FIVE WAYS TO DECIDE ON HOW MUCH SPACE YOU NEED

I feel like right now it is so ~*TrEndY*~ to downsize. Everything is tiny house this, live out of a bus that, and sometimes you can end up with less space that you actually need. My husband and I went from barracks rooms into a really roomy first two-bedroom apartment but then we got sucked into the "less is more" mindset and downsized to a one-bedroom. We have really regretted not having enough space.

So here are FIVE WAYS TO DECIDE HOW MUCH SPACE YOU NEED

#1 - EVALUATE HOW MUCH SPACE YOU CURRENTLY HAVE

We currently live in a "875 SQFT" One-Bedroom, but they include our giant balcony area in the sqft. So it is probably closer to 650 SQFT.

We moved two years ago from a 927 SQFT Two-Bedroom.

#2 - IS IT CURRENTLY MEETING YOUR NEEDS? 

Right now we feel like we would be more comfortable in the 927 SQFT apartment right now. Two years ago, when we were just starting out, the bigger apartment felt WAY too big. Now that we are growing (not pregnant!) we just need more space.

Alternatively, when we buy a house, we will evaluate again.

#3 - DO YOU PLAN ON EXPANDING YOUR FAMILY?

Not just talking about having a baby, but babies do often require more space, but so do puppies and kittens and all other ways your family can grow. So let's say you add 200 SQFT for every dog/cat you add and 500 SQFT for each kid. (Just a rough estimate of what works for us)

We don't plan on adding a baby or new puppy, but we do feel a little cramped the three of us in this little one bedroom apartment.

#4 - APARTMENT VS HOUSE (ROOMS VS SQFT)

In our particular hunt for a new place we are more interested in expanding to a place with two rooms and while we do want more SQFT than we have now, we are just a more separate and defined place to do work/study.

When we look to buy a house we want about 2500 SQFT or 3-4 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms,

While SQFT is important, sometimes you need to make sure the number of rooms meets your goals as well.

#5 - WILL YOU USE THE SPACE?

Some of the places in our budget are three bedroom, but we had to realistically decide that right now, three bedrooms is TOO much for our little family. Two bedrooms will be a little more realistic and even though ALL OF THE SPACE sounds great, sometimes too much, is too much.