Tabrett Posted January 20, 2011 Share Posted January 20, 2011 Where do you keep outdoor things like your dc's bikes, scooters, roller blades, balls, ect? If all goes well, we maybe moving into a three bedroom apartment while my dh attends school for 9 months. We are moving out of a 2300sqft home with 4 br's, an office, large play/homeschool room and a 2 car garage. We are selling as much as we can and really downsizing! I still don't know how I'm going to make us all fit into an apartment. I am going to have to put my 3 littles in one br so the 3rd br can be an office/storage for dh. Dh will need a "studio" set up so he can do his school work (going to film school). I am planning on making child size futons for each of the littles to sleep on. I figure if they can "roll their beds away" in the morning it will give them more floor space to play. I plan on schooling in the dining area and my oldest dd is going to have to sleep on the couch when she is home from school. Any tips? Where do you keep your outside stuff? We won't have the money to rent a storage building. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ezrabean2005 Posted January 20, 2011 Share Posted January 20, 2011 (edited) Our apartment building has a room in the garage for bikes and outdoor things. Many apartment buildings will have an extra "closet" in a storage type place that you can rent for $25 - $50 a month. Otherwise (what WE do) is we use our master bedroom closet as our storage closet (for all off season / safe / clothing hand me downs / bikes / etc). We have four children (13, 11, 10, and 5) and we are also in a 3 bedroom. They all sleep in one bedroom (lofts / bunkbeds). We put them in the master bedroom so they have their own attached bathroom and it is MUCH bigger (thus the master bedroom can be used for off season storage). DH and I are in a normal sized bedroom. Then the third bedroom is our "game / toy / school" room. We have about 1200 square feet and we never feel too crammed for space. Hope this helps. ETA: When it is time to change, everyone goes to a seperate room (with 2 bathrooms, the game room, and the kids' bedroom there is always enough privacy). The kids like one room for sleeping -- of course they CHAT and LAUGH late into the night :) But DH and I think that they are going to remember that fondly for the rest of their lives (so we don't care that they do this and don't interfere). In the meantime, DH and I go to sleep :) Edited January 20, 2011 by ezrabean2005 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Princess Peach Posted January 20, 2011 Share Posted January 20, 2011 Oh boy, do I know what you're going through! We sold our house in the fall, which was over 3000 sq ft, 5 bdrms, 4 bath, office, big garage, finished basement...and moved to a duplex that is just about 1000 sq ft. It can be done, so don't worry. In some ways, I'm happier. It only takes 2 hours to clean this place top to bottom! When you live in a smaller space, you have to get creative with storage. Check out some pics online of smaller apts in NYC and the like. There are ways of hanging bikes, etc. Is a duplex an option, or is this a particular apt you are looking at? I ask because we have a basement that we use, which is a walkout. So we have the bikes down there and just go out the door with them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Giraffe Posted January 20, 2011 Share Posted January 20, 2011 Moved from an apartment - we kept things like that on our balcony. Not easy, but DD was so little we didn't have much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tabrett Posted January 20, 2011 Author Share Posted January 20, 2011 Oh boy, do I know what you're going through! We sold our house in the fall, which was over 3000 sq ft, 5 bdrms, 4 bath, office, big garage, finished basement...and moved to a duplex that is just about 1000 sq ft. It can be done, so don't worry. In some ways, I'm happier. It only takes 2 hours to clean this place top to bottom! When you live in a smaller space, you have to get creative with storage. Check out some pics online of smaller apts in NYC and the like. There are ways of hanging bikes, etc. Is a duplex an option, or is this a particular apt you are looking at? I ask because we have a basement that we use, which is a walkout. So we have the bikes down there and just go out the door with them. We need to find an apartment that is close to the school to save on gas. So far we have only looked online. I am hoping there will be more options when we look IRL. We don't want to rent a place where we are responsible for lawn care. Dh is very concerned about safety and wants to make sure we live in a safe place. Price is a big issue. We were going to try to fit into a 2 br, but I couldn't see how that would work with 6 people and so much stuff! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Princess Peach Posted January 20, 2011 Share Posted January 20, 2011 You never know what you'll find. We had the same concerns as you and we were so fortunate to find this place. We found a 4 bedroom super close to DH's work and walking distance to everything. It is very safe and quiet. DH even bartered to lower the rent if DH could mow (takes him 10 minutes). Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hannah C. Posted January 20, 2011 Share Posted January 20, 2011 I would store things like that on the patio/balcony. Some apartments also have an outdoor closet, and/or an indoor closet which is intended to be a coat closet -- you could also put things in there. If all else fails, I know people who have had great success with small public storage units -- climate-controlled, about the size of a closet, reasonably priced and help cut down on clutter. I shared a room with more than 3 siblings for years. It's totally doable. :) I've also slept on a couch for a summer, and my guess is that your couch will be more comfortable to sleep on! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T'smom Posted January 20, 2011 Share Posted January 20, 2011 We're in a similar situation although we do have a garage to keep outside stuff in. But someone mentioned giving the kids the master bedroom and that is a fabulous idea! We didn't think of that when we moved in, but we recently switched bedrooms and we love it. The only thing we do in our room is sleep, so we don't need the extra space, but it makes a nice play area and keeps the toys out of the living room! (well, most of them anyway.....) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LazyDazy Posted January 20, 2011 Share Posted January 20, 2011 We moved from a 4 bdrm house to a 2 bdrm apartment recently and I will say that you will be much happier if you go into it with an adventurous spirit! Think "simplify". We keep a basket in the boys bedroom for balls, helmets, and baseball gloves. The bats are hidden in the closet. I use the skateboards as a shoe organizer by the front door (poor boys have to empty it to use the boards and load 'em back when they are done). There is a small patio where we park the bikes. The skooter is hidden behind the coat rack most of the time (it also fits behind the couch if I get tired of looking at it). You could do more with hanging racks an hooks on the walls if you need more to fit in a smaller space. With kids who need major physical activity outlets, it is completely worth it to have these outdoor items indoors. Of course I long for the day when our life gets back to "normal"! On the up side, clean up is much easier and we spend a ton more time together (there is no where to run off to). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JennyD Posted January 20, 2011 Share Posted January 20, 2011 (edited) There is a bike room in our building, but all other outdoor stuff (balls, bats, scooters, folded-up stroller) is crammed into a coat closet in our entryway. We used to live in a building that looked the other way about keeping things (like strollers) in the hall, but this place enforces fire safety regs rather more strictly. Will your husband have work space at school? Grad students usually get at least a cubicle, sometimes a shared office. He may be able to manage with less dedicated space at home if he has space to work/keep books, etc. at school. We're in a small 2br and my grad student husband works at school or at our dining table (in the living room). Not ideal, though. Edited January 20, 2011 by JennyD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tabrett Posted January 20, 2011 Author Share Posted January 20, 2011 I like the idea of hanging things, but I don't want to put holes in the walls/ceilings :lol:. Do you actually put holes in the wall of apartments to hangs stuff? Don't they regulate those kind of things? We have a tv that hangs and I'm actually concerned about how that will work. I have lived in apartments before, but that was pre-kids and I only hung a couple of picture. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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