When we found out we were having twins (six weeks later), there was excitement, surprise and a lot of choice words not suitable for this blog.
For the first time in our nearly 8 years of being together, my husband and I were finally living and working within the same city proper. Before that, we were either located in other states or had such a crazy, long commute we spent more time in our cars than with each other. So, we were determined to make our 850 square foot home work for us.
We knew it wouldn’t be for forever, but we ended up spending the first year of our twin daughters’ lives in that tiny space. MUCH longer than anyone intended.
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Our first lunch out with the twins. One week old!
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1. Co-sleeping – Okay, not by the textbook “co-sleeping,” but the girls slept in our room from day one. First, in rock-n-plays next to our beds. Then in one crib, until they started re-enacting WWE moves. At 9 months, we squeezed in their second crib. At the beginning, I would jump up at every noise, sound or gurgle. But, I soon learned to sleep with the 3 other humans near me. Plus, it was cool that I could reach my hand out and touch Taylor, who was only snoring feet away. It was not cool when the girls would start stirring at 6am, see us sleeping soundly, and scream until we picked them.
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Rock ‘n plays are the best for small spaces and travel. They fold up easy and are super light so they can go anywhere. |
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We’re so close we can touch each other AND Mommy & Daddy! |

3. Hang everything – With limited drawer space, I hung all the girls clothes in our master closet. Dresses, PJ’s, pants and onesies. It worked well because I could see everything pretty clearly. It didn’t work well, BECAUSE I HAD TO HANG ALL THEIR STUFF. So many teeny, tiny clothes! It was a pain-staking, mind-numbing task. I usually stored all their socks, bows, shoes, etc. in baskets next to my heels.
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It looks insane but it seriously made sense to me. Like Russell Crowe in A Beautiful Mind |


5. Clean life, happy wife – Clutter is a condo’s middle name. It’s so easy for things to start to build up and look like a hurricane just passed. We were constantly picking up and putting things away to keep some kind of order. To us, it felt organized. To outsiders, I’m pretty sure we looked like hoarders. Plus, cleaning is EASY in 850 square feet. I could dust, sweep, swiffer, vacuum and windex in about an hour or one episode of Real Housewives.
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Note the 2 small children in the bottom left. |

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Rocky ran up those steps! |
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This was obviously pre-twins. I never did this again. |
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City living means walkers in the hallways. |
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Wait, people living in houses smaller than this?! Get out of here. |
We just moved out of our 850 square foot condo earlier this month. We are now living outside Chicago in a beautiful condo that is DOUBLE THE SPACE. I have shelves! Closets! A fireplace! And a laundry room!
But, I have to admit, I already miss those days in our little city condo. It was cramped and at times crazy, but it was always cozy. There were many moments I wished the girls had their own room and I didn’t have to get dressed in the dark, but I know those nights of us all sleeping in one room will never happen again. They say home is where the heart is – which is very true, even if you have to squeeze it into 850 square feet.
Good post! It makes me think twice about being cramped in 1200 sqft. We should be thankful the kids have their own bedroom..
ReplyDeleteOur Little Miracles
welcome to chicago! hopefully you now have enough space to put out all the letters on your floor puzzle ;)
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