A measuring tape was our best friend when furnishing our 1070 sq. ft space. Any furniture we would buy had to fit well and provide storage. We learnt the hard way that measuring at floor level, instead of from wall to wall, is imperative because the thickness of baseboards cause problems when space is at a premium. We made use of every nook and cranny to the extent possible. In doing so, a number of awkward spaces became functional and we were left with a fair amount of walking space. This post focuses on what products worked best for our needs. We converted the cloak closet to a pantry as the kitchen does not offer adequate storage. Wire shelving and clear Sterilite Latch Boxes and Flip Top Boxes offer a clear view of what we have. This saves us time when making grocery lists and simplifies some mealtimes as the kids are able to point out what they want for a snack or breakfast. A narrow space in the pantry (to the right of the shelving) was ideal for a wall mounted bro...

Meal planning is a daunting task but looking at the credit card statement after weeks of mostly eating out is horrifying. We are making a huge effort to eat-in and my husband packs his lunches. We just ended our first three week period of our new meal plan. We've determined that a Costco order every three weeks ($300), a once weekly supermarket trip ($50) and one or two online orders of dry goods ($40) is adequate for our family. This works out roughly to about $700 per month or about $5 per person per day. This calculation does not include occasional, non-essential, eating out - about $60 every two weeks. Soon after the big Costco order was received, I spent an entire day prepping, cooking and freezing meals so as to minimize spoiling of fresh veggies. I split the supersize bag of spinach and froze one half for use in pasta and quiche type dishes. The other half was refrigerated for use in salads and sandwiches. Crustless Vegetable Quiche What we ate: Crustless Veget...

An overseas posting means free housing, utilities and home maintenance. A stateside posting means you are on your own and with less money because you no longer receive the allowances to which you have become accustomed. You are left to figure out where you can afford to live and what to do with all your stuff. Not just the stuff you accumulated while overseas but also all the stuff you placed in storage before you went overseas. Many of us cannot afford the square footage to accommodate all the stuff. So we purge ( click for tips on what to do with all the stuff ) or we go into debt and pay for comfort. Our 90 boxes in our old living/dining room Before making our most recent move we thought long and hard about what would work best for our family. We made the choice to forgo a house with a yard further out in favor of a small apartment with a short commute to work for my husband. It is important to us that the kids see Daddy before bed every night. We have also chosen to not o...

Our family of five recently downsized from a four bedroom townhouse to a 1070 sq. ft. apartment and we have no regrets. We are committed to keeping only the things we need and love, and letting everything else go - a simpler life beckons. Our 1070 sq. ft. space We've sold, gifted and trashed a staggering amount of stuff this last year and our journey to a well organized, uncluttered life continues. Getting rid of things is not easy. Our best efforts to get started are typically thwarted by sentimental attachment, how much the item cost when we acquired it, what we perceive the current value to be, the thought of how much work is required to dispose of the items, and so on. We move a lot. My husband's job requires that we pack up all our worldly belongings every few years and move to a different country, possibly a different continent. Necessity propels us, motivates us, to start our cleaning out with the things that weigh the most or take up the most space. The ar...