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Little House, Lovely Home

Living Well in Small Spaces

A Small House Living Blog

Welcome to our small house living blog.

We're mad about small homes here. Little can be lovely, functional, family-friendly and something to be proud of. A small home needs to have excellent storage, and often multi-functional furniture. Kitchens need to be organized and garages and bike storage well-thought out. If you're living small with kids, or have a baby on the way and are wondering what you really need for a baby or even if it's possible to raise kids in small homes, this site is here to help.

I'm a mother of two rambunctious boys, and we do just fine.

I'm here to help you downsize efficiently, declutter to your best ability and ensure the gear you keep or buy serves you well.

How to use this site

Use the menu at the top of the screen (it may be collapsed if you're on mobile) to navigate to the section you're most interested in.

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Downsizing with a Family: Why We’re Downsizing with Kids

Jul 15

This post may contain affiliate links, which means if you click through and make a purchase I may receive a commission at no cost to you. You can read my disclosure policy here.

If you're interested in downsizing with a family, this is the very first blog post I wrote about our decision to downsize. I wrote this while we were traveling in Spain in 2015, renting a small apartment and living like locals. We had just found out we (me) were pregnant and were planning to head back to New Zealand to have the baby.  I am pregnant. In November I will become a mother of two. Part of the reason we planned to head home was this pregnancy. I had entertained the idea Read More...

Best Small Espresso Machine 2019: For the Perfect Espresso at Home

May 23

This post may contain affiliate links, which means if you click through and make a purchase I may receive a commission at no cost to you. You can read my disclosure policy here.

If counter space is a problem yet you still want beautifully brewed café style coffee each morning, then you’re going to want the best small espresso machine.  That’s right, just because you have a tiny kitchen doesn’t mean you have to resort to drinking instant coffee or spending loads of money getting your coffee down at the local café.  Some of the best espresso machine brands have come to the party and have some of the best small coffee maker options so you too can have espresso Read More...

How to Shop like a Minimalist: 5 Questions That’ll Help You Build Minimalist Shopping Habits

May 1

This post may contain affiliate links, which means if you click through and make a purchase I may receive a commission at no cost to you. You can read my disclosure policy here.

Talk to anyone that knows me and they’d be surprised that I subscribe to a minimalist school of thought. Owning 50 pairs of shoes doesn’t exactly scream minimal consumption after all. But over the last year or so I’ve increasingly been exploring the concept of minimalism and incorporating it into my life.  During that time I’ve come up with a few key questions to keep my shopping habits in check and minimalism at the front of my mind. I hope these five questions will also help you Read More...

Best Rotary Clothesline 2019: Find the Perfect Clothesline for Your Home

Apr 21

This post may contain affiliate links, which means if you click through and make a purchase I may receive a commission at no cost to you. You can read my disclosure policy here.

Living in a small home means laundry space is at a premium, so we choose to live without an electric dryer. The only reason we can survive without a dryer is that we have a grunty rotary clothesline which came installed in our back garden. Line drying is great for your clothes, wallet and the environment (seriously, see here) In our big house, we had a retractable clothesline which I also loved and will write more in another post (for all my clothesline nerds). For those of you Read More...

How One Woman Downsized Her Life to Move to Paris

Apr 9

This post may contain affiliate links, which means if you click through and make a purchase I may receive a commission at no cost to you. You can read my disclosure policy here.

This week Tammy from Bonjour Adventure shares her story of downsizing for love (and Paris!).  Have you seen that movie: American girl visits France, falls in love with a dashing and charming Frenchman, and then, on a whim, moves to Paris to be with her love? I’m incredibly lucky (and crazy) to be that American girl! But, nothing wonderful in life comes without some big decisions and challenging times. This American girl had filled a house full of her stuff, had a life and Read More...

12 Genius Indoor Bike Storage Ideas for Small Spaces

Mar 30

This post may contain affiliate links, which means if you click through and make a purchase I may receive a commission at no cost to you. You can read my disclosure policy here.

When it comes to indoor bike storage ideas, there is no one best bike storage solution as it really depends on your individual living arrangement.  Finding small space bike storage ideas that are ideal for you it depends on a variety of factors such as how many bikes you must store, how heavy the bike is, how much space you have and whether you’re looking for a permanent or non-permanent solution.    Once you start to consider these factors you will be one step closer to no Read More...

The Best 18-Inch Dishwashers for Your Small Kitchen in 2019

Mar 11

This post may contain affiliate links, which means if you click through and make a purchase I may receive a commission at no cost to you. You can read my disclosure policy here.

The best 18-inch dishwashers are perfect if you live in a small apartment or have a tiny kitchen where space is at a premium.  These compact dishwashers for small spaces are ideal if a standard size dishwasher would take up too much room, yet you still want to have the convenience of a dishwasher. If you need help deciding which is the best 18-inch dishwasher for you, then you are in luck! In these best 18-inch dishwasher reviews, I will tell you everything you need to know to buy the perfect Read More...

5 Ways Downsizing Your House Can Save You Money

Mar 1

This post may contain affiliate links, which means if you click through and make a purchase I may receive a commission at no cost to you. You can read my disclosure policy here.

Are you considering downsizing your house to save money? Welcome to the club! Hello, my name is Emma and in 2015 I was exactly where you are now. I won’t rehash our entire downsizing story (you can read it here if you like) but suffice to say we downsized so we would have more time for enjoying leisure together and more money for travel. Downsizing to a smaller home can be a great way to free up cash for taking that dream vacation, to pursue a hobby, or even just work less, but how do you Read More...

How to Line Dry Clothes: Save Money and Extend the Life of Your Items

Feb 23

This post may contain affiliate links, which means if you click through and make a purchase I may receive a commission at no cost to you. You can read my disclosure policy here.

If you've ever wondered how to line dry clothes - or why you should consider line-drying, have I got a treat for you. I've been line-drying since I was a kid. Feeling the soft, morning dew under my bare feet as I propped the support post (a piece of 2 by 4 timber) just so, giving the overloaded wire line the central support it needed as it strung from a post on the porch to an old tree in the garden. The memory of hanging the washing on my grandmother’s DIY clothesline (as they all Read More...

My Kids Are Going to Share a Room and They Better Like It

Feb 18

This post may contain affiliate links, which means if you click through and make a purchase I may receive a commission at no cost to you. You can read my disclosure policy here.

Before I became a mom, I never pictured my kids sharing a room. I never shared a room, even though my parents weren’t wealthy or even middle class. My brother and I had a room each. Sharing a room was done only by kids in big families. It’s the whole reason we bought the big house, all the bedrooms. And, if I’m honest it’s the thing I’ve struggled with the most when I think about living long term in this wee house with my family. My boys have a 3.5 year age difference. They annoy each Read More...

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