haha...i really needed this!

you're obsessed with websites to help you come up with ideas ways of fitting the basic necessities in your space.

The first sight that hits you eyes when you awake in the morning is your refrigerator...sigh...

- you can sit on your bed and type on the laptop at your desk
- you own one chair that pulls triple duty as a dining, living room and vanity chair
- the color palette of storage boxes concerns you because all your guests will see them
- your daily reads are the NYT, Apartment Therapy and Ikea Hacker
- you visit your friend's 500 sq foot apt and think, "wow! this is HUGE!"

(still wouldn't trade it for the world.)

to borrow Alton Brown's phrase, "there is only room for one uni-tasker"--the fire extinguisher. Everything else needs to perform multiple tasks.

- You only need one swiffer sheet to mop.
-All your appliances are in miniature.
- You can watch tv from your toilet.
- All your furniture is tall to maximize wall and storage space.(Its a problem being short)
- You only have one window. : (

you have a bunk bed out of necessity, and you call it a "loft bed" because you're over the age of 12.

Also, you think of your place as the space where you keep valuables (like food and clothing) dry and locked up.

-- You consider moving your bed into the kitchen because it has exactly 54" X 75" of unused space.

…your dining table is also your desk, buffet, ironing board and craft table.

this was so me. thanks for posting this!!

I completely LOVE the curtains that are separating the desk from the bed! Anyone know where I can get them? Thanks!

Love the office nook in the photo.

...your oven is valuable cabinet space

My sophomore year of college I got stuck with a room that used to be the back porch of a house, which happened to have the washer/dryer in it.
You had to walk through my room to get to a bathroom. A girl had to walk through the room to get to hers...right next to my room was the kitchen which thankfully had a door separating them.
I didn't have a closet and was only able to hang a rack on the back of a water heater door. Lovely. I was gone before the lease was up.

when you wonder how to maximize ceiling space for storage

They're just your basic sheer curtain with two layers of pompom fringe sewn on, one light yellow and one dark yellow. I remember seeing this pic in a magazine or somewhere long ago.

- You can open the stove, turn on the TV (without a remote), and open the bathroom door, all while sitting on the couch.
- You "display" your clothing, not because you want to but because you have to.
- Your bed is also the dining table
- You have to build a wall because technically it's a 2-bedroom.

oh, I miss living in New York!

-You don't even need a mop (A paper towel will clean all the tile just fine)

-You store your Christmas decorations with your toiletries

-Your family consistently refers to your apartment as "quaint"

-One positive is your heating bill is affordable even in the winter :)

<3

- You can vacuum the entire apartment without changing the outlet where the vacuum is plugged in. :)

'…you tell friends and family "no gifts" not due to altruism, but for lack of room.'

Love this! I'm in college and in my first apartment (600sf studio) and my parents just don't understand that I do not want holiday or birthday gifts anymore... I just don't room for anything else! Haha.

Your bathroom is so tiny that in order to circumvent the sink to reach the toilet you've invented a dance move called "The Can Opener".

- you can't even fathom the luxury of having a second bedroom!

- you get excited if replacing thicker lathe and plaster walls with drywall gives you an extra inch of room space!

- you can vacuum the whole house without unplugging.

- you accept the fact that there is little to no acoustical privacy.

- you use the stove top as a perfectly acceptable food prep space.

- you know there is absolutely no reason to shop at Costco.

Wow. This is making my (shared) 800 sf apartment seem enormous!

- Only one person fit in the kitchen or the bathroom at any time.
- All of your furniture does double-, if not triple-duty.
- You hack most of the things you own to make them more efficient. (Or so they fit the space!)
- You panic in early December because you have no idea how you'll fit a Christmas tree... or you forgo a tree all together.
- You curse your kitchen's lack of counter space every time you cook.
- The kitchen has no window.

You can only buy 4 rolls of toilet paper at a time.

You and your partner invent a little dance as you have to squeeeeez past each other in the kitchen.

You keep most the walls white to maximize the space.

What a great post this was! I checked the yes box on almost all of these! But I have to say, living small has really cured me of my over-consumption & pack ratting. Because there's no room in my shared 700sf home for things I don't absolutely love!

- your books share shelf space with groceries and small kitchen appliances.

We told family and friends, "no gifts this Christmas unless they can be used in the 527 sq ft apartment." It worked.

-You use the 'front hall closet' as your personal closet, since the only thing that fits in your room is your bed.

-You have to walk through someone's room to get to the bathroom.

