What it’s REALLY like living in a <500 sqft house

Confession: We didn’t buy our current house with the intention of staying in it.

Covid and life happened. Plans changed. We did a covid renovation just prior to CNY, with our rental lease about to expire 😖

But size wasn’t an issue; we’d been renting apartments that were <500 sqft for 7 years, hence #livingsmall.

In fact, our current house is actually a space upgrade 🙊

So here’s what it’s like living in a <500 sqft space:

1️⃣ 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗱𝗼𝗻’𝘁 𝗼𝘄𝗻 𝗮 𝗹𝗼𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀

I hardly have anything that is PURELY decorative (maybe just a rug & some soft toys?).

Everything I buy has to be functional (& preferably aesthetic at the same time lol).

Space limitation is a GREAT way to save money if you’re easily tempted like me 🙊

2️⃣ 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗺𝗲𝗮𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗹𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴

Handheld items are fine, but anything larger than that needs to be measured so it fits nicely 🤣

3️⃣ 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗰𝗮𝗻’𝘁 𝗮𝗳𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝗽𝗮𝗰𝗲𝘀 𝗰𝗹𝘂𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗹𝗼𝗻𝗴

Tempted to leave items on your dining table or kitchen countertop after you return home?

Yeah I can’t do that bc we actually need those spaces for our daily living activities.

4️⃣ 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗮 𝗹𝗼𝘁 𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗿𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗱𝗼

This is one of the main perks 🥳

We don’t need a robot vacuum. Our cleaner gets a lot done for us simply bc it’s a small space.

5️⃣ 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗼𝗹𝘃𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 𝗶𝘀𝘀𝘂𝗲𝘀 𝗾𝘂𝗶𝗰𝗸𝗹𝘆

There’s not much space for my partner & I to hide from each other if we don’t resolve conflicts quickly.

Maybe just the toilet & sitting on the toilet bowl? LOL 🤡

6️⃣ 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗲𝗽𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗻𝗼𝗻-𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗼𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗺𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗯𝗲 𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱

My partner & I would love to get a dog, but space constraints have deterred us from that. Maybe in our next house? 😝

I’d also like to spend more time cooking / baking but limited countertop space makes it less enjoyable.

It’s not a big deal though, bc I’ve a lot of interests that I wanna pursue anyways 🤣

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𝗜’𝗺 𝗰𝘂𝗿𝗶𝗼𝘂𝘀—𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗱𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗱𝗲𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗮𝘀 𝗮 𝘀𝗺𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗵𝗼𝗺𝗲? I’ve seen people calling their 3 or 4 bedroom HDB small.

What do you think? Let’s chat in the comments?

P.S. I write about home & living, relationships & career on lemon8—follow for more adulting fun 🥲 

Also on IG (@livingsmall.ig) if you wanna be friends ❤️

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Wanna read more?

📖 My rental horror story 🥹😰

📖 Why a BTO was not for me

📖 Tiny space to perfect home office! ✨🖥️

#MyHomeToYours #HomeLiving #Adulting101 #HomeReno #HomeDecor #sghome #sghomeliving #MyVibe #MyLemon8Diary