Collaborative Post
Your property might have been perfect once upon a time, exactly the right size for what you needed. But then it may have gradually filled up as you added children and pets to your family and over the years, it’s seemed to feel smaller and smaller. Home is a place where we should feel relaxed and comfortable- our respite from the world- but it’s difficult to be this when we’re cramped and crowded and living on top of one another. Thankfully there are some solutions to the problem, here’s what you need to do when you run out of room.
Declutter
Decluttering really is an ongoing process. When new things are coming into the home all the time, it can lead to a build up of items- many of which will be sitting unused. Kids toys that they’ve grown out of, clothes, paperwork and old technology are all offenders when it comes to clutter. If you know your home is harbouring a lot of junk, get yourself a skip. Otherwise, a few big boxes labelled ‘donate’ ‘give to friends’ and ‘self storage’ along with some bin bags for rubbish can help you to decide where everything goes and make it easier to make decisions. Keep only items you truly love or that you use on a regular basis, if you don’t have much space in your home, keeping useless junk that’s only going to collect dust makes no sense.
Find the right organisation systems
Once you’ve got rid of the things you no longer need, it’s important to find the right ways to organise what’s left. This will make it easier to put things away after use, and just as easy to find them when you need them again. Use drawer dividers, pots and baskets for smaller items. Look into good storage furniture for bigger things. Storage beds and built in wardrobes are both great options.
Renovate
If you love your home but there’s simply no more space then renovating will be the best way to go. If you need a bigger living area, a dining room, an extra bedroom and bathroom or a home office then you’re going to have to look into extending. You of course have the option of a single or double story brick extension, but you could always extend into the loft or down into the basement. You could consider adding a conservatory as a way to extend downstairs, create a home office or a dining space without spending as much money.
Move home
If you’re unable to extend or it makes no sense to do so then moving house could be the sensible choice. If you move further away from the town or city you’re likely to get more for your money. Something more spacious and with more rooms without you having to renovate may make more sense if you have young children, work long hours or just don’t want to deal with your home looking like a building site for months!
How has your home grown with your family?
Our home kind of grew and grew as we got older – clever use of space was the key and sharing
Great tips and advice, we loved our previous home but had to move to a bigger home last year as we had two bedrooms and three children, we now have a lovely sized home but need to move again as my fiance has heart failiure after a major heart attack and needs a transplant, we are in a maisonette with two flights of stairs which are to much for him xx
Author
Oh my goodness Kayleigh. So sorry you are going through that. Our son will need a heart transplant in the future as his repaired heart will eventually fail. We were at a lecture about heart transplants on Saturday in Birmingham with Little Hearts Matters. We also met a lovely young man who is recovering well from his heart transplant last November. Lots of love to you all xxx