How to make a small home feel less cluttered?

[Lovemusic33]

I live in a small 3 bed with my 2 teen DD’s, DD1 has a single room, it’s almost a box room and due to it having 2 windows and the airing cupboard it’s not a great room, it fits in a single bed and wardrobe. Dd2 has severe ASD and is in what I would call the smallest box room, her single bed only just fits in, a small chest of drawers and enough floor space to open the door (though at the moment I can’t hardly open the door), she spends a lot of time in her room as she struggles being around people, she has no space to really do much in there. Dd1’s room is a typical messy teens room, she also has ASD and will not let me decorate or change anything, I haven’t decorated since we moved in, I hate going in there as she just has too much stuff which makes it look cluttered and messy, she won’t part with anything.
My bedroom just fits a double and a chest of drawers, it has a built in small wardrobe where I chuck everything and this room also has windows on 2 walls so no room for shelves.
The bathrooms so tiny that you can wash your face in the sink whilst sat on the loo 🤣.

I know I’m lucky to have a 3 bed house, I love downstairs but upstairs is always cluttered and messy. The living room is the only nice uncluttered room.

My house is not mine, it’s a council house. I can’t afford to buy and no one will allow me to rent privately as I claim some benefits due to being a carer to dd2 and only working part time. I wouldn’t really want to move as we are in a lovely area. I just wish I could make the house more usable, especially for dd2.

How do people make their small houses feel bigger and less cluttered?

The bunk beds are metal so can’t really do much with it.

I’m sure she won’t miss most of the things she has in her room, she’s a hoarder and has a huge collection of pokemon figures that she never touches and lots of dragons which she collected when she was 9/10, they are all in ikea tofast drawers, she has a huge collection of books which she doesn’t read and under her bed is her Pokemon card collection and all her gaming stuff (switch games, DS games etc..), then there’s her soft toy collection which I have reduced, lots are in the airing cupboard, she won’t get rid of these. She has wires all across the floor for her phone, switch, laptop etc...., I can hardly see the floor. If I get rid of the bunk bed she could have more shelves and the window space.

Is there any way they can share the bunk beds and then use the other room as a dressing room between them? (You could then get rid of the bed in the other room).

What's on the landing - what shape is it?

I'm in the process of decluttering my house and sorting out storage - the teen dds rooms are by far the worse of the whole lot. (I have a hoarder asd DS too - he wouldn't let me throw anything away and got very anxious - but when he left for university I just threw the crap away).

No way they can share, I had to fight hard to get their own rooms (council house), dd2 is severely autistic and destroys everything, dd1’s room (and mine) has to be locked because of dd2 , dd2’s room has been made to be safe for her, she would have a field day if she got hold of dd1’s collections of clutter. The landing is a U shape and already has a large ottoman and a cube storage thingy on it with dd2’s Lego in. The bunk really does have to go, it’s taking up so much room and dd never has anyone stay over to make use of the top bunk.

I’m looking forward to dd1 going to uni 😂, she’s telling me I can’t touch her room until she goes to uni and she says she’s taking her collections with her (not sure where she plans on putting them when she’s in halls).

I’ve actually just sent a cabin bed, with room underneath for drawers and a slide out desk with bookshelf attached, to the charity shop. Something like this.

www.sleeplandbeds.co.uk/pine-mid-sleeper-with-storage

I mean, that’s pretty pricey, but we gave ours away because it was given to us about 25 years ago. You might be lucky and pick something up.

That’s similar to what I was looking at yesterday but was not as high (she’s not good at ladders due to her disabilities). I think she’s going to say “no” to what ever bed I show her. I’m not sure I can put up with her messy room for another 2 years when she goes to uni 😂, I might sneak in there tomorrow and box up some of the things she doesn’t use, I could put them in the loft rather than chuck them away, chances are she won’t even notice they are gone. Would love to just be able to sort her clothes out, the chest of drawers she has are rubbish (shallow drawers) so most of her clothes is in a pile on the floor. If I can clear out some stuff she can then get to the wardrobe and maybe put some storage in the bottom of it?

How did the bunk beds get into the room?

Are you sure that it doesn't come apart to make 2 beds?

DC had bunk beds made of steel and they sort of slotted into each other to make bunk beds

Very very heavy to lift though

When we moved house they were taken apart and put back together again

It’s sounds much dirtier than a standard teenage messy bedroom if you have an animal that isn’t cleaned up after and potential for rotting food. Both of those would be deal breakers for me and would have to be cleaned regardless of how upsetting that might be to your daughter (I recognise that’s easy for me to say but if you don’t look after the place and get vermin you’re going to be in trouble).

I put them together in her room, they do come apart to make 2 singles but they don’t have much space underneath for storage, I may have to compromise with dd and make it into a single but I think she likes the bunk as it makes her feel more secure (having a kind of roof above her head).

I do clean her room the best I can every week and I clean the hamster out but saw dust gets flicked over her pile of clothes on the floor, I don’t think there’s any mouldy food in there, she doesn’t eat meals in there but does have a stash of chocolate from Christmas and there’s lots of empty wrappers (her bin is often over flowing), she also has spiders living in her room as I can’t get to the window as the bunk blocks it, spiders seem to make their home in there.

Ok I get what you mean about her feeling like that about having the top bunk above her

Could you use the top bunk for storage of more of her things?

Like winter/summer clothes in vacuum bags - read reviews of them cos some are great others rubbish

Hope you find a solution