Family of five lives in one-room apartment - Tiny Living & Minimalism | SWR Room Tour

The Şahin family saves on rent and lives five to a 40-square-meter one-room apartment. But it's right in the city center: in Frankfurt Sachsenhausen, between the popular pub district and the Main Bridge. In this location, you normally have to spend a lot of money on a rental apartment. Kathrin, Can and their three children didn't want that and moved into their Tiny Flat.
However, the family has not always lived in such a small space. Previously, they lived in a 3-room apartment directly above their Tiny Flat. When the small first floor apartment with a garden became available in the house, they jumped at the chance and lived in both apartments for two years.
But then came Corona. Homeschooling, no childcare, home office - and on top of that the high fixed costs, which came mainly from rent. This plunged the family into a crisis from which they were desperate to break out. So the five of them chose an unusual path. Kathrin came up with the idea of giving up the large apartment, downsizing and moving completely into the one-room apartment. Can got on board with minimalism, and the kids quickly got used to the idea, too.
And then it was time to clean out! But how? And what do you need at all? What kind of things are you burdened with? Kathrin and Can made three boxes: Keep. Sell. Throw away. And so they reduced their entire household by half. They were allowed to keep things that not only had a purpose, but could be used universally. So they said goodbye to many useless kitchen utensils.
The children were allowed to take the most. Kathrin is a trained social pedagogue and gently introduced them to the process of clearing out. The children store their boxes of memories in the basement with things that have no place in the apartment, but they still want to keep.
Currently, the family pays just under 540 euros in rent. On top of that, there is gas and electricity. Since both parents work, there is now much more money left over from the family income. And that is saved on the one hand and spent on vacations and family outings on the other.
Since the family lives in an old building, they benefit from ceilings that are almost four meters high. And since the floor space is small, it's all about height! So the laundry is dried under the ceiling thanks to a pulley system. The hallway is also not just a passageway, but is utilized right up to the ceiling. Kathrin and Can have built in a mezzanine. Upstairs, their three children sleep, play and have their closets. Downstairs, the toys are stored.
So the children have their own little retreat upstairs. Kathrin and Can are aware that their time in the Tiny Flat is limited. Their big daughter is nine. When she reaches puberty, she will probably want her own room. Then the family will look for new possibilities. Minimalism does, however, offer one big advantage - it keeps things tidy! Every object has its own place, so chaos doesn't stand a chance. Even with three children.
A film by Annika Erbach (editor), Lars Reuther (camera), Paul Heydecke (sound) and Florian Felix Klein (editing).
0:00 Tiny Flat
01:26 Kitchen
02:40 Universal room
08:15 Hallway and children's room
09:33 Storage room and bathroom