Space saving tips learned from living in a fisherman's cottage

Our house is kind of teeny, at least by American standards. We have no basement, no garage, two tiny closets for the entire house, hardly any kitchen cabinets, and no yard.

and by no yard I mean NO yard

This may be standard for the average European family, but for us midwesterners used to giant front and back yards, finished basements, two car garages, and walk in closets, it's been an adjustment.

"You have four kids, how in the world do you manage!?" you ask as you gaze out at your wonderful American lawn. Here are some tips I've learned living in our wee cottage that I think could be useful to any family, even the ones with space to spare.

The world is our backyard

The rock pile across the road

 Watching boats near the harbour 

It helps that the ocean is literally a stone's throw away from our front door. The girls have adopted the rock pile as their playground. Who needs a swingset when you have rocks to climb and sea glass to find? Sometimes I take the kids out when it's rainy and they run in puddles with their wellies. We explore the harbours and walk to parks.

We've embraced dressers and fewer clothes

Clothes hang to dry in our living room, 
and I'm ok with that

I used to hang everything in closets aside from pants (trousers) and pajamas. Here everything gets put in dressers since we don't have the choice to hang. I do laundry once or twice a day every day, I don't have the luxury of falling behind. We each have one or two sweatshirts, a few pairs of leggings/skirts/trousers, and not a ton of shirts.

My "full load" of laundry here is about 1/4 the size or smaller than what I'm used to doing in the states. Pair that with the "dryer" leaving all the clothes damp, and it's a full day process. Surprisingly it doesn't take up a ton of my time. I throw in a load in the morning, and hang it in the afternoon. By the evening or next morning it's ready to fold and put away. (I have my girls put away the laundry, it's saved me loads of time.)

We don't have the space for extra towels, so we have four towels for all of us. They're just washed more often than I ever washed towels in the states. There's no need for so many clothes and towels when laundry is done so often and there's no space anyway!

Things have multiple uses, and we don't have a lot of things 

My bedroom vanity 

Our (one) mixing bowl is also our popcorn and salad bowl. The coffee table and end tables are stuffed with our Christmas decorations and winter coats. The girl's room is also the guest bedroom, (we just have them sleep in our room or the boy's room when guests come). Our kitchen table is our homeschool area and occasional office. The cookie sheet and baking dish are stored in the oven, and our car (when we get it) will hold our stroller at all times. There's no space to put makeup on in our one bathroom with pedestal sink, so I use my "vanity" which is a dresser filled with arts and crafts supplies, homeschool materials, medicine, jewelry, and mementos. Our bedroom fireplace mantle doubles as a bookshelf. 

We only brought 6 suitcases with us (try to fit your life into 6 suitcases). You really realize what is essential and what you can live without. The kids have downsized incredibly in their toys and it's been pretty amazing. Much less to clean up!

We have one living room and no playroom

Shocking, I know! But really, why do you need a living room, family room, and rec room? Our spaces here get combined and it works. Our living room is for sitting, studying, and talking, the kids bedrooms are their play areas, and because they only have a few toys, they don't get overwhelmingly messy. Our bedroom has a couch and the one TV.

We buy more often

No more shopping in bulk. There's no where to put it! While I miss money I saved when I bought things in bulk, I've noticed that buying things more often has contributed to less waste and less need for storage (including fridge, closet, and cabinet space). We buy what we need when we need it.

We have a million baskets

They hide and organize. Baskets are amazing. I ordered tons off Amazon when we moved and I can always find uses for them. Where I would have needed a drawer or a cabinet I put a basket. Every room has multiple. The one room that was saved a horrific death of clutter was our bathroom. Toothbrushes get one, toiletries are in others. They clean up our spaces so well.

We go without

Some things are just too big to have. Period. There's no space for power tools, outdoor toys, fine china, big holiday decorations, more than three pairs of shoes/boots per person, large toys, or really just a LOT of anything. We're learning to just live without these extra things. None of them were things we've ever needed, just things we've always liked to have. (We can borrow things if we ever need them).

We settle 

Is the chair working to hide them 

at all?!

There are bikes in our living room. Sometimes there's no solution, and we just have to be ok with that. After all, we live across from the sea for goodness sake. I'm sure a lot of people would put up with bikes in their living room to be able to see the sea everyday. It's all about perspective.

After living in a smaller space I really, honestly prefer it. It's SO much less to clean. Nothing ever gets lost, it all in all seems like a much easier place to manage. Cottage living has taught us several things about what we really need, and I'm sure it'll keep teaching us. We're loving our wee house, space (or no space) and all.