Wow, talk about small spaces getting smaller.

As Oscar grows and develops, we are losing major real estate.

I have a 2200 sq. ft house.  We’ve made the basement into a suite and it’s rented out.  Which leaves us with 1100 sq. feet.  1 bathroom and two bedrooms.  Our living/dining/entrance is all pretty much one big room.

Needless to say, we have to keep our house tidy for two reasons:  1: it’s small and so clutter and “things” make it look smaller, and 2. there’s simply no place to hide anything, so clutter and “things” make it look quite messy and unkept and (ok, three reasons), 3:  I get clausterphobic in clutter.

Even if I lay all my shopping bags on the dining room table after a day at the mall, my house immediately looks smaller.  It’s just physics really.   Small space + clutter = smaller “space”.

And so now that O is older at the ripe old age of 8-months, he’s got alot of stuff.  He’s got a high chair, bouncy chair, bumbo (that’s currently for sale if you’re interested!), exercauser, playpen and three containers of toys.  THAT HE USES ALL DAY EVERY DAY.  So I don’t want to put any of these away in his room because it will get on my nerves quick, having to go back and forth to get stuff.

Then there’s OUR stuff in this open-floor-plan living space.  The desktop computer that we only use for backup, the printer that I hardly use now that I’m taking a few months away from the business (and laser printers are friggin’ huge!), the cat tower that they only use when we even just THINK about getting rid of it.  The television and all that goes with it, the bookshelf/filing cabinet that’s *kinda* tucked out of the way behind the couch, and then there’s the dining room table and buffet. 

Needless to say, we’ve got some serious re-arranging to do.  We have to make sure O has his space.  This is his house.  I don’t want to “compartmentalize” his things and not have his stuff out (even though I’m totally “compartmentalizing” his things!), I want it to look lived in and so you can tell there’s a baby here…and yet I have to keep it tidy so we’re not tripping over everything and so I don’t get clausterphobic, and so it doesn’t look messy.  Sigh.

When Oscar goes down for his naps, I immediately clean up his dining and high chair area.  Next I pick up all his toys and put them in their little containers and stuff them back into their homes in the living room (thank God he’s still got littletoys… but I’m sure the big tonka trucks and race tracks are not far off…).  That gives me some breathing room until it’s playtime again  It’s a vicious circle, lol!  The one thing that gets me through it is knowing that it won’t be forever.  One day we will have our full house back and will have another 1100 square feet to make messy!  And it will be downstairs so I won’t be living in it constantly!  Oh, I can dream about that day… when we don’t need the 850/month addional income.  (Will that day ever come, really?  Sigh.)

I hate computers in bedrooms (ok, so I’m typing this on my bed.  But I hate work stations/desks in bedrooms.) but that’s our next step.  We have lots of space in our bedroom so in comes the desktop.  The printer is going in a box and being stuffed under our bed if it will fit.  If not… well then I just don’t know.  The cat house is going somewhere too.  I’m thinking out to the curb, but they really do seem to like it again.

I think I’ll have to take a picture and hit up Ikea to get their thoughts on this.  I’m really stuck.  Our useable square footage is just so little.  I know Ikea will have solutions.  They always do.  And affordable ones at that.  And ones that are great for little kiddies to tromp all over and spill things on.  And ones that won’t make mommy so claustrophobic. 

Right?

What are your space-saving ideas?  Moms are the smartest and most creative people I know… care to help a sister out?  Would love your comments and feedback!