Tuesday, June 19, 2012

Changing Rooms

So, I can't recall how much of this I shared previously, but Jen and I have been thinking about moving.

Originally the plan was to make an appointment with the bank early in the new year and see what kind of a mortgage we could get approved for.  Then I got let go and that plan went out the window.  So we talked to our landlord about letting us know if one of the three bedroom units (there are two in our six unit apartment building) became available.  He told us that our neighbours across the hall were planning on moving and that he'd keep us updated.  Well, about a month ago he came back to us with details.  We were hoping that he'd be asking about $200-$250 more a month, but what he came back with was $425 more.  $250 probably would have been a bit of a stretch.  Needless to say, $425  was impossible.  If I'm making NO money we'll have to draw on our savings to cover our expenses.  The less we can do that the better.  Especially if we ever want to buy a house. 

So, we've decided to make some changes around here.  Currently Jen and I sleep in the big bedroom and The Bean has the smaller room.  Next week, when I finish work, we're going to change that around.  We'll move The Bean's furnitre into the big room.  There should also be enough room for a good number of his toys in there, as currently we have one small bookshelf, a play kitchen and a Little Tyke's Cozy Coupe in our living room.  Though we love the spaciousness of our bedroom, it really is wasted space and we should be able to fit pretty much everything into the smaller bedroom. 

We plan to have Sprout co-sleep with us for at least the first few months (just as we did with The Bean), but by having the kids set up in the bigger bedroom there should be enough space for two cribs/beds when that time comes.

We also have major reorganization plans for the closets.  They've become disaster zones.  I'd love to post "before" and "after" shots, but I think I might die of embarrassment if I do.  We're currently looking at different closet systems, but may just go with some of our bookcases with tension rods between the for the kids' room and then a system for our room.  We haven't really discussed the front hall closet yet, but I'm sure we'll get there. 

Anyway, just a bit of an update.  More to come, I'm sure...

13 comments:

  1. We're doing a room switch this summer, too, for pretty much the same reasons. I want to reclaim at least some of our living space from the toys and books. I'm nervous about when to actually move the baby into the bedroom with our toddler, but since he sleeps with us for now he can just sleep with us in the new bedroom. I'm nervous about the actual move and coordinating all that furniture in our tiny hallway!

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  2. Before and after shots are the best! Forget the embarrassment...there is nothing to be embarrassed about in blogland, lol. Good luck on the eventual, HOPEFULLY, house purchase. A year and half into it, I can say that owning a house is a pain at times, but so wonderful as well!

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  3. Ooooh good luck with the big move!

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  4. That sounds like a good plan! I don't think adults really need a big bedroom since we're mostly just sleeping in there anyway ;)

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  5. Glad you have found a space compromise! Space is a major issue for us, too; I had definitely planned to be in a bigger apartment by the time the Bean could walk, but that's not what has happened.

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  6. If I posted photos of my office before it became Erik's bedroom, you can post photos of your closets. Trust me. :)

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  7. That's a good plan and room sharing sounds like a great plan. We have an imperfect space too but it makes no sense for us to move right now. We decided to go room by room and declutter/get rid of stuff. It's already made the house look bigger. I am a little worried about fitting everything if we're lucky enough to have a second baby though!

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  8. That's a good plan and room sharing sounds like a great plan. We have an imperfect space too but it makes no sense for us to move right now. We decided to go room by room and declutter/get rid of stuff. It's already made the house look bigger. I am a little worried about fitting everything if we're lucky enough to have a second baby though!

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    1. We seem to do a big purge pretty much every year. I can't imagine what our place would look like if we didn't! I'm sure with switching things around we'll get rid of a bunch more stuff. I'm also a little anxious about bringing the "baby" stuff back in. So much of it is BIG.

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  9. Gasp! Your blog is letting me post a comment! I will use this opportunity to say how exciting it is to hear you're moving things around. We just did that a few weeks back, and I have to say it has changed the feel of this little house so, so much. Way more than I thought it would. When we first went on the house market here, we wanted a three bedroom. Then we fell in love with this small cottage, and we've never looked back. I know we'll want a bigger space one day, but I love making do with a little less for awhile. I love finding ways of making what you have work instead of just getting more. And I love the closeness of cozy living. I hope you'll post "after" photos! R.

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    1. Yay for commenting! I changed the security settings so maybe that fixed the problem. I loved the photos of your switch-around. It looks so spacious and welcoming now.

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  10. we, too, would like to be in a bigger space but it's just not in the cards/budget right now. Similarly, we would like to be buying right now and can't. Maybe after I get through school.

    The tension rods in the closet idea sounds genius to me! We might try that too.. =)

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