First of all, I am so thrilled about this Small Space Living Series. It was inspired by all of YOU and all of the questions you ask me on a daily basis. I asked over on Social Media what you wanted to know and I was flooded with so many good questions. I interviewed about 5 Bloggers (so far) who all live in “small homes”. Which by the way is up for debate on what is considered a small home. When I researched “what is a small home?” The answer- 2500 square feet or smaller.It said the average American home is 2500 square feet and less than that is “small”. I personally consider under 1500 a small h0me. What do you think? Also when I researched size, I noticed a lot of articles along the topic of “Why you will be happier in a small home”. One reason was- Encourages family bonding. A smaller home results in more social interaction among the members of the family. And my interviewee is the perfect example of this!
Today I interviewed Ashley from Arrows and Bows I thought why not start with the person living in the smallest square footage that I know?! Ashley, her husband, their two sons (the arrows) and one darling little girl (the bow) all live in an 180 square foot RV. I found Ashley on Instagram and feel in love with her feed. I honestly don’t follow many on social media (I can get burned out quickly) but she made me hit that follow button with her simple living and focus on family. First off- I think every home needs a Moto or a Mission Statement helps us to get to know their family and also for families to stay on course.
Home Moto
I think our home motto this year and during this season is finding joy in the in-between.
Why a smaller home?
We chose this lifestyle and to live in an RV because last year we sold our 5 bedroom home and bought land to build a house on. We knew we needed a space to live during that “in-between” time and apartments were more than our mortgage was. The RV life just seemed like a crazy adventure that we wanted to go on.
Kitchen:
Where do you keep all of the small appliances and do you have a pantry?
We don’t really have appliances. We have four drawers in the kitchen. One drawer for sliver-ware, one drawer for random utensils, a snack drawer, and a ziplock drawer. Thats it! We also have a cupboard under the sink by the front door that has a few pots and pans and also houses our instant pot. That is our meal maker and life saver. One dish makes everything. We have also come to love paper plates! When hand washing everything, it just gets old fast.
We do have a pantry, it has 2 pull outs in it. I’ve found taking everything out of the boxes saves a ton of room. So cereal just sits in the bag or I put things in ziplock bags to seal it.
Kids and their Toys:
We don’t have any toys really. When we moved in here we got rid of everything. The kids were able to bring some books and a stuffed animal. My older son has a bin of legos and we also have a bin of crafts and some random things they’ve picked up along the way. If they do get a toy we just try to keep it to something that they can create with or play outside (they live in California). I will buy them as many crafts as they want in here, its been amazing to watch their imaginations grow.
Closets:
Before we moved got rid of a lot of stuff, even our clothes. Dino and I both have a cupboard on either side of the bed. In the back we can store some of our shoes and also socks/underwear. Right next to our bed we both have a bin for pants. (They also keep out of season clothes in a separate storage space).
The kids are pretty similar, they each have a bin at the end of their bed. Thats it. If it doesn’t fit in the bin, we don’t keep it. And if we get something new, we get rid of something.
Small Space Living Rapid Fire Questions-
Seasonal Decor- I don’t have any seasonal decor. I purchased a few things this year for Christmas and gave them away after. I do however have a few decor items like a table runner and pots for my plants and I store those in the back of the trailer.
Cleaning Supplies are under the sink and we have a broom but we keep it in the back of the trailer or just outside by the front door, (we use it often!) I mop the floor usually with a clorox wipe and my hand!
Organizing Papers is so easy now because it seems like everything is online. But we do have a little file holder right by the door under the coffee maker.
Entertaining we love to to entertain, especially when its lighter out longer. We sit out by the fire pit and turn on our outdoor lights. We also have people inside, surprisingly there is enough room. We usually have kiddos all stay outside though. Everyone seems to have 3-5 kids, so 8 kids in the trailer is kinda a lot.
Sentimental Items- I am probably the least sentimental person out there. I don’t hold on to much. I love getting rid of things and I just don’t find a lot of true value in stuff. I have a ring my late grandmother gave to me in my jewelry box and Id say thats the most sentimental thing I have. We’ve discovered even more with living here how much we value experiences with each other rather than stuff.
The Hardest Part about living small for us would be the beginning, getting use to the tight quarters. Learning to have grace for yourself and you family members. And then of course the obvious, we miss our washer and dryer a lot!
The Best Part about small space living has been all those things I just said were the hardest. The refining of each one of us, the closeness its brought to the kids and to Dino and I. We are under a microscope and there is no where to hide problems, so we have to work everything all out. And the fact that we don’t have a laundry machine, we end up at friends houses, eating dinner and laughing and fellowshipping or sipping coffee for a few hours. It’s time that I don’t know we would have had with certain friends if we would have had a laundry machine.
Thank you Ashely for this tour and sharing your Small Space Living Tips. This is very encouraging and inspiring. Just seeing how you live with less and thrive. Find Ashely on Instagram HERE @arrowsandbows. Stay tuned for more Small Space Living Blog Posts, including mine!
Video Tour- Small Space Living Series- 180 Square Feet RV Tour
I think this is going to be a great series! This gal did a fabulous job with an old, outdated trailer. I love seeing people do this sort of thing…………….as opposed to just getting brand new! What creativity it takes. Looking forward to the next installment.
I love this! I cannot wait for more of this series!
Love this! Just proves you don’t need much to be happy in life! Good reminder.
thanks, Brooke!!
-Monica
Wow, what a cool place. I can see a lot of your taste in her home. Curious if when they build their home, they’ll make it a lot smaller than they would have thought in the beginning. Thanks for sharing.
WOW 2500 sq ft is considered small? We upgraded and our new house is 2500 and it is huge. Reading your blog makes me miss some aspects of our cozy little 1948 house that we moved out of.
I too, am looking forward to this series. Our home is 1400-ish square feet, but I LOVE IT. I’m always looking for ways to organize and maximize storage. Not really because I have to, but because I want to.
The is the best series I’ve come across in a long time. According to the research I have a small home. This will be a great encouragement to me. Thank you for doing it.
Thanks Pam!!