Big or Small house? Which is easier to keep neat and clean?

[AmericanStand]

From those of you with experience in keeping both large and small homes which do you find easiest to keep clean and tidy?

[Bearfootfarm]

Too many variables for any set answers.

We have a big house and some rooms stay neat due to lack of use regular unless there's company.

[nostawmama]

I don't know your definition of "small" or "large" but I can tell you that I have lived in some that are smaller and some that were larger. I honestly feel it isn't always about the size of the house but the storage space and the amount of stuff you have. It will always be harder to clean a small and over-cluttered area than a large space that has a place for everything! My current abode suffers from being small and over-cluttered and cleaning it is an issue.

My DH and I drew up our dream house plans recently- based on what we wanted to fit in each space, and I discovered that my idea of an easy house to keep was way larger than I thought. All because I wanted sufficient storage space...

[where I want to]

I vote for large. I suppose the mess creation is pretty much at the same rate but a mess in a small house keeps you from functioning while you can work around it in a large one. Of couse, eventually, if you never clean, you'd be in the same situation either way. It will just take longer to get there in a large house.
And it simply does not look so bad in a large place.

[gibbsgirl]

We lived in a very small house in a warmer climate and loved it. It was less than 500 sq ft and we had three kids and three dogs. But we were in college and not doing homesteading stuff and our children were very young.

Now we live in snow country, have more and older kids and are homesteading. It's a lot more work to keep up. But I prefer this now cause the kids are older and need more room for their things. Plus having extra indoor space in winter means a lot. We're also doing more things at home. In college we were not home as much, which helped us not feel on top of each other all the time.

A lot of it has to do with your lifestyle and schedule I think. Also with what space you have outside away from the home itself.

I was really happy with both.

[gibbsgirl]

Having a house has always been like having a purse to me.

It's never mattered what size I have, I really have to work at prioritizing possessions so that it's not cluttered.

The real trick I've found to keeping things clean and tidy are,

Getting stuff gone that can go,
Keeping shopping to a minimum,
Restricting where food and drink can be in the house,
Restricting where animals can be in the house.

[Irish Pixie]

I like small homes but they must have good storage. Easier to heat, easier to cool, easier to clean - but - you have to pick up stuff more often because they clutter easier.

Our cabin is 1400 sq ft not counting the glassed in sun porch that runs the length. There is a large loft and full basement for storage.

[sisterpine]

I prefer a small house with less stuff. Right now I have a medium sized house 2300 sq feet and it is a bit big for me which equates to too much floor to keep clean lol

[krissy1008]

As a former professional house cleaner I have experience cleaning both large and small houses. As some have already stated it really is not about the size of house but the amount of stuff and the organization and storage space of the stuff. I've had huge houses that I've cleaned 3 stories 5-6 bedrooms 4-5 baths that were organized well and it only take me approximately 2- 2 1/2 hours by myself, then sometimes there is the 2-3 bedroom cottage style that has no storage space and that is cluttered and it take 3- 3 1/2. So really doesn't matter about size of house, its the amount of stuff in house and organization storage space for stuff.

[Jennifer L.]

I think it's all about storage. If you have enough storage so that things aren't put away in the wrong place because they won't fit in, then that's golden. IMO you don't need big bedrooms or bathrooms, but you want a large inviting kitchen, a comfortable living room, and good sized utility areas. All based on what you do inside your house. If you have good storage, you should have a clean house.

[AmericanStand]

We are currently in 500 sf with about 200 is usable space in a two bedroom loft. 2 adults and a 9 year old. Any thoughts on space requirements ?

[jwal10]

Small is a lot easier. 400 sq. ft. here and I cleaned it all this morning. Moved furniture all to 1 side, washed both walls and then vinyl floor, moved everything back to other side and did the same. Living area is 11'x13', 3rd wall is an 8' siding door. We have 2 rocker recliners, a side table, an upholstered straight chair, dining table and 2 chairs. Kitchen is 5'x11', wood stove goes on 1 5' wall, buffet on other, counter top and dish storage on end. 10'x9' bedroom and 6'x10' bath/utility room. Washed all walls, then floors with kitchen towel and utility pan, took 2 hours. Not much floor to wash in bedroom. Wood stove is in the summer kitchen. Everything has a place and everything goes in it's place. We work out of small totes for projects, one brought out at a time as needed. We have a nice 4' closet in airlock entry, also a 4' storage bench, coat racks and 4', tall utility storage cabinet above, another full 6' closet in bedroom, 2 nice storage cabinets in bath/utility. 1 6' tall utility upper and a 4' long, 2' tall x 9" deep cabinet above towel hangers. We have a 6'x12' storage shed, 24v chest refrigerator on 1 side, freezer on the other, tall utility storage cabinets above both, 12' of fruit storage shelves, very well insulated, cool room. We also have a spring house and a fruit cellar. We had a 1212 sq. ft. house in town, took several days to wash all the walls and floors in that 3 bed, 2 bath house. Took lots of "stuff" to cover the walls with nik-naks. We have 3 small shelves here and 6 pictures. We don't miss all that "stuff", either....James

[Jolly]

Small, but with storage.

Small makes you put your stuff back up.

[gibbsgirl]

Originally Posted by AmericanStand

We are currently in 500 sf with about 200 is usable space in a two bedroom loft. 2 adults and a 9 year old. Any thoughts on space requirements ?

Not sure what you mean. Are you planning to stay permanently or for a year or two?

