SMALL HOME LIVING TIPS | Family of 5 in a 950 square foot home | How we make it work

#smallhomes #smallhouse
Today I am sharing how we make it work to live in a less than 1000 square foot home as a family of 5.
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/ @daveekilian
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MAKING THE MOST OF OUR SMALL HOME: • SMALL HOME living idea...
SMALL BATHROOM RENOVATION: • Small Bathroom Renovat...
WEEKLY CLEANING ROUTINE:
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ANTIQUE & FLEA MARKET TRIP:
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A DAY OF HOMEMAKING | GET IT ALL DONE RELAXED STYLE:
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RELAXED AND COZY EVENING OF FALL DECORATING:
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DAILY FAVORITES AS A HOMEMAKER:
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About me:
I am a small town momma who enjoys all things homemaking, simple and thrifted living, and motherhood! My family consists of a wonderful husband, Blaze, two little girls, and our dog, Maggie. I enjoy sharing my simple life through homemaking with all of you and glorifying the Lord in the process.
Connect with me:
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Send some snail mail: I'd love to hear from you!
200 East Park Ave.
Viborg SD 57070

[@OldWorldHome]

Smaller homes force you to only surround yourself with the things you love, truly a blessing! Lower costs is definitely an upside too ✨

[@DaveeKilian]

Well said!

[@selestewithans]

So refreshing . I feel now these days KZbinrs want to show off their huge homes and all these gadgets, it’s just way too common and for me boring. There’s something about a “smaller” home that for me feels like a “home” and decorated beautifully such a yours that I love …ty for the great tips ❤

[@DaveeKilian]

Thank you.

[@KristenKing-]

I feel the same way! I really lose interest when KZbinrs move into their mansions. It’s not relatable anymore.

[@jacquelynroe9036]

So true!

[@tinaq.566]

We raised 7 children in about 1200 square feet. I always made sure everything had a place it belonged, kept tables and counters clear and everyone made their beds to help keep the place presentable. Most evenings after dinner we set a timer and did a 15 minute tidy up. I will say that I let my children leave games set up and projects out if they planned on returning to it, so our house definitely could have a more "lived-in" vibe at times. Lol.

[@DaveeKilian]

Those are great ideas. Yes, I do think it is totally okay to leave some things out if they plan to play with them shortly.

[@NobodySpecial509]

There are 4 of us in a just under 1500sq foot home… I love it, and could definitely go smaller honestly! Small homes are the best homes! ❤

[@candacekesting1786]

I grew up in a small home. My mother did all the things you suggested and it was always neat and clean. However I loved my grandmother's large two story home so very much. I ended up in a small cute as a button home and am very happy here.

[@angietrammell1317]

I absolutely agree with you and all your great tips! I raised my 3 children in a 2 bedroom 980 sq ft home. I still love that home and the memories surrounding it. I cried at times for year's after we moved.

[@DaveeKilian]

Love it!!

[@kbgonzalez957]

Yes please do a home tour. ❤❤

[@suzannecorey4692]

I lives in a small home when I was a child. It was lovely.

[@jinxie228]

GREAT tips! We started gifting experiences with our granddaughters several years ago. On their birthday month, that child gets to pick where they want to go (from the options we have available at the time). We spend all day with them, creating memories. Then I put any photos, memorabilia in a book (I have one for each child). They can look through it when they are here. Then once a month we take all of our grandchildren out and about, movies, parks, museums, for the day or weekend. We get to enjoy attending their extracurricular activities at school and summer programs too. They are gifting us wonderful memories! I recently gave away several projects that I had planned on making but never got around to them. It felt good to let them go and the person getting them is thrilled to have all the supplies needed to complete the project. Win Win!

[@tulipp246]

What a lovely gift for your grandchildren! And for their parents as well!

[@DaveeKilian]

That is so wonderful for you! The kids will remember those times and cherrish those moments.

[@jannier9766]

I love that you mention windows and window coverings making a difference! We live in a 1500 sq foot home. Even big homes can become cluttered. We have a family member who has over 4,000 sq feet for just 2 people and they have it cluttered with excessive stuff, expensive stuff- but clutter is clutter. I find great value in space and brightness.

