Tips on Downsizing to a Smaller Home with a Large Family

Most Americans are facing a common dilemma as the economy spirals out of control...face possible foreclosure or downgrade to a smaller, more wallet-friendly home. The choice seems simple, but families with children face the added burden of combining several lives under one much smaller roof while maintaining a little sanity. If you're ready to make the transition but you aren't quite sure how things will work out, consider the following tips on downsizing to a smaller home with a large family.

Tip #1: If it isn't a linen closet, it's a potential bedroom. Downsizing to a smaller home with a large family means viewing every inch of space with new eyes. Rooms that are often viewed as extra space or storage areas in older homes can be conveniently and easily transformed into small bedrooms by removing doors, installing dividers, and/or even creating windows. While this option wouldn't work well for adults, in most cases being creative with these spaces provides children with interesting and fun bedrooms offering the same amount of space that a shared room would have provided.

Tip #2: If it's a large linen closet, it's a potential office. If you are moving your large family into an older home, you may be surprised to find a higher amount of storage closets and rooms than you need. Don't waste extra closets and excess storage space by piling them up with things that could otherwise be discarded. Transform extra, large storage closets into office space with portable computer desks for homework time (and for your own use). While the kids may be used to computers in their own rooms, this trick will give them what they need without taking up scarce bedroom space.

Tip #3: If you're dividing a bedroom for the kids, do it right. One of the hardest parts about downsizing to a smaller home with a large family is deciding how to allocate limited bedrooms evenly. More and more families are forced to combine bedrooms for two siblings in order to save on housing costs. While not an earth shattering problem, the chaos that can erupt as a result of two children living in such close proximity is more than a little frightening. The core of this problem usually finds its roots in the fact that each child simply wants his/her own personal space to call their own. Therefore, go crazy with the details of the division. Give one entire half of the room to one child. From paint colors to posters to furnishings, let one side belong completely to one person. Even better? Let the kids create their own dividing line with a long stretch of tape on the carpet or a dividing curtain. Tacky? Sure. But you only have your kids once, so let them enjoy their limited space in your new home (while you enjoy a little more peace).

Tip #4: When downsizing to a smaller home with a large family, take a long hard look at the yard. When downsizing to smaller houses, many parents neglect to take advantage of any available yard space. Create outdoor "rooms" for the kids with club houses and outdoor equipment for extended play (a must when indoor space is limited). For the adults, a small outdoor entertaining area is crucial for adding space to the home.

Tip #5: When downsizing your home, attics and basements are no longer storage areas. Ok, so you won't be able to immediately turn that leaky basement or that stuffy attic into bedrooms for the kids. After all, such renovations cost a great deal of money, and the point of moving into a smaller home was to save. Until you can afford to remodel, use attics and basements for extra "move around" space that you won't have in the main floor of the house. Laundry folding, gift wrapping, assembly of electronics and toys, and other space eating projects can take place in these areas in order to prevent clutter and traffic jams on the main floor.

Tip #6: If it's a corner, it's a storage unit waiting to happen. Another major problem for large families downsizing to smaller homes is finding a place to store toys, books, knick knacks, memorabilia, etc., for the kids. Keeping these items out and on display is essential to easy access and cleanup if they are used often. Instead of packing them away in a drawer or box to get lost or forgotten, install inexpensive corner shelves into each room. Unlike regular shelving units, corner shelves only take away from generally unused space (rather than jutting out into walking and playing areas). One corner can hold 3-5 shelves at a child's eye level with relative ease.

Finally, keep in mind that downsizing to a smaller home with kids doesn't have to be a disaster. Learning how to utilize every inch of space will be a valuable skill in the future, no matter what the size of your next home may be. Not only that, but staying a little closer together might not be such a bad thing after all.