I think it takes adversity and the prospect of homelessness to cause us to appreciate what we do have. 

We are moving from 1800 sq ft house to a 500 sq ft 2 bedroom apt.  We have come to realize, through 7 months of hardship, that a HOME is considerably different than a HOUSE.  A home is about your loved ones and the memories you make with them inside those 4 walls.  A house is all about sq ft, how many bathrooms, closet space, location.  I hope you understand what I am trying to say.

What do ANY of us really need for shelter?  We need a place to sleep, to prepare food, to congregate, and a bathroom. 

Most of us have way too much stuff, which is why we feel cramped, depressed, overwhelmed, in our cozy living space.  Ask yourself how many kitchen gadgets, sweaters, purses, tools, toys, stuffed animals, etc. etc. one family really need?

 

Rolo,

In addition to what you said about needs...I think people need some personal space as well. It doesn't have to be huge spaces however.

My three year old is a perfect example for that. She was sleeping on the couch when we were all in the travel trailer. Her bed was pulled up into a couch daily and her things moved around as needed. This distressed her every day. When we used the RV to spread out, I converted the table into her space. There is a piece of plywood over the benches. On one side I placed the cushions and on the other end I put a small pink plastic drawer system and a princess rug down to cover the wood that was peeping out. She has two storage boxes that slide under the plywood into the space between the benches for her toys. I put on her pink blankets and sheets, tossed her pink pillows and dolls across the back and sides and we have a princess space! She is happy, it's open and takes the room a kitchen table occupies but it's hers.

 

 

 

What a great solution for your sweet little princess, thinking outside of the norms and coping with it all in a positive way.  I think that is just great and a very positive side of making do!  I love these kind of suggestions and the brainstorming that we "fruga living" folks come up with.

Is putting your trailer, and the RV in a row the only way to use the space you have to park them?  If an "L" shape is out can you park them side by side with a bit of space between for a courtyard? (can you tell I'm hungup on courtyards?)Just that in my mind if you can see them from each other would give a larger more together feeling in the mind.

Rolo, I admit I went through a phase of thinking where I wanted a big house with lots and lots of space and did let things pile up around here because it seemed my efforts made no difference. My husband and I looked at house options and he wanted to pass on one of my favorites. It was indeed large in my opinion and in his it just had a lot of wasted space. He asked me what I would do with all that and I responded that I would just look at it.

Over the last couple of months I have wondered why I would want to look at big empty spaces and I wrestled with the issues I found behind that. I feel a lot better about my small space and I am re-organising.  I really don't need what I thought I did. And the things I really do want can be had and built a bit more unconventionally much cheaper.

 

 

 

Jim, yes this is the only figuration, sadly. You aren't the only one with a courtyard thing, my husband and I include ideas for one anytime we consider housing options. I didn't however think of latticework, heh.

 

We live in a fairly small home--about 1,000 square feet--and we do what we call "the small house dance" whenever two of us are trying to use the same space at the same time.  We do have a large deck and backyard, and we live out there during nice weather.  In cold weather we just adjust to cozy.  It does cost much less to keep this house cool in the summer and warm in the winter. Also--since all three of us who live here have some hearing loss, we hear each other much better in this smaller space than in a large "McMansion."  There are benefits to a small house!

I know the dance, lol.

I am afraid that I don't get the advantage of lower heat and cooling costs. That's due to building matertials, terrible insulation and other drafty openings. I think a well built smaller home should see those savings.

 

 

I just want to thank all of you for sharing about this issue. You have reminded me that I need to be thankful for what I have and praise God that I even have a roof over my head!

We are a family of 7 living in 1197 square feet and I have been feeling so cramped. Just this morning I was almost in tears as I was trying to get my kids' winter/spring clothes changed out and didn't really have room to even move in their rooms.  We had tried selling our house for 4 years and last spring we finally decided that this must be where God wants us and we figured that even if it wasn't comfortable, it was livable. After living this way for a year (with number seven being born in Sept.), I have been getting really frustrated. I am sure there are ways to make better use of space, but it costs money to buy the things needed to "go vertical" or for other "organizing" things and we just don't have the money to put towards those things.

I am so glad that I have found this site and plan to visit often to glean from everyone's wisdom. 

Dear Brandy, I was sorry to read online in teh NEW YORK TIMES of all the fraud that has been going on in rebuilding after Katrina.  How has this affected you?