[@DaveeKilian]

Stuff can really be a hard thing for so many people and can crowd their lives emotionally and physically.

[@txspacemom765]

This was normal in the 1980's. I miss this way of life. Things that work for us and might be outside the norm: No tv, tv stand or anything like that. Yep, none. More space in our living room and we have shelves filled with books, reading chairs and lamps and an old radio to listen too. I challenge myself to have nothing in storage, outside of a Christmas tree and 1 box of decor for Christmas. There are 3 of us, so we each have 1 medium sized bin for out of season clothing (But I am working on eliminating these also.) Everything we need for the house, we try to buy second hand. It forces us to slow down, think about if we really need something, and finding just the right item, because we cannot have multiples. I do a declutter/deep clean/refresh every 3 to 4 months, to go with the seasons. Even if I remove just 1 or 2 things, it helps greatly. We are a family of 3, living in 854 square feet, 2 bedroom, 1.5 bath with small laundry, living, kitchen and a small 4 season porch.

[@DaveeKilian]

Wow, you are doing wonderful! I need to work on less seasonal decor.

[@Kimmy-rh1ry]

I too live in a 900 square foot cottage. We have a rather large outdoor area, but the living space is small. It has forced us to only keep things we love. I love small home living tho. Bills are lower, easy to clean and furnish, and smaller spaces seem more manageable to me. We have a large garage and shed, so we use those for storage as closet space in a cottage is tight. With this economy, small living seems to be the trend

[@DaveeKilian]

The outdoor space really is helpful as well as having extra outside of the home storage. It still is wise though to keep a minimal home when it is small.

[@chrissyt6959]

I have lived in small, medium and large homes. I prefer the smaller or shall I say smaller than average homes. Your home is cozy and sweet.

[@angelab4518]

We used to live in a 807sft apartment with 2 bedrooms 1 bath as a family of 7 until our youngest was almost 2 and the oldest 10. My husband self employed working at his PC in our bedroom. It was quite central in a city of 100.000, 3rd floor, no balcony, no garden. After 6 years of looking for a bigger place (We first wanted to move when I got pregnant with our 3rd) we moved last year into a 4 bedroom 1 bath apartment that has 1227sft and a big terrace of 625sft. Again central in a city if 60.000. Much better though not really our choice, but German landlords prefer no kids double income. Now we expect our 6th and I'm glad we never waited until we had more space cause we would still have 3 kids. You can make everything work. Sometimes I remind myself of how families live in 3rd world countries. Who says I deserve better than them? Yet I have so much more space and luxury. What's hardest for me as an highly sensitive introvert is that there is no real quiet place for me unless all kids are asleep. The same goes for my husband who needs to work in the midst of it all, it's not easy. And I always have to take kids to the park, I can't just send them out to play on their own in the streets while I work at home. What I like, less cleaning. ;) Blessings to all of you who live in not ideal places.

[@DaveeKilian]

Wow! What a neat living story. You really made the most of your small space and not even a large outdoor space.

[@HomeHealthandEverythingElse]

Great tips Davee! We are downsizing now in preparation in moving and I will definitely use some of these tips. Thank you!

[@jacquelynroe9036]

I loved this! We are a family of 5 in ~1300 sq ft. I remember when I was pregnant with my second baby, some (lovely, well-meaning) family and friends said that that meant we’d need a bigger house. Well, we had another baby after that and are still going strong in our “small” house. The only time I’d like more space, or at least a second bathroom, is when we have family come to visit. But I find I actually enjoy the challenge of figuring out how to use our space as cleverly and efficiently as possible ☺️ It’s also less impactful on the environment to live in a smaller space 💛

[@DaveeKilian]

We got many of those comments too:) Yes, the bathroom can sometimes get a bit crowded when family stays, but we make it work.

[@sherylmorris9646]

Very few live in that much. You keep it real!

[@mildredbc5425]

Thank you for all the great tips!🏡💕🤗

[@stephanieblanco7055]

Love the tip on having smaller furniture items. We were gifted a large 8 seater dining set and we outgrew it. Now we have a thrifted 4 seater with 2 high chairs. The irony.

