We have a beautiful 2000 sq feet home and we decided to move to a small, for us, 700 square feet “half dry” cabin for 6 months. I say half dry because it has a sink and a shower with a 55 gallon holding tank where we use 5 gallon jugs to fill it up. We lived in a similar cabin before until my son was 6 months old.
Our goal for moving into this smaller space was to generate additional income by putting our home on Airbnb for the summer. Unfortunately the cabin we moved into was in bad shape. There were many issues that needed to be solved and many of them really helped me appreciate my own home and miss it dearly.
We actually ended up cutting our time in the cabin short by moving into a 2 bedroom apartment closer to our home. We spent 3 months in the dry cabin and then an additional 3 in the 2 bedroom apartment. But several of these things also were a struggle in the 2 bedroom apartment. Even though we moved into a nicer space, it never felt like home.
Related: Everything We Bought For Our Airbnb Queen Room
Running Water
This is something that many people really take for granted. It’s tough to try to decide if you have enough water to take a shower, wash your hands, or do the dishes. It was extra chore to keep the water filled. We also had to go somewhere else to do our laundry and give our kids baths. It’s definitely an inconvenience that we had to plan for, but did not feel the full effects of until we lived it.
A Separate Bedroom
This is another thing that many take for granted. We missed having privacy from our kids. In our home we have a bedroom for our son and a bedroom for our girls and our own bedroom. In the small cabin, the upstairs had a half wall separating the half my kids shared and the half my husband and I shared, providing zero privacy.
Immediate Outside Play Space
In our home we have a huge backyard space with some trees that our kids can easily go and play outside. In the cabin, our neighbors and the road were so close that our kids couldn’t play safely outside. When we moved to the apartment there was a convenient park about a 4 minute walk away, but my kids couldn’t walk through the parking lot by themselves to go play there and I wouldn’t want them too.
Systems
In our home we have many systems in place so our kids know what to expect. It’s hard to be in a different space where these systems aren’t in place. For example our kids know that when they are done eating, they are expected to bring their plate next to the sink. When we were in both small homes it was harder to get the kids to be able to do this because there was no counter space by the sink.
Flooring
The flooring in the cabin was in really rough shape. It had exposed wood in some places and the top layer was peeling back to reveal the layer underneath it. It was incredibly hard to clean and it always looked and felt dirty. In the apartment everything was carpeted. This was a bit of a struggle for meals since our 3 kids tend to make messes on the ground. We did our best to keep the carpet clean, but we missed the easy to clean flooring in our home.
Entryway
In our home we have a huge entryway that includes some stairs to stomp off mud and debris before going into the house. There is then a door that we can close so my 18 month old cannot grab all the boots and shoes and bring them everywhere in the house. It can feel impossible to find shoes when they have been brought everywhere in the house. This also was an issue when we moved to the apartment and there wasn’t a clear space for where shoes should stay and not travel in the house.
Dishwasher
We used to always hand wash our dishes because our personal experiences with dishwashers hadn’t been positive. However around the time our 3rd kid was born we started using our dishwasher. When we went to the cabin, dishes became a huge point of contention and took up a large portion of the already small counter space. This then continued to be an issue when we moved to the apartment.
Chairs
While we were living in both the cabin and the apartment, we didn’t have many chairs. We didn’t want to buy too much extra furniture that we would have to then move again or sell in a few short months, so we made do with what we had, a 2 person couch and 3 tall stools. Having so few chairs wasn’t convenient and made life a bit more difficult. I definitely spent lots of time sitting on the floor, instead of on a chair.
Beds
Our kids didn’t have bedframes while we weren’t in our home, we had their twin mattress’ directly on the ground. We had a queen bedframe while we were in both spaces, but our home had a king bed waiting for us. I don’t think the bed situation was a problem for anyone, but my daughter was excited to have a bedframe again and my son was excited to have a bunkbed again.
Things My Kids Loved
My kids loved that the cabin had stairs. Our home is all on one floor once you get up the entryway steps, so there was a great novelty in playing on the stairs. The apartment didn’t have stairs at all, but my daughter loved that she was so close to us. We had her sleep in the huge walk in closet where she could see us from her bed. Our youngest and our son shared the other bedroom and my son loved having a roommate. In our home we have the girls sharing a room and my son in his own room. Overall, being in a small home made it so that our kids were physically closer to us and they loved that. When we were in the cabin and needed to give our kids baths we got to spend extra time with my parents to use their bathtub which the kids loved. Overall the entire experience was new and exciting for our kids.
Related: What It’s Like Having 3 Kids
The little features that our house has really make me grateful for the space we have been blessed with. We’ve called this space our home since my oldest was 6 months old and I don’t know if I have found a space I can imagine my family living in if we were to move someday. I’m so glad we are all moved back in and that our kids have a home to call home.
