Have you downsized with a growing family?

[ShoeWhore]

And how did it go?

We're looking at relocating and our budget isn't going to go half as far in the new location. Our 3 dcs are all primary age so while we aren't planning any new additions they are definitely growing up fast!

We're a bit spoilt for space at the moment as housing is relatively cheap where we live. Where we're moving to, we'll be realistically looking at losing a bedroom and having much smaller rooms overall.

If you've done something similar I'd love to hear how it went. did you find it easy/difficult to adjust to the smaller space? do you have any regrets? Any advice for me?

I am about to do it (to sell my house and buy a 2 bed maisonette without a garden) for a better area and schools. As the offers have been made and accepted, to be honest I am getting very cold feet! Everyone around me brags about needing more space, not less.

How is it in comparison your current and your new place?

I would look for somewhere that you could make bigger if you got desperate.

Room to add/increase conservatory for a cheaper increase of living space. Garden space for a summer house? Could be used as a playroom and gives more space in the bedrooms.

Or maybe a place with scope to extend, like an up and over extension above a garage?

I think you need to find something with some sort of potential.

Do the house your looking at come with a dining room?

And look for storage potential, airing cupboards etc.

littlecrystal I know what you mean! I am trying to be really ruthless in decluttering but I am still v nervous about the whole idea.

Thanks clargo - we are on the lookout for a property with some extension potential but not seeing a lot tbh - most houses I've seen come up for sale in the area we want to move to seem to have already had this work done!

One positive thing is that as they get older they tend to have smaller "toys"!!!

Clever storage is your friend something that uses the height of rooms - and of course as they get older they can reach higher etc.

We had to do this last yr when we moved down south and effectively lost a room. We only have one DC at the mo so we still have enough bedrooms but we are thinking of adding to our family... Luckily we did manage to find a house with extension potential.

It has been really hard - the only house we could afford was over budget, too small for all our stuff, on the outskirts of the village rather than in the sought after centre and in need of massive renovations. We had huge clear outs before we left our last home and the new garage and attic have been a godsend but both are bursting at the seams and I still feel crammed in.

The extension is what keeps me going! That and the big garden (used to only have a tiny yard). If you can't find somewhere with space for an extension, definitely try to get a garage. Good luck!

We moved from a 2 bed house in the Midlands to a 2 bed flat in London. Same no. of rooms but each room smaller and no garden. We didn't have much choice but don't regret it at all. We stopped spending so much time at home and use more amenities in town (easy in London as so many parks, free activities etc). We've been very strict about limiting our family size as the flat is really the absolute minimum we could cope with for our family size. I long for a utility room and my own office but I'm coping with drying laundry in the bathroom and having a corner of the living room for now.

Laundry is definitely an issue. I'm using the tumble dryer a lot more and only hang the laundry up inside if I have to as the only place for the airer is the lounge - not ideal! Roll on spring when I can get it outside again!

That's what I'm hoping random although I think we have a fair few years of Lego ahead of us yet [yet]

Good point about the laundry - will need a plan on that one!

Will def think about storage as well. Am trying to seriously reduce our belongings as well, I think that's going to be key.

I'm hoping it will be so much quicker to clean the house that I won't care?! Maybe?

[yet] ??! I of course meant

We didnt downsize exactly, but similar sized house in a new location which was twice the price almost, and then we added another child into the mix.

I think as a pp has said, look for somewhere with potential. We have planning permission but no money for an extension and whilst a 3 bed semi is (and has been for the 3 yrs we've been here) too small for a family of 5, it will be big enough one day.

And the pay off is well worth it. We love the area, have really put down roots and the children go to a brilliant school.

We are in the process of doing the same op as we want to reduce our mortgage & energy bills. We currently live in a very spacious 4 bed Edwardian semi. The houses we are looking at are over 100k cheaper than we've sold for & inevitably space is going to be the sacrifice as we need to remain in the same area. I'll let you know in 12 months how it's going

Obviously the lego storage kit is essential research then. We made great use of tall trofast with deep then shallow trays. Also sturdy enough to store things on top.

Sets of tall/high drawers for bedrooms. We got wardrobes that maximised shelf space too. Huge under bed drawers etc.

Oh small house - def quick to clean

We have a compact 3 bed - 18' x 22' plus a tag on tiny porch that houses a 2nd loo. We had the loft made into a storage room with a paddle staircase - fab as the rest of the house has no storage at all. Not enough head height to put a habitable room up there unfortunately.