[Jlynnp]

I lived in a house in Michigan that while larger it was 2 story and I am not able to do stairs so we lived in the main floor and the house was always a wreck. We now live in a beautiful 2100 sq foot house on one floor, we also have a huge garage and a 1 bedroom apt which is currently empty. Now everything is where it belongs and I can keep it neater.

[gibbsgirl]

Also would help to know if you're doing in town living and shopping vs rural grow your own food homesteading type stuff.

I could give you tips for things that have worked for us but it might not be very useful without knowing this stuff.

[AmericanStand]

We live very rural this was my bachelor cabin but I've added a girlfriend and her kid.
We've been togather 7 years so perhaps it's pretty permanent !

[gibbsgirl]

Originally Posted by AmericanStand

We live very rural this was my bachelor cabin but I've added a girlfriend and her kid.
We've been togather 7 years so perhaps it's pretty permanent !

OK, well when we were in our tiny house we were getting all our food from the store, so that might be different then for your situation.

For excess food and not commonly used cooking items or supply storage, I would suggest a well insulated and secured outbuilding very near the house, so y'all can have your stuff nearby for when it's needed. Then you can just have a few days or a weeks worth of food in the house and you can go shopping from your stash.

Hang everything you can on walls or from ceilings, like lights, fans, TV, shelves to hold whatever.

We shared one big closet for adult clothes, kid seasonal clothes linens and lots of other stuff and had one bedroom with bunks and a crib where the closet was. Our big couch in the living room was a hieabed and that's what we used. If you put a nice quality foam cover it's really not a bad way to have a bed.

All excess tech stuff had to go. And everything that could be wireless way. Burned our music and DVDs to hard drives. Nowadays with Netflix and such you can get a lot without needing clutter. Ditch standard computers for kaptops. Scanned all paperwork records we could so that I only needed a small set of paper files.

Kitchen stuff can be pared down by having a few versatile things, like one electric pressure cooker that's also a rice cooker and crockpot and can cook like a stove top pan. We ditched having full sets of dishes, cups, silverware, etc for more than just us. If we were having guests I bought disposable.

We use wardrobes for all the kids clothes instead of closets. That started in the little house. They had to keep all their stuff in their wardrobe including some toys and except some seasonal stuff and their shoes. Clothing is a big thing to manage.

At nine, your kiddo is starting to have interests beyond just toys probably which can make things easier. Get rid of what you can and ease the blow by encouraging the kid to have fun doing bigger kid stuff like fishing, riding a bike, library books, target shooting. All good things that can help keep the toys everywhere thing at a minimum.

We also spent what we could to get ourselves as nice a patio setup as we could so that area could be a refuge to have everyone or just a few people have that as a nice relaxing option for when you need space like when you just don't all want to watch that movie or it's hot inside cause of cooking.

There's all kinds of gimicky storage systems, and some are useful. But don't get too wrapped up in it. The best thing is to evaluate what can go and get it gone. Linens for beds and bathroom is another area where you just need a set to use and a set to wash.

Also, kids tend to get or make a lot of special things. I gave a couple of trunjs of family keepsakes ($12 at Walmar). My kids each gave one also. All their awards, trophies, medals, art projects, school papers, souvenirs, etc go into their boxes. So they have kind of a set limit for what they can accumulate. When it's full they have to make decisions. Occasionally I keep something for them in mine but not very often. You might consider getting your little one a trunk like that. It kinda gives them their own autonomy in a little crowded house where everything has to be shared, but does it in a way that keeps it manageable.

Well that's I think all I can really think of for now. I hope it helps you some.

Oh, one more thing, if you're really rural and sharing this tiny space, I'd consider getting some fairly durable canopy or tent stuff for outside. We've set up stuff outside for sometimes weeks when the weather's decent and our kids have had a blast having it be sort of their area for play. Also can be a nice area for adults to hang out in shade or gave sort of an outdoor camping kitchen type setup which is always a fun way to change up the routine of being stuck in the same four walls.

I will say I spent a lot more time planning little family excursions for the day when we were in the small house than now. Now we want to just stay home a lot. But that may not be just because of the house sizes. Now we're in a rural area with a very inviting outdoor environment. Before we we in cement city when you stepped out the door.

[hippygirl]

IME, any size house is more difficult to clean if one has it stuffed with furniture and clutter (been there, done that!).

When we bought this place, we went from less than 1000 sf to almost 2400. We "replaced" furniture rather than "added" furniture, but we brought everything else as is with us. Not being used to a larger house, I was soooo lost for about a month, but man oh man, it was SO much easier to clean and keep tidy.

That was then...we've added a few things in the 14+ years we've been here, but I still keep it as uncluttered as I can so it's still easy to clean (until the dreaded carpet cleaning marathons, anyway!).

[kasilofhome]

I enjoy my friend with her 10 bathroom home ... she has some health issue and with summer here she is the belle of the ball... often time she'll have twenty plus people visiting and some days she can't walk... I always am will to clean it as there is a space for everything .... ok I did photograph her China storage just so I can get it right and she can stay on her couch and with confidence tell anyone which closet or shelf or room something is.

Now my place is just a shell. Four perimeter walls and a studded divider. Stainless steel and wooden shelves are against the perimeter walls and a woodstove in the center.... that's it..besides folding table that are up in use or folded and shoved to a wall next to a bed.

I find my place harder to clean...cause everything is open boxes for clothing on a shelf is so discouraging.... but no debt and one day it will be better.

Five hundred is even less than the six hundred and forty....with a nine year-old... Really too tight for us.. we rather more space and live in a shell than cramped in for 8 winter months ...either gear is bulky and you are tripping over coats and boots for 8 months.