[@DaveeKilian]

So true!

[@bonniegarland4236]

Great video- you have a beautiful home!

[@noemisolano4748]

Having a smaller house is less cleaning and cleaning is done quicker. I just downsized to a smaller home and I love it! I don't need much things so it was easier to declutter my clothes and other stuff. I definitely shredded a bunch of papers that I didn't need. Lower costs is definitely a plus with a tiny home especially now that everything is expensive. Thanks for the tips! ❤️❤️

[@DaveeKilian]

Thanks for sharing!!

[@marjorielass3118]

Very helpful tips!

[@SarahsOctoberHome]

Your home is so cozy & pretty.🫶🏻

[@thriftytashi429]

Great tips! Its only my husband and I without children at the moment and there are moments I felt we needed more space. However, by simplifying our life, decluttering and minimum decor we have more space to work with. ☺

[@JP-nl4dp]

Homes are too large today. When I was a kid, 1000 to 1200 square feet was average where I live in Canada. I agree with others that large homes result in people having stuff that doesn’t necessarily bring joy.

[@widowswatch6610]

Please do a home tour. Everything I saw looks great too. Good tips.

[@mehrit1648]

Thanks for sharing.

[@sallieredman7349]

Yes to a tour Please.

[@annetteramsey4627]

Oh man the clothes can really get out of hand! I’m still pairing down my clothes started this last year! Vertical space is huge most people don’t think about that. I come from a family of 10 ,8 kids . And we lived in a smaller house.

[@Hannah-bd4je]

I would love a house tour!

[@carolharner4472]

I've been needing to simplify, and this is giving me encouragement to start by living with less stuff! Thank you!

[@DaveeKilian]

You are so welcome!

[@erikastanger7848]

I love this! We moved from an 1800 square foot, older home in western NY, and here in TN, you can't even find an older home in our area. We have 3 teens, and we just moved into a 2800 square foot home, and it's considered on the smaller side for our area. 😳 i almost didn't even look at it because i thought it would be too big. It turns out it's a great size for 5 almost full sized people, plus out of town guests, and I'm making it into the cozy cottage that i want. I will never want the 4,000 square foot homes that everyone here wants.

[@lynnek4226]

I’ve lived in both large homes and small homes and I prefer living in a small home. My current home is just under 1500 sf. It’s less work, easy to clean and less expensive to maintain. I’d love to see a tour!

[@maureenvandine7882]

Lovely❤

[@kellipetrat108]

Hon , don't worry about the size of house that you have. Because when I was growing up in Texas, we lived in a ranch style house and that size was the norm . Now a days everyone thinks they still need all that rm and you don't actually need to have all that rm . I truly believe that everyone should live within their mean or under their means if at all possible. Shows humility and we all should be living like that .

[@DaveeKilian]

Living within ones means is not the norm, but yes, it should be practiced more.

[@mamaea6129]

Great tips. I’m always looking for ways to manage my home more efficiently

[@DaveeKilian]

Glad it was helpful!

[@mossyoakmom8880]

We raised our children in a 950 sq ft home out of necessity. Mom, dad 3 kids. Our oldest was 18 when we moved to a home that is about 1600 sq ft. Our 950 home was way too small. Your children grow and they need more space. When there cousins came to visit, we had no room for their luggage so it basically stayed in the entry way. When I wanted to sew I had to use both the kitchen and living room, having fabric, sewing machines etc all over the place. It truly isn’t ideal. Tiny home people like to romanticize it but it’s anything but. Your child only get bigger and you run out of space.

[@RuhNay]

your home is beautiful

[@heatherinparis]

You must not be surrounded by neighbours or have traffic driving by your home constantly if you are comfortable with no blinds or curtains at your windows! We would be constantly on display with bare windows.

[@DaveeKilian]

We do have blinds, maybe I didn't state that clearly.

[@MarkSmith-lv9mv]

Yep, I grew up in 940 square foot home and there were 5 of us.

[@debraspringers2098]

Great tips your home is so cozy and warm! You and your family have a nice weekend!

