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Even if you’ve got a pile of kids, you can learn how to organize a large family in a small house. These tips will give you breathing room!

Bang, bang, bang.  “Hurry up!!  I’ve got to go!”

That’s the sound of life all day long when you’ve got a family of 8 living in a house with one bathroom.

No matter how many times I remind the kids to not wait until the last possible minute to use the bathroom, it falls on deaf ears.  There’s usually a line for the bathroom that looks like we’re at a rock concert.

There’s an old song that says “Love grows best in little houses.”

And yeah, it’s sure taught us a lot of good lessons.  But I still have days that this small house makes me want to pull all of my hair out.

Still, there are some ways you can make your small house feel more liveable.  Here are a few that have worked wonders for us….

How to Organize a Large Family in a Small House

How to Organize a Large Family in a Small House It's aggravating trying to fit all the things a large family needs into a small home. Try these tips to make your small space more livable.

Don’t Kid Yourself

The fact of the matter is that we Moms of large families have to get a little ruthless about all the stuff that takes up space in our homes.

That is honestly the only way to make it all work, especially in a small space.

And that task is never ending. Not to mention daunting.

Which is why I think this resource is an absolute must have for every big family mom.

It will help you make those hard decisions and finally help you find peace in your own home.

Bedroom Organization

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1. Look Up

When you look around a room and wonder how you could fit any more into it, it’s time to look up.

Chances are there’s more room for extra shelves when you go up a wall.  Especially when a room is full of furniture (maybe beds for several kids?).

It’s also a nice way to give each kid their own space.  Kids in large families often share a room out of necessity, but they’d still like a spot for their special things.

If you have access to an Ikea, the Billy shelves are perfect for tall spaces.  And they come with an anchor to make it safer for climbers.

Give taller kids higher shelves.  They’ll get the space they can reach and keep important things out of the hands of younger ones.

(Assuming you keep them from climbing the shelves.)

2.  Try a Different Bed

When I was a kid, I thought Murphy Beds were the coolest thing under the sun.  (Still do!)

What’s a Murphy Bed?

Oh, it’s one of those beds that flips up into the wall when you aren’t using it. (!!)

If that’s not practical, a loft bed is a great way to gain space. This shorter loft bed was perfect for our daughter for many years (until we had to switch to bunk beds when another child was born).

How to organize a large family in a small house. Bunk beds!
3. Bunk beds

Bunk beds might be an obvious choice, but there are more options than you’d think.

After searching for a good new or used bunk bed, we decided to just build our own.  Since our kids prefer to sleep in a pile, we put a single bed over a double bed.

You can also make a triple bunk bed for even more space.

Kitchen Organization

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4. These under cabinet shelves have worked wonders in my kitchen for adding more storage.

They’re perfect for squeezing more room out of the area over your bowls or short stacks of kitchenware.

5. You can also build recessed shelving around your door frame or just about anywhere you have wall space.  Then display your prettier pieces there when they aren’t in use.

Bathroom Organization

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6.  Add hooks wherever you can for hanging things like blow dryers, curling irons, and more.  

If you’ve got a closet in the bathroom, add small shelves or baskets to the door for holding makeup or brushes.

7.  Mount a toothbrush holder like this one to the side of your medicine cabinet or near the sink.

Mud Room Organization (With or Without An Actual Mud Room)

8.  Remember, going vertical is the key!  A locker style space for everyone’s “stuff” is a great way to get organized.

9.  Place a bench like this one near the door.  Put a labeled basket for each child under the bench.

If all of your baskets won’t fit under the bench, you can add cubbies like these next to the bench.  Go as high as you need.  (Just be sure to anchor them!)

10. Put hooks on the wall above the bench for backpacks, jackets, or sports equipment.

Laundry tips and tricks for people who hate laundry

11.  One thing I can’t stand is having cold, wet winter accessories lying everywhere.  Then I happened to see this sock hanger on Amazon and I’ve been in love ever since.

It’s super easy for the kids to use, and I haven’t stepped on a freezing cold scarf since we got it! (And it’s held up for years.)

I Hate My House!!!”  Learn what to do about it!

Storage in the Furniture

I bet you’re a pro at storing things under the furniture wherever you can manage.  But what about hiding things in the furniture?

You’re gonna love these ideas…

Sofa

12. Here’s the perfect Pinterest project: a pallet sofa.  I’d actually consider this more bench than sofa, but the idea is the same.  

Scroll on down to the sofa with the underneath storage shelving.

Extra seating, extra storage.  What’s not to love?

Ottoman

DIY Milk Crate Ottoman

13. I adore this DIY project!  Who would have thought to turn a cheap crate into a pretty ottoman?

More seating for littles or a nice place to prop your feet at the end of the long day.  And the storage is a lovely bonus.

Looking for more large family furniture ideas?  You’ll love these solutions.

Between the Studs

14. I can’t offer you two handsome men (get it?  studs?  wink, wink), but the ideas out there for using storage right in your walls are just awesome.

Try these instructions from The Craft Patch to learn how to build your own extra wall storage.

Family Closet

15. More and more families are discovering how to organize a large family in a small house by choosing to have one family closet.

I’m not sure how your house works, but clothing is a mess in our home.

The bedrooms are full of clothes, and no one seems to know what’s clean and what’s not.

A family closet is a natural solution, because it contains all of the household clothing into one room.  It makes laundry much simpler!

Here are some other great ways to deal with all of that clothing mess.

Where to Put It

If you have space for it, this Ikea closet could be a great start to a family closet.

Incorporating a family closet will probably take some juggling.

16.  You may need to have more kids share a bedroom so you can put all of the clothing into its own room.

17.  Or maybe there’s a large walk in closet that will accommodate everyone’s clothing.

18.  Is your laundry room large enough to store everyone’s clothes?  You might even just section off a corner of a room with a curtain.

19.  Go all the way up the wall with your clothes to use just one wall of a room in this way.

Inspiration

Here’s some inspiration for creating your own family closet.

20.  A video blog of one family’s closet at Keeper of the Home.

21. Raising Arrows shares some thoughts on how to get the family closet started.

22.  Get more ideas (with pictures!) for creating your own family closet from Offbeat Home.

23. Here’s another way to get set up from Organic Large Families.

Family Closet Ideas

Can’t Fit a Family Closet?

24.  When I found this video about how one amazing Mom maximized her small laundry room, I had to include it.  Enjoy!

With these ideas, knowing how to organize a large family into a small home is just a matter of getting creative.

Change even just a wall or a corner of a room to add a lot of extra organization to your small home.

What’s that?  You want more tips for running your large family so smoothly, it’s like that one time you remembered snacks for the ballgame before you even got there??  (Tell me more!)

Sign up here for all the goodness…

How do you organize your large family into a small house?

Large family, small house. You can solve this problem using these organization ideas for your living spaces!
Looking for small house organization ideas? These space saving tricks will help you declutter your home. DIY solutions that work even if you have kids. For large families, too.
Large family organization ideas for your small house. How to organize your large family.  Ideas to make your big family fit into a small home. #largefamily #largefamilyorganization
How to Organize a Large Family in a Small House It's aggravating trying to fit all the things a large family needs into a small home. Try these tips to make your small space more livable.