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A growing family can soon fill the home you’re in. While most people aren’t in a position to move to a bigger house, they are all able to save the space they have and use it wisely. For years I’ve lived in a house that feels like its bursting at the seams, and we recently went from being a family of four to a family of five. I see one more baby in my future, so soon we’ll tip over to be a family of six, and I knew something had to change.
That’s when I started to look into ways to make the most of my space. I don’t want to move house, and we couldn’t afford it even if I did, so we really have to work with what we’ve got. After a lot of research ( I say research, that’s me justifying hours spend on Pinterest!) I found some great solutions that could work for almost anyone!
Streamline your stuff
Streamlining is the biggest stumbling block for me. I find it hard to say goodbye, so I tend to hoard a little. Hoarding and big families don’t mix. I’m currently clinging on to all the baby stuff, in the hope we can have another little one to use all our lovely things. I don’t like to get rid of things as we go because you never know when you might use them again.
For me, keeping baby stuff is a non-negotiable, so I had to find something else I could get rid of. I’ve systematically tackled one room at a time, and we managed to fill a skip earlier in the summer. All the useless stuff got thrown away, and all the nice things we’ll never use again got donated to charity for some other family to enjoy. Having a clear out is very therapeutic and I really recommend it. It’s also given us more space to move, and is a must when you have a growing family.
Rent storage
Another way to keep the things you want to save, without streamlining or moving house is to rent a storage unit. Now Storage self storage is an expert in self storage and find families use them for all kinds of reasons. My sister has five kids and uses a storage unit for her Christmas decorations and seasonal stuff. Winter clothes got away for the summer, then come out with the Christmas tree each year. Self storage is also hand for moving house as you can start to empty your house of the stuff you don’t regularly use just before moving day and only keep the essentials up until the last minute to make everything easier.
Give everything a place
You might have to invest in lots of interior storage to do this hack effectively, but by giving every possession in your house a place where it belongs helps keep your home clutter free. If you have nowhere to keep an item, then you either have to find somewhere or get rid of something in order to accommodate it. This helps with streamlining as you go, and stops you getting driven crazy when you’re looking for stuff. When you have lots of kids, I guarantee you will always be looking for something (usually late at night or one minute before leaving for school!)