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!