Square feet versus number of children

[HFClassicalAcademy]

I'm glad I'm not the only one! I'm too embarrassed to say how big my house is. There are only four of us (2 parents, 2 kids) and we have A LOT of square footage per person. The houses are large in our community, so it feels "normal" most of the time, but I realize that it really isn't.

 

Oh no! Now I feel bad about posting our square footage!!!! But we have 6 kids, so all of it is welcome space!

[KidsHappen]

I have 3200 sq. ft. and currently have four children living at home. I have sometimes had five in the same space. I also have four cats and two dogs. It feels overly full but the truth of the matter is that the layout could be better.

[ClassicCole]

3600 sq ft home and 6 kids

[BlsdMama]

We have 2400 sq. ft. and nine children in the home. However, it's WAY too big for us. Our previous home had slightly over 1/2 the square footage and it was perfect.

[Evergreen State Sue]

2 kids; 2400 sf after a remodel (1600 before)

[melmichigan]

2200 sq ft. 5 kids

[Woodhaven]

We share our home with my IL's and have 3500 sq feet. But my IL's use about 1200 or so of our space.

 

We used to have a 2600 sq ft. home and were very comfortable in it with 4 children.

 

When we were forced to move (job) we had a difficult time finding a home with a separate apartment for the IL's who we knew would be one day moving in with us. MIL wanted separate space with their own kitchen, not just a bed room.

[Excelsior! Academy]

Ladies with over 3000 sq ft. How much time doesit take to clean your house? Is it difficult?

[JessieC]

I'm surprised at how many big houses there are! Ours is 1400 sq feet and feels plenty spacious.

[amyable]

1200 with five kids. Some extra unfinished space that is sort of livable/usable. It is poorly laid out though. I would like that many sq ft much better with a different lay out so more of the space could actually be lived in.

[Lynnette in WA]

We had with 850 sf with 4 kids about 18 years ago, then "upgraded" to 3100sf and 7 kids. And there's still not enough room for everyone's everything!! How is that even possible?!

[Sparkle]

We currently have about 1200 sq ft and 4 kids. When we moved into this house it was 900 sq ft and 3 kids. We had one more kid and converted the garage to a bedroom/bath and gained an additional 300 sq ft. It's tight fit though. We are talking about adding a second story which would probably give us an additional 800 sq ft.

[Cassy]

Ladies with over 3000 sq ft. How much time doesit take to clean your house? Is it difficult?

 

We have just over 4000 sq ft and, yes, it's a lot of work. I used to clean for over an hour every day of the week to just keep things looking OK (that's just cleaning, ie vacuuming, dusting, mopping, bathrooms, and doesn't include general tidying, cooking, washing and ironing). With homeschooling it just all became too much and I now have a couple of ladies come in to take care of most of that. The big house is DH's choice, he was brought up in a house even bigger than this and just doesn't seem to be able to conceive of living in anything smaller. I really never wanted to get cleaners, and there were times when I got very fed up with the house and at times, mainly when I was feeling hormonal, I have even demanded that we move - that he needed to choose, me or the house :ohmy:. The cleaning ladies were a compromise, and, surprisingly, I'm really enjoying them - they do exactly what I ask, they do it perfectly, and are lovely to chat to as well.

 

Cassy

[prairiewindmomma]

3100 square feet and 3 kids at the moment. At the rate that the first 3 kids came, we thought we'd have 6+ kids, but it doesn't seem to be working out that way.

 

As far as cleaning goes, a lot has to do with layout. Our bedrooms are upstairs. We tidy in the morning and come down so they don't get messed up during the day. We mostly hang out on the main level of the house. In many ways it's much easier for things to remain tidy than when we had a smaller house. Here, everything has a place.

 

I invested in good cleaning equipments: a bona hardwood floor mop, a Dyson vacuum cleaner, and cleaning supplies on each floor of the house in a little caddy. At the end of each day, before the kids go to bed, they make sure they've tidied any messes they've made. I would guess I spend 2 hours a week cleaning, max. The bathrooms take about 45 minutes of that. I do a BIG spring and fall cleaning (washing all draperies, polishing the woodwork and light fixtures, pulling out the appliances, etc.) that takes about a week. I do The Great Wardrobe Switchover at the same time.

 

As my kids are becoming older and more capable I'm hoping to delegate more of the cleaning to them. This year they are in charge of their bathroom by themselves. It's a little scary at times, but I don't let it go more than a couple of days before I intervene with guidance. My future DILs are going to have capable husbands. :)

[GypsieFamily]

I live in a 22 foot caravan as we travel. The bedroom for all four kids is 6 foot long (as long as their bed).

[Nestof3]

Wow -- we must have a really small house, because our average ended up being 367 sq ft per child.

 

Now that Aaron moved out, it's 550 -- still way lower than 999.

 

Oops -- I misunderstood poll. I thought you wanted the # of sq ft per child. I should have voted 1,100 sq ft. Sorry.

[HappyCrazyMama]

1800 and 6 kids

[yellowperch]

2200 and 5 kids. Feels like it's going to get a little tight in here as the kids get larger. I'm missing a room or two here-- that large fireplaced room off the kitchen and the finished walkout basement room where the legos and art table can live out of my main line of sight. We lived in 450 with two kids, so I think things have vastly improved for me here. That camper sounds fun, though.

[Osmosis Mom]

We have around 2200 sq. ft. and I feel like I can't breathe. I have stopped having people over and am proud to say I am daily whining about it to my dh!! Of course he told me when we moved in that this would be too small, but we thought it was only going to be a temporary move and here we are 7 years later and with two more kiddos.

 

I will have two in college next year and want to re-do their room so they can still use it, but so we can also use it while they are not home (90% of the year, I am estimating). I have space that is not being used well, but then again we are on the first floor all the time, with all the toys, kitchen, homeschool, and those have to stay here.

 

 

Guess I began my whining early today!!