In 2013 we moved from our 120 m2 house into a 78m2 apartment; 4 years later we downscaled even further and moved into a 18m2 bus. There are significant things that we have learnt on the way that may help people when thinking about tiny living, here are 6 lessons that we think are important for you to know when living in tiny spaces.
- You need to be more organised
Because space is limited you need to for example wash and pack away dishes after every meal, why you ask, because you will need that space for another task. In a small space you don’t have the luxury of many or large work surfaces so your surface are multiuse; a kitchen worksurface can also be a sewing table.
You also need to compartmentalise so that you can easily access the things you need. For example, we had a sewing kit in a box, a medical kit in a box.
- You need to use every little nook and cranny
Space is limited but we still have ‘stuff’ even after you have ruthlessly clean out, that stuff needs to be stored because small space can look untidy and overcrowded quickly. When we moved into our apartment, Gav created draws in the kick panel area of our kitchen for storage, these draws made great areas to store baking trays and recipe books.
Instead of a normal bed base, Gav built a structure to provide storage under our bed that we were able to store blankets, clothes and shoes in.
- You need to be creative
I had a tray in the kitchen which is an especially useful item but not easy to store so I created a picture on the base of it and hung it up as though it was a painting. Being creative helps you think of how-to multiuse items and spaces. Find nice looking boxes for storage. You can also wrap or paint your own boxes. It helps to be organised and have things in boxes; making them pretty, adds to the aesthetics of your space.
- You need to be flexible
You cannot be attached to how things are supposed to work, for instance, you cannot make Monday’s your washing day as the weather may not play along and then you must store wet washing which is not easy in a small space. Try storing wet washing in a bus and having two big dogs living with you for a few days of rain – lesson learnt. Your washing needs to hang out, dry and be packed away as it arrives in the area (see point one) you must be organised and flexible.
- You need to have a backup plan for everything
In a tiny space, things can go wrong. As example is a small kitchen work area. Cooking with a gas stove and having a cloth for wiping hands and dishes, in a small work area it can happen that the cloth catches fire because it is too close to the open gas flame, have an extinguisher close by. I know this is relevant for bigger spaces too but in small spaces, things can escalate far quicker and can do more damage in a shorter space of time.
- Buy as you need
When we lived in a 120m2 house I could keep four different types of pasta in addition to rice, couscous, barley and buckwheat and that was just our starch selection. I soon realised that I need to keep one type of pasta and rice and if I do feel creatively inspired, I buy in and use the buckwheat on that day.
I came from a family that had the fear of ‘running out of things’ and as a result we always had a few extra bottles of dishwashing liquid for example. In a small space this is not so easy to do, again back to point one, you need to be organised and buy as you need at the right time.
