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

Entry way with the stroller

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.