, don't know about hers), My question is "Where do you put Stuff?"

[Epiphany]

I currently live in a 682 sq ft loft with the only divided off space being the bathroom.  There is storage above the bathroom area, all other ceilings are 12'.  At various times I have stacked boxes behind the couch, against the wall, placed a wide board and fabric over it - voila - sofa table with lamps, photos, etc.  Under the bed storage, storage walls......

[hobbiest]

The best way my family and I have found, is to store all the stuff that is important to us, in somebody elses house...after we sell it to them.  We sold about 95% of our "treasures", the stuff we'd been hanging onto for 8 years, and man does it feel better.  One piece of advice though, if it makes, or saves money,  i.e. tools (including sowing machine, and rolling pins...), or is a traesured heirloom, hang on to it.  My wife, 3 kids (6,4,2) and I lived in our 824 sq foot house while we were remodeling it, lived in one bedroom at a time.  Once we were done, we all slept in one room still, since we didn't have much furniture.  After our house sold, we moved back to Santa Cruz, CA, and are now living in a 1400sq' house.  We just got the kids moved into their own bedroom, but for the last month have all been sharing a room, and only using about 700sq'...that is what we are used to, and don't even really have enough junk to fill that up.  As a primer, get yourself a storage unit, and keep the tag-along stuff in it for 6 months.  Don't be tempted to take it out.  If, when you are done, you find that you don't want to take it out, get rid of it.

[Amanda_931]

I live in a travel trailer--right at 200sf.  Way too much stuff.  Friends assure me that my vehicles all stop at every bookstore--I don't have to do anything about it.

The barn has room for some of the stuff--will be better and more important, give me room to work down there after I get the room at one end closed in.  

Two storage units--furniture, books I'm not using right now, Christmas ornaments, etc.

One of these days I'll get a place built.

[glenn-k]

You are back in Santa Cruz now, Hobbiest?

[rita]

I don't currently live a really small house (there are 5 of us in a 3 bedroom 16X80 trailer) but I grew up in a tiny house.  I imagine it was about 30X30 (2 bedrooms) 8 people.  It is amazing what you can do.  We had a large storage shed out back, that helped.  We had an entire wall of shelves in the bigger of the two bedrooms.  that helped.  Everyone had wooden boxes that we stored under beds and kept personal items in.  it can be done.  

I want to build a slightly extended builder's cottage with two sleeping lofts.  or something.  My opinions change day to day so...

[hobbiest]

Yeah Glen, back sown here.  We finished and sold our house in K. Falls, and moved back down to have our fourth baby.  Trying to buy another house to remodel up there.  Anybody know where I can get $50k?  The place is not financable, as one of the foundation walls is caved in, and it needs to be completely gutted.  Trying to get a private money loan right now, and I can't wait to get started on it!

[glenn-k]

Be sure to stop by if you get over my way - see my small house.

Actually to go along with  this thread, I stay in the studio apartment section of the underground cabin when my wife isn't here.  Appx 16 x 28 plus a 5 x 11 bathroom in this section.  If it wasn't for wanting to be a troglodyte and have places for get togethers and junk, more house wouldn't be imperative.  For just living, this pretty well takes care of it.  One room to heat -wood stove serves as a barbecue, extra cooking range, entertainment (open the door-instant TV).  If this was going to be our only space it would be necessary for me to finish the closet and pantry-- of course if it wasn't for the rest of it I'd have time---but energy and motivation? :-/

[achildofthesky]

   We are currently living in a 20x36 house waiting for an eventual move out west (we hoped for SW Florida but between taxes and insurance one is looking at about a grand a month before the mortgage).

  This place used to be my guest house/cabana before I sold the property several months ago and worked a deal with the new owners to rent the place for a bit to save on doing a double move. The main house was 2700+sf on about 3/4ac just barely outside of the city limits and while it had nice features and a great master bedroon/master bath area it just felt way too large for just the 3 of us (and 1 bobcat).

  I bought the house for the location and features in that it would be easy to sell and appreciate rapidly as the local real estate market is pretty hot. The main selling points were: great master suite, guest house, massive garage, really deep pool (what a p.i.t.a.,never again!) and in the county. There are links to the pix at my yahoo photos at the bottom as the files are a bit large to post here for those interested.

  The size of the guest house is fine but the builder did this place as a office/spare bedroom/storage area hence the garage style door on the west end. There is not enough room to park a car there, it is a laundry area and "stuff" storage place that just happens to be really inefficient in execution and a loss from a energy conservation stand point. Also, if he would have raised the walls 2-3 feet there would have been a real loft not the little pocket that is there now.

  The footprint and sf (about 720 total) of the place is plenty large for what we need, it just needs a better layout, execution and more intelligent design. I would give the house a grade C at best due to design wasted space and layout and a B for the construction and detailing as some of which are nice. We hope to build this year and have a 1 largish size bedroom and 1 office spare bedroom for the sprog that will be leaving in a couple of years. The idea of less than 1000 sf is appealing as it will cost less but enable us to have more than one house in different locations to migrate between in the coming 5-10 years. This compact living experience has helped immeasurably in saving making mistakes and fixing perceived shortcomings made by the builder in this place.

  I echo the comments on stuff and getting rid of the accumulated dross of life. I have ebayed a bunch of "gotta have" stuff only to find a feeling of relief that we do not have to drag the junk from place to place anymore and have started another house building fund with the $$$. It is actuall kind of fun...

  Well enough blathering for now, got to feed the cat.

Patty

Little house:
http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/achildofthesky/album?.dir=50e7&.src=ph&store=&prodid=&.done=http%3a//photos.yahoo.com/ph//my_photos

Main house:
http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/achildofthesky/album?.dir=50e7&.src=ph&store=&prodid=&.done=http%3a//photos.yahoo.com/ph//my_photos

[Jimmy_Cason]

Great pics! Thanks for sharing.
One of the pictures frightened me a little.

Curtains near or over the stove. Be careful!

[achildofthesky]

Good Point... Thanks

Patty

[Daddymem]

Nice looking place, the cathedral knotty pine ceilings remind me of our current house (620 sf).

[Mommymem]

Its 612 sqft Daddymem