what NOT to do
 

We've had a major change at our house. My son, daughter-in-law, 2 1/2 yr old grandson & their 3 dogs & 1 cat have moved into my 2 bedroom/1 bath cottage with my DH & our 2 dogs....Space is a premium! I never really had a sewing "room" - sewing machine in spare room, fabric in closets & drawers all over the house - not a good system even before the family enlargement...Last night I bought a cabinet to store all of my fabric & sewing things with the intention of "getting organized" and freeing up some closet space. OMG! I knew we would have to move some furniture out and rearrange other things but right this minute my house is in such an upheaval that I'm not sure we'll ever get straightened out again! I'm just a little overwhelmed at the moment... I know everything will be fine.... Probably when all is done I will be able to find just what I am looking for quickly and be able to sew more...Like I said, just a bit overwhelmed right this minute.

Wow! That is quite a housefull in a tiny space! I get very overwhelmed when things are in such disarray as well. Might take a few iterations to get all the furniture in the right places, but I'm sure you'll be better organized at the end of the process. Good luck.

Oh my! I admire you and as Tartan said, family does come first. I know it sounds trite but "one day at a time"! You'll be amazed at what you find when cleaning out fabric storage. I always find a piece and say to myself "what was I thinking when I bought this?" Enjoy the time with the DGKs and family, but do make time for yourself!

Just sending prayers! You may want to think about a storage unit for a time. My friend has 1 bedroom apt. She bought couple armoires; one for sewing and one for computer/tv. Daughter and son-in-law lost home to fire right before move-in. 6 months still with her. praying for you!

Phew, you do have a houseful. Hope you can carve out some time to reorganize so that you can still create. So important for our stress levels.

The thought of all the people/animals in one house overwhelms ME and I'm not even there! Wow! Prayers said that the situation works and that you are blessed for stepping up and helping.

My thought if for them and maybe you to PURGE PURGE PURGE. Time to get rid of the 'stuff' they haven't used for a long time but the maybe they already have.

If you are like me, sewing is my therapy. Sew during toddlers nap time....unless he goes to day care.

Good luck, Keep us posted. Hugs!

After recently downsizing, I can relate to chaos. Day by day, things will calm down somewhat and become more normal. This kind of thing sure puts life in perspective. Be thankful that you are able to help them.

You will survive.......and you will have a gb around to entertain you and you can enjoy.......that's a gift......just make sure you set down house rules for everyone......remember M is for Mom, not Maid.......do some handwork, if you like to, in the meantime.....

<breathe> it will be fine. Just set a few flexible and inflexible rules and just enjoy the time if you can to quilt.

Praying for you and the family. It is good you are trying to organize so you can still do some sewing. I find during the most stressful times is when I need quilt therapy.

hopefully for them it will be short term, hopefully for you everyone will pitch in to make it work for as long as it lasts.

Much of the world lives in small accommodations with extended family, it is easy to forget that, though it might be cold comfort :)

That's for certain! I love watching House Hunters on HGTV with all these people that 'require' umpteen bathrooms and bedrooms, plus office space, etc. etc. I always think about all the people that were raised in much less space and they came out just fine. When I was a kid, 2 bedrooms and 1 bathroom were pretty much par for the course for a family of four.

You will be fine. :D

When I was growing up, our family of 11 lived in a house with three small bedrooms and 1 bath! Of course, there weren't 11 of us the whole time - babies came one at a time, or in the case of the twins, two at a time, and we just adjusted. Hope your adjustment time is short and sweet and you enjoy having your family so close. Many people have family scattered far away and don't get to see them. Write in a Gratitude Journal (even if only in your head) if you get frustrated. You'll probably look back on this time later and be so glad you had it. Blessings!

Wow - everyone will have to do major adjusting!

Get a little notebook and write where you stash everything so you can find it later? Good luck, I feel your pain. Currently house rearranging ourselves.

OMG!

Reaching out with lots of hugs. My son, Daughter in Law, a baby born while living with my husband and me, little one is now 15 months old. No pets. I have stayed overwhelmed - I have packed up and can't find anything and so many things have been broken. I can't pack fast enough.

I love my granddaughter and I love watching her grow and her happiness. This is all that matters in life. Quilting isn't happening. Hang in there.

Get a large shed and have your son put it up in the backyard...for overflow.!

AS daughter's MIL said to me during a very stressful time "I don't think God sends us more than we can handle". It's true. It may seem overwhelming at the time but if you keep putting one foot in front of the other and trust in God all will be okay.

No way could I live in that situation. I know my limits.
Good luck to you. Hopefully there are no rules against that many people and animals living in that small of a place.
My Granddaughter just bought and moved into a house, they are not allowed to have anyone else living with them. Subdivision rules.

Sending calming hugs your way.... It's gonna be crazy nutz for a while....most of all try to keep your sense of humor....TALK to each other about "stuff" so that bad/hurt feelings don't fester. Assuming that something life altering already happened that caused the move in....so there is enough stress right there. Gotta take an "all of us" against the world attitude if you can. STAY AWAY from negative input / people....they are "vexations to the spirit".
I wish you all very very well....and hope that this turns out to be a "good" thing in the end.
Wow......How far we've come from "generations" all living together in tiny cabins !!!!!! But they obviously survived !!:thumbup:

At one time, several generations living together - or very near each other - was very common.

