Self Care in an Apartment with Kids

Do you ever feel constrained by your living space? Maybe it feels crowded, cluttered with kid paraphernalia, or - if you're a renter - there are restrictions on how much you can change it up.

I was asked to add my perspective as a life coach for moms and nonbinary parents for a Redfin article about peaceful apartment living.

This was a fun one to think about, because it reminded me of my 5 years of living in an apartment along with our first baby, who eventually grew into a preschooler and big brother when our second child entered the world.

Sharing space in an apartment with baby isn't always easy, but you can see one way I practiced self care in the images above. 

As our apartment bedroom became taken over by a changing table, diaper pail*, and baby clothes, I decided to claim the space above my dresser as all my own.

*Note: I said "diaper pail" for the article because it flowed better - but as you can see, we were living with a small open garbage can of dirty diapers in our bedroom! In the Southern California heat! (Whyyyyy?) I can only guess because of our frugal, grad-school lifestyle we didn't think to look into an upgrade.

Back to claiming a space for myself...

I added framed prints from my favorite artist, a bud vase when I had a clipping of greenery to display, and a lamp my husband made for me when we were dating. Having space that was all my own helped me to feel more peace about sharing everything else.

I hope this story helps you to consider what it might mean to practice self care in your physical environment, especially as a parent of young ones.

If you'd like, you can see my Brave Self Care tip along 23 others in the article: ​The Keys to a Peaceful Apartment: 24 Ways to Practice Mindfulness.