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Twin Sharing

Making the Most of Your Space

By Jenn Director Knudsen

ture can be expensive and transient. When planning for your twins, think not only of their present, but future, needs too, as did both Janice and Cari R.*, also the mother of 4-year-old fraternal twin girls.

"In hindsight, the rocker and footstool weren't necessary," says Cari of Portland, Ore. "I don't think I ever rocked or fed anyone in it, since I was always feeding two babies at once. And those chairs are not really built for three!"

In terms of other pieces of furniture, Cari says she chose cribs that converted to toddler beds, and because her girls were pretty petite, the beds lasted until they were 3 1/2 years old. "We also chose a dresser that didn't look 'babyish' and could be used when they were much older," she adds.

Janice made a different decision, knowing her daughters probably would be 6 feet tall, like their mom. "When the girls were ready to move out of the cribs, we bought high-quality extra long twin beds," she says. "We chose this route because the girls would outgrow a toddler bed and a regular-size mattress. It was expensive but worth it in the long run."

And for general storage space, get creative and "think vertical," Walker says. "Vertical storage [such as floor-to-ceiling shelving, trundle and bunk beds] is key, as is rotating out old clothing immediately. Keeping it around even though you know you'll never use it will only take up precious space."

"We chose cribs that had a drawer underneath because we were short on storage space," Cari says. "We also purchased an extra 'dresser-type' unit that fit into the coset." And the family only recently converted its extra guest bedroom into the girls' playroom; the twins have shared a bedroom from the get-go.

Creating a playroom allowed Cari to "reclaim" the living and dining rooms that had been her daughters' play area and store all the girls' toys in one, out-of-the way place. "Even though it felt like we were living in a romper room, it was a good space for them in which to play," Cari says.

Now that her daughters have a dedicated playroom, Cari says they have their own place to play, and it seemed a better use of space to make the room a playroom than a guest room, which was only used a few weeks out of the year.

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• Talk about it!