I do appreciate having a fair amoint of personal space - but I think we have lost a lot with " nuclear" and " single parent" familoes.

My 34 year old daughter broke up with her fiance' and asked if she and her 2 very fluffy cats could stay for just 2 months. That was November 15th, 2013. I have 2 dogs and a short hair cat. I don't like her cats at all and I am the biggest animal lover ever. One of them keeps going after my cat and my dogs don't like them either. You don't know how many times, I just want to put them in the microwave but, my hubby is always telling me to behave myself.
I have so much fur up my nose, I could make another cat. Karma better be really good to me. With her paycheck, she could have bought a condo. I am handicapped and I am in a wheel chair a good portion of the time and I am going out of my mind. I love my daughter so much but my husband retired after working at the same place doing the same job for 44 years and we are old and tired. Tartan, could you take them to your house? You seem like a very nice person. I will pay you and if you ever need an organ, I will give it to you. My other 2 daughters cannot believe she is staying this long. They are both happily married with wonderful occupations. She forgets to turn off lights and I have a handicap seat in the shower and everyday she takes it out, she said there's no room. SHE'S A TWIG, IF A STRONG WIND WOULD COME IT WOULD BLOW HER DOWN. Nana Cindy Lou, I know what your going through and I feel for you. My husband keeps telling me that I've been stuttering a lot. I don't see a light at the end of the tunnel.

I'm sending you hugs and patience. When all else fails the library is a good place to go. The library here is very social and a friend and I have worked on quilts there. Also my library has a SILENT room where you can go and it's quiet. Hang in there and let the love from the quilting board keep you:D

As we say around here, "Ya do whatya gotta do!" Of course it will be crowded, noisy, and not much privacy, but it will pass. And when they do leave, there will be a vacuum of silence. We went through that over here and the void was awful. Take care of those who need you and all will fall into place. ..and you will be rewarded. Hugs!

My prayers and thoughts are with you in this situation. Hopefully this will be short-termed, but times are really tough in places to find employment. Too many of the jobs do not pay enough to keep a family in their own places.

Above all in your cramped living spaces, please make sure there is nothing that can be toppled over on a little one. A family has just buried their lovely 3 year old daughter this afternoon in a neighboring town. The couple had an older television set on a wooden stand. The little girl and her mother were playing when the little girl ran into the stand and television. The stand and television went over fracturing the little girl's skull. Please make sure all stands, free standing cupboards or bookcases are secured.

Maybe she needs to be told she has overstayed her welcome. Tell her she has 4 weeks to find a new place to live. Love is fine but enabling is not!

Thank you Nammie to 7, I showed my husband your posts and he wants to know how could I do that to my own blood.
I guess I will keep my mouth shut and hopefully she will move out with her 2 cats.
She is a manger of a 5 Star Courtyard Mariotte Hotel and makes fantastic money. Her best friend told her she could move in with her. My husband said he feels bad for her. She is 34 years old. I got married when I was 18 and had my first baby at 20 and by 26 I had my 3 daughters and my hubby and I are together for 41 years. I would never have gone back home. Thank you for listening to me.

I know what you are going thru a few years back my daughter and SIL lived with us for a year. My house is small also, plus my son was still home. We were crowded and I gave up my sewing room too. It may not always be easy, but in the end you will be very glad you could help them out. I agree with others, this is what family is all about!

I know how you feel!! It's a Horrible feeling but Take it in increments and before you know it. There will be organization. I tried to move my sewing room in one day!! OH MY LANTA!!!!! I was so worked up I couldn't relax until I talked myself into spent small amounts of time working on it then taking a break and within a week my sewing room was exactly as I wanted it!!!. I actually moved it down to a Lower Level Bedroom so a Friend could spend the winter with us but that fell through so now I have to Live with my sewing room down stairs. Which is ok not as easy to get down there as much but It's Really organized

Bless your hearts..Good luck to you and your family..

Thank you all for the wonderful advice, well wishes and prayers. I was just a little overwhelmed at the mess and confusion when I posted.... maybe just a little overwhelmed in general. I can report that furniture was moved, rooms repurposed and happily my sewing area is much smaller, but so well organized that it makes me want to sit down and get busy! We still have some sorting and tossing to do (needed to do that anyway) but we are going one day at a time. There are far more blessings than hardships in this arrangement. (Not to say I won't vent again to you, my friends.) Thanks for listening.....

4 years ago my son asked if they could move in with us if their house sold before they could move into the one they were going to build. 4 kids ages 3, 5 and 7 year old twins. I said no. I was going to retire and then clean out the 3 bedrooms upstairs with 35 years of junk. The next day I changed my mind. I had 3 months to clean it out and they lived with us from May 4 to Sept. 24. My point. I loved it. The grandkids still talk about, "when we lived here" and my DIL and I cemented our great friendship. I pray you are as lucky as I was. And, I did very little sewing/quilting that summer. Good luck!