I've thought for a while about writing about our house. Not because I think it's a terribly exciting, stylish or interesting house (it isn't) but simply because it's a good exercise in contentment. One of my least appealing traits is a tendency to always want to move on to the next thing; be that the next book, the next pregnancy or the next house. I struggle to just stay still, enjoy life as it is and wait patiently for events to unfold naturally.
This can have a negative impact on those around me. The times when I've pestered Hubby with questions about moving house and decorating are the times when our relationship has been strained. He takes it personally, which is understandable. By focusing my attention on 'upgrading', I am basically telling him that I am dissatisfied with what I've got and I don't appreciate the hard work it took him to build the life we have now. Ingratitude is an ugly thing...and a sin.
So I am resolved once and for all to put aside all of that selfishness and really celebrate the little home we live in and the life it gives us.
And indeed, living in small house does bring with it a great quality of life. In fact, for a stay at home mother (or wife) a small house is an absolute God-given gift! Just think about it...
1. Housework. It's pretty obvious I suppose, but with a smaller house comes less cleaning, tidying and housework which means in turn more time to devote to our families, friends, hobbies and relaxation or quiet prayer time. And who could say that is a bad thing?
2. Consumerism. This can be seen one of two ways, but I've decided that for me, this is definitely a blessing. Less room has to mean less stuff. If all you have in the way of storage is a tiny cupboard under the stairs then you have to think carefully before making any big home purchases. Everything has to have a designated place. The up-shot of this is there is less to organise and less to tidy up. Which again, means more time for the things that really matter in life...
3. Creativity. Working out how to store all your kitchen appliances when you've got a kitchen that measures 40 square foot is a challenge but it forces you to think outside the box and come up with original and creative solutions. These in turn become the stamps of individuality that add life and interest to a home. After all, no one wants to live in a cookie-cutter house...
4. Money. Perhaps the biggest blessing that comes from living in a small house is the financial benefit. It takes less money to heat and air-condition a small house, mortgage or rental payments are inevitably less and less space means less to furnish. The potential savings are quite significant. A small house enables families to live more within their means which provides an enormous boost to quality of life and overall happiness. Study after study has shown that once people have enough money to clothe and feed themselves adequately as well as keep a roof over their heads without worrying about the where the next pay-cheque is coming from, there is no more happiness to be gained from having more money.
There may well be more positives that I just haven't thought of. Certainly when I began to really think about all the benefits of living in a small space, I realised that there were more than I first thought.
But the overall result of all of them is the same. Living Small can bring about a much greater quality of life. If paying the bills can be achieved without too much worry and strain and housework done with time to spare, then the stay at home wife and mother has that much more time to pursue her interests or just be with her family. I don't want to pretend that there aren't challenges; of course there are, in any living situation. And I know for lots of people, affording even a really small house can be a difficulty in this economic climate, but
right now, in this moment, I want to focus on the real pleasures and blessings that a small house can bring to the lives of those that live in it. I am lucky enough to be one of those people. And I thank God for that gift.
"Sing praises to God, sing praises: sing praises unto our King, sing praises".
Psalm 47:6
Showing posts with label Home. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Home. Show all posts
19 April, 2010
14 April, 2010
Living Small
It's nice to have friends in high places. But it's nicer to have friends in small places.
We are a family of 3 people and 1 cat and we live in a 2 bed 370sq. ft. home. Whilst I was pregnant, we had assumed that we would move as soon as we possibly could, thinking as we did that there was no real way we could raise a family in a house as small as ours. I lamented the lack of garden space, the steep stairs and narrow door frames.
But 7 months after our daughter's birth we are still here and not only that, but we are actually enjoying the challenges and blessings of 'living small'. It encourages us to de-clutter, get rid of things we don't need or use and to make do. A life with less material things means life can be filled with the things that actually matter; loving other people. And I have no qualms about adding another member to our family while we're here...in fact, I think it could be really fun.
That said, if Hubby walked in the room right now and told me that we were moving to a smaller place, I'd probably be reluctant, to put it mildly. I have the desire to live radically, but I'm just too much of a wimp when it comes to actually doing it. The spirit is willing...but this flesh is really weak.
But through some good friends of ours, I am able to glimpse a life altogether more small and radical than any I could envisage for myself. Hubby's best childhood friend and best friend to this day moved to Japan in his 20's. He loved the culture and having a knack for languages he decided to teach English as a foreign language over there. He met a woman, they fell in love and they married. A few years later came their first baby, an adorable little girl.
