hanhosh's Profile

We bought a house from the 60s a couple of years ago with a kitchen laid out similarly to yours. The first thing we did was rip out the stove top that was taking up massive amounts of counter space. We bought an oven with a stove top and moved it elsewhere in the kitchen and turned the former stove top counter into a big open counter with an overhang that you can sit at. It was probably our best remodel move as it has become the hub of our home activity.

We have 6 hens and don't refrigerate our fresh eggs we get from them. In fact I keep them in a nice jar on the counter because they're such pretty colors! The need to be refrigerated IF they have already been cold or previously refrigerated. I read up on keeping eggs unrefrigerated before we got our hens, and one article said that in a test eggs left unrefrigerated were still unspoiled up to 5 MONTHS after they were collected!

Those who believe that eggs must be kept refrigerated are also probably the same people that think brown eggs are healthier than white... FYI, the color of the egg is determined by the color of the hen (white eggs from white hens, brown from brown hens, etc.) Although our grey and black Aruacana gives us greenish eggs!

Three kids later the one item we have used with all of them is the Twilight Turtle. It is a fantastic night light, and a perfect amount of light to see by in the middle of the night for diaper changes or feedings. Plus the stars add some nice ambiance. It goes through batteries quickly if it's used every night. That is my only complaint against it.

Ditto on the co-sleeping, breastfeeding, and needing next to nothing (lack of space played into this as well).

Our neighbor's tree fell on a shed we had just started building earlier this summer. Luckily it was very minimal damage (maybe $20 total) and he was out the next mowning cleaning it up. He even gave us the tree for firewood. It was our first real situation like it, and proved to us that we lucked out an got a nice neighbor.

An infant car seat.
We had one with our first, and realized that it was a big waste of money (he, being on the small side, was too big for it by 10 months!). With the subsequent kids, we've just used a convertible car seat. Yeah, we can't tote the sleeping baby around in it, but it's been way easier on my back to just use an Ergo Carrier or something similar.

Call me a tech prude if you will, but I'm so sick and tired of friends constantly being on their iPhones even when we're just hanging out (not eating) that I've decided I don't want one EVER no matter how convenient they are.

If if distracts you from the present company and isn't an "emergency" it should be put away.

1000 sq feet for 2 people and a pet is not "small". We have 900 sq feet and three kids, and make it work fine. Keeping stuff/clutter to a minimum (totally do-able if you train your kids young!) is the key to making any space feel larger.

I suppose if one had the luxury of space, but under the bed storage is needed a lot of the time.

I like the idea once a kid is moved out of a crib- no worries about falling out of bed or needing a bed rail.

Better Than Bouillon makes a low odium version for those who say it's too salty. And, you can buy the larger jars of it at Costco for the price of the small jars at regular stores. I love the stuff and use it all the time. Bonus- it's organic.

Oh I love this post. I agree that sleeping in separate beds would probably SAVE a ton of marriages and not ruin them.
I want my own bed now.