Finding Rhythm In A Small Space
Here's what I mean.
Many website devote time to the ease of living in a small space. They write, "a small space is easy to clean." TRUE
"In a small space everything has it's place." TRUE
The thing they don't tell you is how MESSY your space can get in a hurry. Take today for instance. We got three packages of various sizes from Amazon. The process of opening these three boxes, making space for the items, finding room for the boxes and then re-packaging the largest item to send back, made our coach look like a bomb had gone off.
I literally had to sit down and "breathe" through the stress of the mess on two different occasions, and this is NOT a one time experience. It happens nearly every day. (gotta love the SMALL SPACE challenges)
We have lived in our coach about 2 months and I am already ready to TOSS THINGS to increase the feeling of spaciousness.
Here are the routines which are helping me process small space living.
#1 I straighten EVERYTHING before I go to bed.
For some reason, this gives me a sense of order. When I climb into bed I know that everything is in it's place. I don't vacuum or dust, I just make sure everything is put away. Unfortunately, I go to bed late and my husband often gets up early. By the time I get up, he has had a good 4 hours in the coach to "spread out."
(Limited space means sharing)
#2 I clean every morning
Each day I make the bed and remove cat hair (oh the joys of being a 4 cat family). This is not an easy process because our King size bed is shoved into a Queen size space. It's a tight fit. From there I work my way forward cleaning counters and floors, putting things in the kitchen away, vacuuming, resetting the pillows and removing stray cat hair wherever possible. Brian cleans the cat boxes and I vacuum the excess litter.
This process takes me about 30-45 minutes depending on how many things have to be moved or worked around. I am still finding systems to help me speed up my morning routine. I think I can get this process down to 20 minutes but it hasn't happened yet.
(note: I have since bought a Dyson vacuum and it has cut my cleaning time down significantly. Cleaning is about systems and that can take time to establish in a new space.)
#3 I am learning to be reasonable
This space is not going to stay clean when we are both working inside. I have to face it. It's not a disaster, its just not perfect and I have to let that go.
When we lived in our 2,000 square foot loft I had a hard time adjusting because I could see from one end of the house to the other. There was no hiding space. In order to feel things were in order EVERYTHING had to be put away in it's place or I could see "the mess" from each and every room. Eventually I adapted.
Thank God I learned that lesson so I can practice it in our 389 square feet, small space.