At the time all we could afford was a one bed apartment, it was in an ideal location literally a stones throw from the shops and from the salon in which I was lined up to work in. We figured once we were more stable financially and our baby was maybe six months we'd look at moving again. After all they say that a baby should stay in your room for at least six months.
Two years on her I am a single parent of two, still in a one bed apartment, and I'm kinda stuck. I am receiving housing benefits, which I feel very fortunate to have but unfortunately there's a stigma attached to this, and so I'm struggling to find landlords that will accept me. Secondly I'm not considered priority as I have two boys and one is under one years old. So I'm on a rather long waiting list for a council house.
It may suprise you that actually space isn't a problem, I live in a Georgian house and so the rooms are very large. But there are a few things that I really struggle with:
-I live on the first floor, carrying up two napping children, especially a two year old is hard. So we stay in for naps generally.
-Food shopping logistically is hard as there isn't anywhere outside to park, and then carrying it upstairs is impossible as I can't leave the kids. So I always order online as they carry up the boxes for me.
-I have to co-sleep as there isn't enough room for a cot and a bed for Moo.
-There isn't a garden, of course this isnt a necessity, but running after a two year old and looking after a newborn, going to a park if I'm being honest fills me with fear.
The reason I'm writing this is to encourage those like myself that live in a one bed place that need some tips on how to make it work. And having said the above, I love my apartment and if I was in a ground floor apartment, with on street parking and a garden I'd be happy.
Tips for one bedroom apartment living:
-Have a clear out regularly, I use my quarterly house inspection as good spring clean. Anything I don't use I take to a charity shop, sell on ebay or throw away.
-All my furniture doubles as storage. Ive got some great pieces all from Ikea that literally have made such a difference to our floor space. So important for two year olds to run around in. This large cabinet is our cuboard come baby changing table. It holds all of Teddys clothes, nappies and wet wipes.
NOTE: This photo was taken at night once all the toys were tidied!
-My living/dinning/playroom can change for each occasion. By day its covered in toys. For dinner I can pull out our table to entertain friends. Also my chairs fold away and are stored inside the table! I also have a rather large built in cuboard to the right of the play tent for storage-I need to get around to sorting that out again!
Our Home.
