A Guide to Living in an Apartment with Kids

Living in an Apartment with Kids

We aren’t currently an apartment family but I still love sharing tips on living in small spaces with kids. A few months back I received an email from a long time reader saying she had referred a friend to my blog for tips on apartment family living. But then… she saw that we had moved to a house.

I haven’t abandoned my small dwelling families or condo families. Promise. We lived with kids in apartments for eight years and we may well live in an apartment with teenagers someday. We now live in a house but I’m still sharing space saving strategies (it’s not a big house).  My series on families living with less stuff also has a wealth of new posts on apartment families.

I wanted to share a round up of some of my popular and practical posts about living in an apartment with kids. This includes shared kids rooms, how to reduce kid clutter so you don’t feel squeezed in your space and what to do when you feel like the apartment walls are closing in. As well, I’ll share some of my favourite apartment family blogs that showcase small space family living.

Minimalist Mom Blog Posts for Apartment Families

Small Space Living with a Baby: A friction point when you bring that first baby home to your one bedroom apartment is baby gear. Lots of solutions in this post including cribs for small spaces and those things you really don’t need.

Three Kids in One Bedroom: we’re still living with all the kids – now ages 3, 5 and 8 – in one bedroom. One of my best shared bedroom ideas for a small space are these IKEA hacked toddler bunk beds. We are, sadly, close to having the oldest outgrow these small but mighty bunk beds. Is a triple bunk in our future?

Fewer (but better) toys: it’s not always the lack of bedrooms that pushes families out of apartments. It’s too much kid stuff. A good start is streamlining toys and finding creative ways to expand your toy collection without owning all the toys. And less kid clothing. We fit all three boys clothing in one modest sized dresser and that saves us a lot of space .

How We Live in an Apartment with Three Little Kids: most of us are trading off square feet for easy access to amenities when we live in an apartment. Here’s how we maximized used of those amenities when we returned to the city with three kids after living overseas for four years. Living in an apartment with kids is doable, wonderful and possible!

My Favourite Minimalist Family Blogs and City Living Blogs

Reading Your Tea Leaves: tiny living in NYC with two kids! Take a peak inside this Brooklyn-ite’s home as her family thrives in a tiny space.

5Kids1Condo: we used to live next door to Adrian and his five kids. Great info on his blog about making your rooms multi-purpose. Plus: triple bunk beds!

Mama in the City: okay, they did just move to a townhouse but Andrea has great ideas and a practical perspective on small city living with kids. This mother of three has great tips and tools for staying sane in small homes.

600sqft: Alyson also lives in Vancouver with two kids in a one bedroom apartment. Yep, the kids have the bedroom and the parents have a Murphy bed. Her blog shares beautiful ways to keep your apartment manageable with kids. She works as a designer so the aesthetic is beautiful and extremely functional. You can see a tour of her apartment on the Cup of Jo blog along with her best tactics for living small with kids.