Many of you know we live in a desert and we are spoiled with beautiful weather. I love our area of the country but also find myself pining a little for back east. I want a large shady yard for the boys to run in and a large sunny garden to tend.
We rent a small house, 2 bedrooms and less than 1000 square feet with a tiny and I mean teeny, tiny backyard. My garden plot which we began last year is about 5 x 6'. Lest you think I'm complaining, I truly love our house. It's small and cozy and nestled into a little half cul de sac. But lately it has seemed smaller and smaller and I've found myself wishing for a bigger home and feeling a little entitled to it with the size of our budding family. But then I watched this, thanks to a friend on facebook.
And suddenly our house seems huge! Not only that but I recently read this book, which I highly recommend.
Not only did it help me clean out and clear out the boy's room but it's inspired me to clear out the rest of the house. Spring is in the air! Every nook and cranny is being sorted & ruthlessly cleared of things we don't need. Which brings me to the question, what do we really need to live? Do we need huge houses of stuff? The stuff in my life has begun to feel heavy and burdensome and I'm ready to clear it out and breathe in space & clarity. Do I need shelves and shelves of books when there is a perfectly good library in our town? Do we need 16 towels or could we do with 8? Do the boys need 10 pairs of pants or could they do with 4 or 5? I know I'm not alone in these thoughts. Here's another post I read recently on simplifying and some great tips on how to do so.
My "tiny" house now feels large and roomy. With much of the excess gone, or nearly gone it feels so much more expansive and much easier to keep clean. But why after watching one little video does my house feel so much bigger? My definition of a small house has changed, which was only just a mindset to begin with. Ah, freedom.
So after watching this video, could you join the tiny house movement?
Until next time...
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Isn't that video so inspiring?! I am right about where you are at in this moment. We haven't had a garden since Virginia and I feel like I am moving backwards in my desires for a simple life :( but I am trying to take it one day at a time. I noticed a very tiny spot in our yard that actually sees the sun and plan onmaking the tiniest of gardens there.. then we'll see what I am inspired to do from there. Sending you lots of hugs!!!!
ReplyDeleteIt is inspiring! Thanks so much for posting it on facebook! So glad you will be gardening again. A small one is better than none I say.
DeleteOh and Nova Naturals sent them out as a preferred customer benefit. Gosh I don't remember when I bought from them last, but I'm signed up for emails. Maybe that's why?
Oh and how did you get Taproot via Nova? I want a copy! :p
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing the video. We've been feeling like our place is getting too small too (it is described as cottage sized). You have inspired me to take a look around and see what we could do without.
ReplyDeleteGlad you're inspired! It feels so good to manage less stuff! I'm still looking around for more to clear.
DeleteI just LOVED this post! And video! So inspiring......so much to ponder......
ReplyDeletethanks so much Bonnie!
DeleteWow that video is inspiring. I love the book Simplicity Parenting, it's helped me to downsize our belongings and I know that less scheduling is so important for our children too. I was just saying to my husband today that I'm getting ready for another purge! It really feels good not to be weighed down by so much "stuff" and feel the freedom of not having to pay for or maintain it all. It's so much less work to just keep the money in the bank! ;o)
ReplyDeletexoxo
~ joey ~
Wow that video is inspiring. I love the book Simplicity Parenting, it's helped me to downsize our belongings and I know that less scheduling is so important for our children too. I was just saying to my husband today that I'm getting ready for another purge! It really feels good not to be weighed down by so much "stuff" and feel the freedom of not having to pay for or maintain it all. It's so much less work to just keep the money in the bank! ;o)
ReplyDeletexoxo
~ joey ~
Yes, that's my next step. Say no before it comes through the door!
DeleteAh, yes, great you tube video! And it DOES feel so good to clean out! We're in a 1,250 sq. ft. house and sometimes it feels small... but we make it work. After seeing that video, I have the urge to clean out some more and make it work better! Thanks for the inspiring post and links...
