When you find out the big news that your baby is on its way, you start thinking about nursery furniture and all the other amazing, cute baby stuff. But… what if you’re still living in a small flat and you’re expecting?
For most people the image of an expecting mother or a mother with kids is matched with a house in the suburbs, yet life has its own ways. Life can’t be predicted and more and more couples face the challenge of growing their kids in apartments.
Living in a small flat is not easy for one, but when there are three or more, it might get a little crowded. However, if you are in a small flat there are chances you live in a large city, like New York City or San Francisco, which comes with lots of advantages. So, forget about moving out and let’s start making the best out of that small flat, getting ready for the life with a baby.
1. Think outside the box
When you want to adapt the flat for a baby you need to think outside the box. Look at every room and visualize it without any furniture. Then, start adding the must-haves in the room, still in your mind. This will give you an idea on how the rooms can be changed and how to move the furniture to maximize the available space in each room. The next step is actually getting rid of all the excessive furniture and start moving it around the house, experimenting with different settings, until you find the best placement.
2. Use all the available space
All homes have those awkward, small spaces where you can’t place any type of furniture. Well, use them as storage space! Fill the small corners and nooks with all the items you rarely use, such as warm blankets that only come in handy during the winter months.
3. Migrate on the vertical
When your baby is going to be old enough to crawl and walk, your stuff will always be in his or her hands. To prevent this from happening and gain some room, migrate your stuff on the vertical. For example, if you were storing the knives on the counter, now store them on a magnetic strip. If you used to store the pans in a drawer, hang them on the wall. If you used to keep the TV remote, books and other small things on the coffee table, hang some shelves on a wall to store them up.
4. Re-purpose and Re-use
One of the greatest lifehacks for small apartments is repurposing your stuff. I love to put the suitcases to work and store things I don’t need on a daily basis on them. If you are expecting, you can use the suitcases to store the baby clothes or things which don’t fit him or her yet. Then, you can stack the suitcases, which gives you even more opportunities, as well as a stand for your books or something else.
5. Be practical
Babies grow up fast and they need lots of things, so it’s a good option to rely on Craiglist for your baby’s needs. As soon as the baby outgrows an item, you can change or sell it, instead of storing it.
When you go shopping pick the practical version of the item you need and aim for versatile, multipurpose gear, which can be adapted as the baby grows or repurposed in the future. Look for collapsible, foldable and flippable items, which can double as something else. For example, you can get a flippable changing table, which doesn’t take up space when you don’t use it.
6. Embrace white noise machines
Apart from all the room-maximizing lifehacks for small apartments, you need to adapt to the new environment. This means the baby also has to adapt to your lifestyle. A white noise machine is going to make it easier for both you and the baby, as you can turn it on to cover your noise, TV’s noise or the baby’s noise. And in a small apartment, this is always a great benefit!
Bottom line, if you are expecting there is no need to worry about living in a small space. Just be creative and look for new ways to do old things and everything will be fine in the end.
Featured photo credit: Unsplash via unsplash.com
