Reasons I Like Having A Small Home

Image by  matley0
Adam and I bought a 1200 square foot condo when we got married. We loved the lay out, the fact that we didn't have to take care of a yard, and one of my favorite things, the underground heated parking. We didn't think we would live here for as long as it looks like we will. With the housing market the way it is, we probably will not be able to move into something bigger as fast as we first planned. While at times this causes some stress, the more I think about it, the more I'm so thankful for our small home. And in fact I'm learning that it really isn't that small. I am currently reading Organized Simplicity by Tsh Oxenreider who runs one of my favorite blogs Simple Mom. It's a great book and I highly recommend it. In it she quotes....

"National Public Radio reports that from 1950 to 2004, the average American home has doubled in size-- what was once 983 square feet is now 2,349 square feet. That's a 1,366-square-foot addition-- an entire second house. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the average family in 1950 consisted of 3.67 members. In 2002, the average family size was 2.62 members. Today, smaller families "need" bigger homes, and the trend doesn't stop in America. Australia, New Zealand, and most of the Westernized world are all seeing the same trend....Do we really think we need almost 900 square feet per person in our homes today? That's what the numbers indicate if we do simple math. Today we live in homes that provide almost the same amount of room per person that an average 1950s-size house would provide for an entire family (when the average family size was larger than it is today)."

After reading that it made me realize how much I've bought into our culture and the idea of what we should have. Our condo is bigger than most homes in the 1950's and it is plenty big for our family of three. Sure there are times I wish we had a bigger home so I could have my whole family stay with us over the holidays or I could host big meals for family and friends, but for the most part we are very happy with our small home and find it simplifies our life.

For example.....

It takes less time to clean so I can spend more time with my family and doing things I enjoy.

I can usually clean my house in about an hour or an hour and half which provides more down time for me to enjoy hobbies and spend time with Adam and Lyla. I don't want to spend precious hours cleaning a bigger home that we don't really need right now.

We don't need as much funiture so we can buy higher quality items.

Our motto has become buy higher quality things even if it means spending more money now. We have gone the cheaper route several times for things for our home and every time we regret it. And for the most part we can afford it because we don't have to buy a lot to fill our home.

It forces me to continually reavaluate what I bring in and out of our home.

When Adam and I are thinking about making a purchase I often ask myself, "Do we have room for this? Where will this go? What do we need to get rid of in order to have room for this?" I go through our closets and bookshelves often to find things we no longer use and can either give away or sell.

When we turned our extra bedroom into a nursery for Lyla we had to get rid of a lot of things. We were amazed by how many things we had been holding onto that we never used and didn't need. I keep that in mind now and keep a basket or bag fullof things that need to go to goodwill. Rachel and Small Notebook has a great post on this top. Read it here. 

I'm so thankful for the home God has provided for us. Whenever I start wishing for a bigger home, I remember that our home is very large compared to most parts of the world and I want to just snuggle in and enjoy the great gift God has given us!