Adrian Crook is the father and blogger behind 5 kids 1 condo. He lives in a 1,053 square-foot condo in Vancouver with his five children and gets around without a car.
While minimalism might not be for everyone, we asked Crook for tips the average family could use to declutter and downsize.
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Box it up
“Get a storage unit. Load everything you think you can live without, and even some stuff you’re unsure whether you need, into it. If you can go a year without it, sell or donate it all and do that again.”
Evaluate purchases
“I am a huge maximizer, so if I think I’m just going to buy something that will sit on a shelf, I don’t… Usually when you buy something you buy it because you think it will bring you joy… but it quickly drops off after you take it home. So unless you’re going to interact with it daily, try to limit the number of ‘joy’ items – lest you end up with a house full of tchotchkes.”
Rethink spaces
“Try to think of ways you can use your single purpose rooms for more than one use. So bedrooms – what’s their daytime use? If you can give them a day use for kids, it will feel like your space has doubled.”Watch below: Imagine raising five children in a 1,000 square-foot condo. A single dad in Vancouver is doing it by choice. He’s teaching his kids the value of living with less. Laurel Gregory reports.