5 Things You Can Do Without when Living in a Small Space

Over the years our family grew but our space didn’t. Though we’re now a family of 5, we continue to live in a small space and as result, we’ve had to remove certain things in order for the space to function better for our family. The following are 5 things that we’ve managed to live without.

1. A coffee table

Since we have young children, a coffee table actually acts as a hazard in our small space. We removed ours years ago and just left the space open so that our kids have space to play. My husband Kiran also uses the open space in the living room for his at-home workouts. That's why we have an extra-large yoga mat instead of a rug. It's perfect for working out, to use as a playmat and it's a neutral colour that's easy to clean!

2. A dining table

Our condo doesn’t have space for a dining area, so we also got rid of our table and chairs when we moved in. We did have stools so that we could sit at our island, but our youngest child would always climb the stools and could get hurt, so we also put those away in storage for future use. We now have a table that folds if we ever need a large table. We also have two small children’s tables and chairs that can easily be moved around. Our children use those for eating dinner and doing crafts. My husband and I just eat on the sofa and we have laptop supports that we can place on our laps if we ever need a hard surface.

3. Books

We donated most of our books since they were never re-read. We only kept some of our favourites and ones that we plan on reading in the near future. Now we just get our books from the library or listen to audiobooks using audible. Get your first audiobook for free here.

4. Excess Toys

I wish I could just get rid of all of our children’s toys, but unfortunately, I can’t since they still play with them. But I do pay attention to what they play with and what they don’t and declutter often. They also collect a lot of little random toys from birthday parties and Happy Meals, so I make sure to toss those regularly.

5. Excess Clothing

Before becoming aware of minimalism, we had accumulated a lot of clothing. We have since done many purges and continue to reduce the number of pieces in our wardrobes. We’re working towards creating capsule wardrobes for the entire family. This is quite a process and needs to be continuously worked on. If you’d like to get started, download my free capsule wardrobe guide for some tips.

In this video, I shared some of my top space-saving organization tips. Check it out if you need help maximizing the space in your home.

Often, we don’t need more space, we just need less stuff. Over the years I have learned that what I was doing wrong was that I was always trying to organize clutter. The first step is to declutter. If you need help decluttering and organizing your home step-by-step, sign up for my Clear the Clutter Membership. I will guide you through the entire process room by room and show what systems you need to implement so that all of it is easy to maintain.