Tiny Apartment Living

Today it is driving me CRAZY.


My spouse and I live in a tiny-apartment. By this I mean that by square-footage, the space would qualify as a tiny-house if it were indeed a house (far less than 1,000 square feet). However, it is an apartment and not a house. It’s located on the second floor of a building, the first floor being a business. The second floor is divided into three apartments with five tenants in total.

This has some major advantages. We share space and resources which feels ecologically responsible and keeps our footprint on this planet smaller. The rent is fairly affordable which has allowed us to focus on other financial priorities like paying off student loans and travel. It helps to support our minimalist goals because we can't accumulate a lot of unnecessary stuff even if we wanted to because we don't have the space for anything that isn't being used regularly. So there are plenty of good things about our tiny apartment (I remind myself grudgingly.)

We are also fortunate that the space available is fairly well laid-out and flexible enough to accommodate some experimentation which has been very important. Since moving in together, we have been pretty much CONSTANTLY experimenting. Moving things around, adding and subtracting objects, etc.

Sometimes the space feels like enough. Other times, like this past week, it feels like we might burst at the seams. In addition to the two of us, we both have a few hobbies/activities that take up a good deal of the available living space.

We also need to accommodate a large desk and multiple plastic tubs of art supplies (mine). A kayak, weight bench and hockey gear (his). Then we have two bicycles, multiple stringed musical instruments, and an elliptical (ours).

We live with some communal furniture like a queen size bed, a couch, two chairs a couple of footstools (that double as storage) and a TV stand.

With all this stuff in one small apartment, some days (like today) I just want to scream.

The reason the space issue is pushing me over the edge today is that a small problem, like the clogged kitchen sink which we have recently been dealing with, will often turn into a MAJOR hassle. The clogged drain means emptying out the storage under and around the sink for the plumber and finding somewhere to put it. Well, there is often just nowhere else for that stuff to go! It can't be moved to "other" storage because there is no "other." So it ends up in the middle of the living space, on top of the bed or blocking access to other things that we need/use regularly. This necessitates a period of literally tripping over a fire extinguisher  and cleaning supplies while the sink problem is sorted out over multiple days or weeks.

Days like this, I envy those with something as simple as a garage, a little yard space or a basement. It is an envy so strong that it does, indeed, make me look quite green. It's enough to make me seriously question the importance of such everyday objects as a couch. (If I got rid of the couch could I just sit on the cleaning supplies and avoid tripping over them for the third time today...?)

What creative ways do you use the space in which you live? Ever experience an inconvenience which makes you seriously question your minimalist lifestyle?


- L