100 days

Enjoying Condo Life

Today is our 100th day living in a 850 Square Foot Condo in Downtown Toronto. This whole adventure has been about experimenting with downsizing and seeing if we could deal with going from our two story (And finished basement) house to a small condo or apartment. We really no longer need a big house, and as I get older I have been finding that bad knees and hips make stairs a painful nuisance, so a single floor living space would be nice. As well, I was finding that the house maintenance and routine yard work that I used to enjoy was losing some of it’s appeal. 

So, what have we learned after 100 days here in Toronto?

First and foremost, we have adapted admirably to the small condo and are perfectly happy with only 850 square feet of living space. There are compromises we have had to make, but they are all good ones and we have had no problems with adapting. 

We went from having a TV in almost every room to only having one, so when I want to watch NASCAR, F1 or NFL, Regis has to either watch with me or go into another room and watch on another device. The result is that she has learned to enjoy some of the amazing passes and runs in football and she has discovered bluetooth headphones to read and drown out my sports. Of course this also works the other way around, and Regis’ favourite Hallmark Christmas special have allowed me to nap or read as I tune them completely out. 

I have discovered that with a condo sized washer and dryer you have to do laundry more often, but with a simple drying rack, the small loads dry overnight or by the end of the day and put enough moisture into the air to overcome the dryness of ninth floor and central heat.

Toronto Wildlife

We went from a large efficient kitchen that we designed around a beautiful Italian gas stove to a small galley kitchen. Our kitchen used to enable the whole family get involved in cooking events, but even two people find it difficult to work in the condo’s smaller space, but we have adapted to alternating the meal preparation and this works fine. We would, of course, like a larger kitchen, but we have found ways to make this work. 

Cleaning and general housework is probably the biggest plus; only one bathroom to clean and you can plug the vacuum into one plug and reach every corner of the condo. The entire space can be clean and shiny in around an hour. 

Groceries and food is an area where we really have had to adjust our habits. Those annoying Loblaws/Superstore “Two for  . . .” deals just do not work as we do not have space to store extra bottles of ketchup or orange juice. We have learned to buy smaller portions so our small “condo sized” freezer doesn’t fill up way too fast. Here in Toronto this works fine for us as the grocery store is only two blocks away and daily walks to the store are easy. 

Out for a walk in Toronto

We like having a gym in the building and have gotten into a routine for exercise and not having a car gives us further exercise as we walk or use Public Transit. Our small second bedroom has been used by a number of guests quite comfortably, so 100 days in, and our condo experiment continues to go very well.