Trials of living in a small house

There are many challenges that come with living in a small home.  I expected it to be tough to keep the quantity of possessions in proportion to the available space. It breaks my heart a little when Turtle starts a sentence with, "when our house grows bigger". We enjoy watching House Hunters, and often asks "Mommy, when do we get to choose from three houses?"  I do my best to keep our small house organized, user friendly, comfortable, and generally a place where Turtle loves to live.

We had 1.5 bathrooms on our wish list when we were house hunting. Had we known about Turtle's existence when we chose this house, we may have passed it over. But we didn't know, and so far we have managed to make one bathroom work for us.  As Turtle grows older, I know that the one bathroom issue is going to become trickier to handle.

Thinking I had a few more years before dealing with any ablutionary drama, I was thrown completely off guard with recent events. My whole timetable for dealing with the "one bathroom" was turned upside down because I didn't foresee Turtle's Imaginary Sisters spending so much time in our one and only bathroom. "You can't use the bathroom -the door is shut which means my sisters are in there!"  is a phrase I've had enough of this past week.

I am truly committed into making this small home work for the long haul. But I must admit, I think it may be time to bite the bullet and build an imaginary bathroom for Turtle's Imaginary Sisters.

Take a Peek: The Littlest Room in the House

My bathroom is tiny.  Other than the wee medicine cabinet, this basket is sitting on the only storage area in the room (this shelf and one above it).  There is one north-facing window, but somehow during the day it always seems light and airy. It is also a very WHITE room.

I'm beginning to like white as a decorating color (but please don't tell my husband).  I like how colors really pop against white, like the ones in my basket.  With the room being white it is also easy to change the accent color when I get tired of the blue and green theme.  Every time I look at this basket I smile.  I just LOVE the colors -so fresh, so optimistic that spring and warmer weather will return again.  Sigh.

Being the littlest room in the house you would think it would be easy to decorate.  Simple things such as shower curtains and baskets are easy.  I recaulked the sink last summer and did a fantastic job, if I say so myself. Removing the old caulk was time consuming, but it was amazing how such a simple job made my sink look like it was brand new.

This is also the only bathroom in the house, so bigger projects like recaulking the bathtub and painting need to be strategically planned.  I would love to tile the bathtub surround and I feel confident I could do that myself.  Maybe before that I will tackle some details that I find annoying, like painting the brown wood medicine cabinet that looks completely out of place in the mostly white room.  And replacing the one measly towel rack with a row of retro-looking hooks.  One detail I do love about my bathroom right now:  my shower curtain hooks! 

What detail or item in your home makes you smile?