Prior to marrying they had rented a tiny apartment in one of the major Japanese cities. It consisted of a kitchenette, a shower room, and a main room divided by a sliding partition wall which was used for eating, socialising and sleeping. All in all, they had about 150sq. ft. at their disposable. Oh, and a tiny little balcony to keep a few potted plants on. When they discovered they were expecting their daughter, many Western friends and family naturally assumed they would move somewhere bigger. They were wrong. They stayed in their same apartment after the birth of their baby, embracing the Japanese tradition of co-sleeping with their baby on little tatami mats. Never mind a cot, they didn't have so much as a bed. Radical stuff to your average Westerner, sleeping in his double king-size four poster bed.
I often find myself thinking about them, wondering if they experience the kind of discontent with their surroundings that I can sometimes find myself selfishly harboring. But something tells me they don't bother with such nonsense. When they visited our home for the first time, back when Hubby lived here alone, his friend's wife was astonished at the amount of space...all these rooms, for only 1 person! Far from believing herself to be missing out, she expressed disbelief that anyone could really need and use a house this size.
This is such an inspiring attitude. And whilst our Japanese friend has the benefit of her cultural background affirming her views, it's not impossible for a Westerner to adopt a similar attitude, even in a culture which prizes materialism above pretty much everything else.
So I'm going to set myself a little blogging challenge. I want to write about our little house, about what it means to 'live small'; the difficulties, the benefits and what can be gained from it. We are committed to staying in our home until the right time to move, possibly even until we can pay off what's left of the mortgage. And so I'm determined to treat this place like my dream home and build the life we so want, one day at a time.
This online diary is the perfect place to catalogue this journey and to really delight in building a home that serves us as a family. Living Small is the way to go.
I can't wait to start!
We are a family of 3 people and 1 cat and we live in a 2 bed 370sq. ft. home. Whilst I was pregnant, we had assumed that we would move as soon as we possibly could, thinking as we did that there was no real way we could raise a family in a house as small as ours. I lamented the lack of garden space, the steep stairs and narrow door frames.
But 7 months after our daughter's birth we are still here and not only that, but we are actually enjoying the challenges and blessings of 'living small'. It encourages us to de-clutter, get rid of things we don't need or use and to make do. A life with less material things means life can be filled with the things that actually matter; loving other people. And I have no qualms about adding another member to our family while we're here...in fact, I think it could be really fun.
That said, if Hubby walked in the room right now and told me that we were moving to a smaller place, I'd probably be reluctant, to put it mildly. I have the desire to live radically, but I'm just too much of a wimp when it comes to actually doing it. The spirit is willing...but this flesh is really weak.
But through some good friends of ours, I am able to glimpse a life altogether more small and radical than any I could envisage for myself. Hubby's best childhood friend and best friend to this day moved to Japan in his 20's. He loved the culture and having a knack for languages he decided to teach English as a foreign language over there. He met a woman, they fell in love and they married. A few years later came their first baby, an adorable little girl.
Prior to marrying they had rented a tiny apartment in one of the major Japanese cities. It consisted of a kitchenette, a shower room, and a main room divided by a sliding partition wall which was used for eating, socialising and sleeping. All in all, they had about 150sq. ft. at their disposable. Oh, and a tiny little balcony to keep a few potted plants on. When they discovered they were expecting their daughter, many Western friends and family naturally assumed they would move somewhere bigger. They were wrong. They stayed in their same apartment after the birth of their baby, embracing the Japanese tradition of co-sleeping with their baby on little tatami mats. Never mind a cot, they didn't have so much as a bed. Radical stuff to your average Westerner, sleeping in his double king-size four poster bed.
I often find myself thinking about them, wondering if they experience the kind of discontent with their surroundings that I can sometimes find myself selfishly harboring. But something tells me they don't bother with such nonsense. When they visited our home for the first time, back when Hubby lived here alone, his friend's wife was astonished at the amount of space...all these rooms, for only 1 person! Far from believing herself to be missing out, she expressed disbelief that anyone could really need and use a house this size.
This is such an inspiring attitude. And whilst our Japanese friend has the benefit of her cultural background affirming her views, it's not impossible for a Westerner to adopt a similar attitude, even in a culture which prizes materialism above pretty much everything else.
So I'm going to set myself a little blogging challenge. I want to write about our little house, about what it means to 'live small'; the difficulties, the benefits and what can be gained from it. We are committed to staying in our home until the right time to move, possibly even until we can pay off what's left of the mortgage. And so I'm determined to treat this place like my dream home and build the life we so want, one day at a time.
This online diary is the perfect place to catalogue this journey and to really delight in building a home that serves us as a family. Living Small is the way to go.
I can't wait to start!
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