[@stephanieblanco7055]

I thought I was being too picky, constantly decluttering my home. We're downsizing from 1900 sq ft in the city to 1000 sq ft in a small town. Renting has been our stepping stone to have that starter by 2026.

[@DaveeKilian]

Decluttering often is good no matter the size of home:)

[@lorecarabailey935]

Iam new ❤I love your channel

[@MaryB.333]

Thanks for the tips! And yes to a home tour!!!❤ We are a family of 5 and a cat😂 living in a 1970's 1800 sq ft home. We love living here and it's not small but not average or huge and we always get people asking us when will we upsize. It's like this pressure to always go bigger until you retire. We don't want a bigger home. (We also have no basement)

[@DaveeKilian]

I'm not sure when it became so important to have big homes. They aren't a bad thing if they are used well and people don't go into major debt with it, but at this time in our lives we enjoy the small space.

[@lillivaughn8655]

Hi, Davee. Our three son's shared a room most of there lives as we had each child. One set of bunk beds and another twin. Under bed plastic containers each full of cars, legos, etc. under beds. Book shelves and a dresser. We got creative with their decor. I enjoyed making do and figuring out how to organize things throughout our home. You seem like you're on top of all that. God bless your family.

[@DaveeKilian]

I love this. It's encouraging to hear others that make it work.

[@lindaanderson1016]

We had 6 or occasionally 7 with an elder in 1400 sf owned house once we left a 900sf apartment..... Small home living also pushes kids outdoors. I took my kids to FL nature trails and playgrounds at least two hours a day, plus they used our yards. Emphasis on scripture,church, good food,friends ,experiences, skills, historical sites, libraries , tech and some chores ,pets and responsibilities. It was hard for them to see the peers with finer clothes, more media and big parties at the time.( I regret with the older kids we did not try harder to get them in-style clothing. ) . Currently many millennial peers have not adjusted well to reality of the employment and housing market . It was so beneficial to wait and work for what you want. I recommend kids being involved in elder care, AWANA clubs, real food prep, reading classics. Our kids have all worked to have their wants and needs. They still seek out travel to national parks, gyms, books, good friends...girls are still thrifting for fun. The problem is me and my husband's clutter.

[@DaveeKilian]

Thanks for sharing. Yes I do agree with you on so much of what you said. Working for what we want and need seems like a foreign concept for so many young people these days.

[@viralprimenetwork]

I absolutely loved watching your video about small home living tips! It's incredible to see how your family of 5 makes the most out of your 950 square foot home.We sent you an email, we would love to connect and collaborate with you🙂.

[@WifetoJohn]

Good tips! Thanks! -We are family of seven living in 1268 sq ft and it’s just fine. 🥰 We all need much less than we think.

[@DaveeKilian]

So true!

[@lisaremy4817]

Hi Davee. I think your home is beautiful and cozy. My Husband and I have been in the same small house since 1988. It was about 1100 square feet. We only had two Sons and we did need more space but we just never wanted to love or have higher property taxes. Long story short, we are retired and now I am so glad we never got a bigger house because this one is just manageable enough for me. I can’t imagine having to clean a bigger house. I love my home and am so glad we stayed. ❤

[@DaveeKilian]

Thank you. Glad you chose to stay in a smaller home.

[@gerigowers8318]

I went from an 1000 SF ranch in NJ (29 years) to a 2400 SF home in SC (almost 19 years). This house is as full of stuff as the smaller house was. Almost wish I had stayed in the smaller home. I have a lot of clutter (son and 2 granddaughters now live with me) and I have rooms that serve no real purpose (i.e., living room and a sunroom, dining room that no one uses). I watch Old World Home and she's done wonders with her home up North. My Granddaughters and son are now visiting up there and my 14 year old says I should have stayed in Jersey.😂

[@DaveeKilian]

Isn't interesting how we can fill our homes with "stuff" no matter the size. Yes, Hilary has done a great job with her home.

[@lindasmith5190]

Do you think you will ever make your basement space into a bedroom?

[@DaveeKilian]

Yes. That is a future plan of ours.

[@flyingcloudsmoore1313]

Only one bathroom to clean.