ReplyDeletexo
I'm learning simplifying is a continuous process. Seems to work in layers. I get rid of one layer & then the next time I look I find another and another layer. Sounds like I have massive amounts of stuff and I really don't. I'm just looking for that line between want & need.
DeleteOh I so want to watch the video, but my internet connection on the island is too slow. It keeps buffering...especially with the wind and snow blowing outside right now. I am bookmarking it to come back to when I am off island in a week.
ReplyDeleteI so feel the same way. That feeling has been resting deep in my soul of late. I am going to check out that book immediately. Could be some good plane reading....I have a 2 days trip to get from here to my mom's in Louisiana....3 hours to Anchorage, then 5 to Seattle, then 5 to Dallas, and then a 3 hour drive.
Thanks for the post!
-Amanda
Oh, yes, sounds like you'll have plenty of time to read it!
DeleteThanks for that video, loved watching it.
ReplyDeleteWe moved into a smallish house a few months back, although it is still 3 times the size of the one in that video. So many people thought we where mad, they could not understand why we did not want more, bigger, larger. But we live simply so it is perfect for us. Now are friends feel inspired to want to live with less too.
How inspiring! It's catchy!
DeleteThank you for that post. I needed to hear and see every morsel of it.
ReplyDeleteYay, I loved this post so much!!! I needed to hear it, too. We also live in a little house - it's 800 square feet and sometimes it feels like the walls are closing in on me. Simplifying really is key. I keep working on it, it makes such a difference - you are inspiring me to keep doing more! And also to be thankful for what we have. Small can truly be beautiful.
ReplyDeleteI ordered a subscription to Taproot and I can't wait to read it! Woohoo! :)
Enjoy Taproot! I love it, hopefully I can get a subscription before the next issue comes out! So glad you're inspired. This is really what I love about the video and the book I read, it's helping me to be really thankful for our space. And in clearing out I'm finding more space that can be used. It's removing blockages I had in my thought. Like the idea that my yard is too small for gardening. Once I quit that idea of limitation and looked around I found ample space for a small garden.
Deletewe are in a constant back and forth on this issue. while I am currently craving some breathing room, i definitely see the benefits to just having less. really, the issue I see is privacy which I feel is lacking specifically for my 7 year old...she never has any true alone time. Even if our yard were just several acres or something, I wonder if that's all it would take to make me feel a little less cramped.
ReplyDeleteI need to check out taproot--neat!
I know what you mean about privacy. My seven year old wants alone time. He is the eldest and was used to having quiet and time alone before his brother came along. We've found pockets of space for him. Like outside in the dirt pit when little brother is otherwise occupied. Also our garage is being used as an office studio and sometimes we have him go in there to draw or watch a movie. (It's comfortable & the door to it is enclosed in our courtyard so we feel comfortable letting him do that.) Maybe she could have a closet art space that's all hers or even a desk in her room enclosed with a room divider? Sometimes it's hard to look at our space objectively. I found it helpful to have a friend come over with fresh eyes and tell me how she thought we could restructure our space. She had so many great ideas and it's helped us out immeasurably. Good luck!
DeleteThis post really hit home for me, but in a different way. We also rent our home, but we are in an apartment. We've been here for 5 years now, since we moved across country. I've been finding it incredibly hard to live on the 3rd floor with 2 kids, and not have a yard for them. Though our apartment is quite large (3 bedrooms and 1 1/2 baths), it's been feeling like it's closing in on us. I realized recently that it's feeling to small because we are drowning in "stuff". We are now in the process of buying a house and if all goes well, will be taking possession in 1 month, but if anything, it's leaving me wanting to cleanse ourselves from all those extra things before we move. The house itself is no bigger than the apartment, and the living room will be half the size. But we are looking forward to have a place to call home that is ours, to have a large yard for our kids to play in, and after our mini vacation in a teeny tiny but perfect cabin last week, I now know that truly, less stuff is more :)
ReplyDeleteI love the pre-move cleanse! It feels so freeing. I hope all goes well with your house and how awesome to be moving to a place with a yard after living in an apartment so long. When we finally are able to have a house a big yard will be top of my list! I totally understand that.
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