7 Ways to Thrive While Tiny Living with a Baby
From contributor Amanda Mariott
Hi! I’m Amanda, wife to one enchanting husband and mama of the most perfect baby boy. A lover of the outdoors, I live tiny in the middle of a national forest in Colorado.
I’ve spent about 2.5 years living tiny, and 5 months of that has been with a baby. My husband, baby and I are all in a space of about 350 sq ft. There are many things I love about our lifestyle, including the closeness I feel to my husband and little one and the huge financial savings we achieve every month. Plus, it helps me live a minimalist lifestyle since we simply can’t fit a lot of stuff in our place. Win-win-win!
Living so tiny with three people might seem a little daunting, but I’m here to tell you that tiny living with a baby is possible - even enjoyable! Keep reading for some ideas for how to thrive in this lifestyle based on my own experience.
1.Find space-saving solutions
There are a ton of creative solutions out there for living in small spaces. Many of these are applicable whether you have a baby in the home or not. Here are the most helpful options we have stuck with:
Use a toaster oven instead of a conventional oven, toaster, and microwave! It’s so important to find functional, space-saving solutions when you have a tiny kitchen. In my opinion, a toaster oven is a requirement for tiny living. While it does occasionally take a little extra planning and creativity, you can use your toaster oven for pretty much anything an oven is used for. Just set the temperature and timer as you would for an oven, and you’re all set! And, if you have the patience for it, you can get rid of your microwave, too.
Use an electric stovetop instead of a conventional stove. Rather than using a regular stove, I have spent those two and a half years in my tiny house cooking over a two-burner electric stovetop! This saves counter space since it can be stored on top of our cabinets when not in use.
Use a mini fridge with a freezer. While there is some hassle that comes with operating out of a mini fridge (more frequent grocery trips, for example) our mini-fridge/freezer works much better for us than trying to squeeze a full-sized fridge into our little kitchen. Plus, having a mini-fridge means that we only buy the food we actually need, so we rarely throw food away; one of the benefits of our minimalist lifestyle!
Use a collapsible kitchen table or none at all. Before our little one came along, we used a small collapsible table as our kitchen/dining table. This allowed us to move it if we needed more space. Now we have completely removed our table to make more room for baby things, so we typically just eat and work at our coffee table. You could also do the reverse of this and use a small kitchen table or desk and no coffee table, so customize your home to whatever best suits your needs!
Use a mini crib or play yard for baby sleep. We’ve used this mini crib since the day we brought our little one home. I’ve seen people use cribs this size until their child is 2+ years old - perfect for small living spaces! You can also use a portable play yard, which can be permanently left up or stowed away when not in use. Just be sure to check the manufacturer’s instructions to make sure yours is safe for sleep!
2. Plan to own less stuff
When you have a small home, you have to be intentional about what you allow to take up space. Some of the items that we ended up parting with to save space were our baby swing, baby bathtub, and change table.
Along the same vein is the option to use collapsible or multi-functional items like sink inserts for bath time. You may also consider using a small chair or booster like a Bumbo multi-seat instead of a high chair, and a Pack and Play or play yard instead of a crib (as mentioned above, just be sure to check with the manufacturer that it is safe for sleep). We’ve also loved this play gym by Lovevery that can be collapsed and stowed under the bed or couch when not in use.
3. Find creative and hidden storage solutions
We use our car to store some of our big items, such as our hiking backpack and stroller. We also have super accommodating family members who store the clothes that don’t fit our baby, though some people opt to donate, consign, or giveaway clothes once they are too small for their baby, and just accumulate items as they are needed.
Speaking of clothes, a large closet is a must for storage. We easily store clothes for the 3 of us in one closet, and we keep many other items hidden in there including shoes, suitcases, stuffed animals, etc.
Other great storage areas include under the bed, couch, and coffee table, so be sure these pieces of furniture are raised enough to accommodate your storage needs.
If you’re truly unable to fit essential or sentimental stuff in your tiny home and can’t bear to part with any of it, you might benefit from renting a storage unit or purchasing a small shed.
4. Keep the home clean and tidy
Even if your child is making a huge mess during the day, I find it helps to be diligent about keeping the pile of dishes low, the bed made, and to do a quick reset at the end of each day. This will make the place feel more functional, spacious and liveable, because otherwise clutter in a small space can quickly become overwhelming!
5. Utilize outdoor space
If at all possible, design your tiny home with an outdoor area for both you and any little ones that might be living with you. With such a small indoor area, we often need more room to hang out and be active. Lucky for us, we have a large deck and live in the middle of a national forest. This makes our living area feel and function as though it were actually much bigger. Our child will have plenty of room to play and be active when the time comes, and we can enjoy warm evenings sitting on our deck under the stars.
6. Find creative ways to separate spaces in the home
Our tiny home has a studio layout, and this has created one of the biggest challenges for us: baby’s bedtime. If you have the luxury of designing your own home, I highly recommend creating a space separate from the main living area where your baby can sleep, whether in your bedroom or his/her own. This will allow you and anyone else in the home to have more freedom after the baby goes to bed. If you are not able to design a space that can be separated permanently or temporarily at bedtime. Here are a couple of ideas that may help:
Use a sound machine to muffle noises. We love this baby rest sound machine that can be controlled from our phones.
Install room dividers or blackout curtains. When our baby goes to bed, we pull a set of curtains down the middle of our home to separate our living space from the sleep space. This helps to block out some of the lights and sounds from our activities while our baby sleeps.
7. Get inspiration from others
To be quite candid, there are moments when I don’t love living in a tiny house with a baby. Sometimes it does feel impossible, cluttered, and too small for comfort. Super inspirational, right?!
Well… recently I have enjoyed watching tiny living shows like Tiny House Nation and checking out Pinterest boards from like-minded people. It is refreshing to see how other people make very small living spaces work for them, and the excitement and enthusiasm they have in doing so. Not only that, but these activities can provide new and creative solutions that I haven’t thought of.
If you are living tiny or considering making the switch, I encourage you to check out some TV shows or Pinterest boards that will spark your creativity and provide inspiration. It’s surprising how many people are living tiny and thriving, whether with a baby, multiple kids, or alone!
I hope some of these tips have helped or inspired you. Do you have anything to add? I would love to hear your ideas! Leave a comment for me and the Ethical Edit community below!