-You have a decidedly necessary fire hazard due to someone's bed covering a doorway.

Gotta love roommates in "three bedroom" apartments in Brooklyn. Love this post! And I love the desk in the photo! Wish mine was as organized as that...

very enjoyable post!

...you can't open the oven door or the refrigerator door at the same time.

- To get from one place to another, you do a living room quickstep quarter turn progressive chasse -- quick-quick, slow-slow, quick-quick, slow-slow -- to get around things.
- Your trousers are torn at the hip, where the material catches on the door plate when the door can't open all the way and you need to squeeze through.
- You have bruises from bumping into things.
- You're in a boat's cabin or fly economy and think: Gee, this is roomy.

-your bed is in your kitchen
-your desk is in your closet
-your oven is full of shoes
-your cabinets are full of sweaters

The water heater is between the kitchen sink and stove so you use it to rest things on while doing dishes or cooking.

- i once stored my two pair of ski-boots, hats, gloves and ski waxes in my kitchen cupboards.
- dishwasher used to store christmas ornaments and my "fancy" glassware

HAHA Timothy...
...your oven is valuable cabinet space..
This where my husband and I used to store the small kitchen appliances when people were coming over... or pretty much when we need to use the kitchen counter.

...Overnight guests have to either sleep on top of you or under you, which immediately rules out visiting relatives, presumably...

-when buying new shoes you consider how they will look on display, since they dont fit in your closet
-your coffee table is your dining room table
-you really do store sweaters in the oven
-you actually have a murphy bed

-you know the exact dimensions of every nook and cranny in case you find a piece of furniture that could fit in there.
- it only takes you a few minutes to look EVERYWHERE for something
-nothing is ever lost.

-you pay extra for toothpaste that stands upright since it takes up less surface space.

…you get dressed for work taking things from the oven
…in winter, people and yourself have to take off their shoes in the staircase before entering
…if someone rings the dorbell, you don’t need to get up from the table to open the door

Actually, the multifunctionality of ovens is striking — I would never have imagined!

- You have a bag hanging off of every doorknob in the apartment.
- You have (what you think) are your 'cooler' looking clothes hanging off hooks in the hallway and livingroom.
- Every wood or plastic chair doubles as portable shelf.
- You've considered buying a car because of all the things you could store in the trunk.
- Your coffee table is also your office.

When the door of your side-by-side fridge hits the oven when you open it and the oven door only opens half way before it hits the fridge.

To change places with someone in the kitchen requires that both exit and then trade.

A true galley kitchen that was in a huge 800 sq foot apartment.

I miss that apartment now......

When you know just what you can fit where and start building funiture to accomate your stuff. When you cant get rid of your futon since you would loose that great storage underneath

when you do a victory dance over vertical space you've somehow managed not to use yet!

when your clothesline that runs across your main apartment room can hold no more than 10 garments.

when you become addicted to cup hooks, covering many an empty wall with them for "open storage purposes". you later deem the pans, measuring cups, and oven mitts hanging on your kitchen walls to be "art". (same goes for the purses and hats from the ceiling of your closet space.)

You get an oversized, fluffy, monogrammed towel for Christmas from an aunt, and you can't bring it back to New York with you because it's too big for your apartment.

Your bathroom & kitchen are so close to one another, it's really just a bitchen.

-while sitting on your toilet (with the lid down) you can comfortably brush your teeth/wash your face in the sink that is on the opposite wall.

If you have somebody over to dinner you have to put the bin outside the door.

If you have two people over to dinner you have to stack your one comfortable chair on the bed (different flat).

You can cut the grass of your front lawn with a scissors and it doesn't take long (different house).

on a positive note, you can clean your apartment in a cinch.

Selena, you can clean your apartment in a cinch but one little thing out of place and it looks like hell all over again !!!

"Your bathroom & kitchen are so close to one another, it's really just a bitchen." czg

LMAO!!

You toss items to your partner, rather than getting up to hand them off.

When the guy you've been dating finally gets to see your apartment, leaves an hour later, and never calls again!

"Bitchen" Haahaaaa.

- You can sit on the toilet and put your feet in the bathtub and wash your hands in the sink at the same time!

You use your washer and dryer as countertops. In my case, raise the cabinets several inches to install a countertop to go across the w/d! And then have to buy a step stool to reach the counter :(

And realize there's no where to store the stepstool.

You buy extra cushy dining room chairs, because they have to double as extra guest seating.

You realize a 20" stove is really all the space you need to make homecooked meals. 30"? Total waste of necessary cabinet space!

Your cookbook is allrecipes.com, pulled up on your laptop, because there's no place to store real cookbooks.

Your electricity bill is only $35-40/month. In ANY season.

You realize the attic can be used as another living space. Only 3 months out of the year, but it's something!

- when you look at this post and find it priceless

You read a comment mentioning a washer and dryer, a dining room, and an attic and your blood boils with envy. :D

...when you use your washer and dryer as an impromptu buffet area. I used to do this back in my old apartment, and when my dinky little table could not hold platters of food, my washer and dryer became an impromptu buffet table. Also, you know you live in a small space, when you become really adept at not stubbing your toe in the same cramped place, resulting in an odd dance of sorts, a choreographed routine.

Another oven one courtesy of my last apartment (all of 300SF)...

- your oven doubles as a heat source in the winter.

hehe - love this post!

how about, you know you live in a small space when the only reason why you could buy a kitchen table is because ikea sells a gateleg table that is only 11 inches wide when folded up (the Norden Gateleg - fits into a funny space next to the sink and the wall - score! ... of course, can't move in the kitchen when we open it up, but it's better than eating on the bed or the floor)

or, the "only counter space" available when you're using the stove (the usual counter space) a board that you lay over the sink...

or, you have to stand on a ladder to access 50% of your possessions...

370 square feet for 2, but i wouldn't trade it either :)

You are planning the bathroom renovation and are nearly in tears trying to arrange it so the toilet will be hidden behind the always-open bathroom door because the inside of the bathroom will be visible from the living room and you can't shut the bathroom door except when absolutely necessary because the cat box is in the bathroom vanity because the cat box has to go SOMEWHERE, right?! and then when it's all done all your dear friends who come to visit seem to be people who compulsively shut the bathroom when they leave it and that just wrecks your whole system and if you have to explain it one more time... well, you get the idea.

You buy a glasstop stove (and find one only 20in wide SCORE) because when not in use it can be used as extra countertop space. And the sink is 14in across and the dishwasher is 18in wide, the fridge is 24in wide, and you find a 24in wide combo washer/dryer and you're so happy because now it will all work and you don't have to A. move or B. have a nervous breakdown. But you might as well have a nervous breakdown because the place is so small that NOTHING is standard size, everything is custom. and it's costing a FORTUNE. But it the end it all does work out and looks really really great, and it functions really well, and so spending the preceding 3 years on the internet tracking all this stuff down was all worth it. And you are never moving out of this house ever ever ever except feet-first.

you glare at people when they automatically assume your house is a "starter home".

I live in texas and apparently 1,000sqft isnt seen as livable...

These are very funny, and they confirm for me that my 1,300 square foot house is quite spacious.

-- you can't open the fridge and dishwasher at the same time

-- your back door is your window

-- you leave one section of your expedit empty so you can watch television from your "bedroom"

When you have a recurring dream that you find an extra room you never realized was there.

When you can't have more than 2 people over for a dinner party because you only have 4 plates.

These are hilarious. I feel better about our 736 sqft.

- When you have one of those ridiculously inefficient sink/stove/fridge-in-one-unit things, and can't even add a teeny barfridge, because then there would quite literally be no more floor space in the "kitchen."

- When you stand in your place and realize you can see every single wall from that one single spot. Even in the bathroom.

wow, and i thought my place was small... I can't open my fridge without standing in the bathroom, and its a mini fridge because i need the space on top to double as my desk for my lap top and the toilet is my desk chair (still trying to figure a way to make it swivel).

I go camping in a 6 person tent and feel like i just won the lottery and bought a mansion.

My kitchen sink doubles as my bathroom sink.

My laptop doubles as TV entertainment.

My welcome mat at the front door (setting inside the door) doubles as the bathroom rug.

When i bought a vehicle, i got a suburban just for the storage room.

$30 electric bill is high

I only have one electrical outlet through out the whole place.

A portable dish washer would have to sit outside.

You know your space is to small when a futon produces waisted space.

Lighting one scented candle doubles as a heat source in the winter.

Your chihuahua is cramped and would rather stay in his/her dog house out side because it is more spacious.

Going grocery shopping makes you cringe because of all that storage space in the mini fridge you'll have to give up.

In the winter your back porch/balcony doubles as a fridge so you can use that space (inside the fridge) more resourceful.

Buying a four pack of toilet paper is considered a waist of space.

... When you have shelves in any vertical space-wall of your home.