A Small Home

Peter met with our realtor a few weeks ago to talk about our future home possibilities. And they talked about things like...Do we stay where we are and remodel? Do we sell and buy somewhere else? Do we sell and rent somewhere for a bit? Do we sell and move in with my parents?

So many options.

And he shared those options with me.

And I kindly reminded him that I love our small home, and I'm happy with it just as it is (can't you tell), for now at least.

And I admit, I'm not very good at forward thinking and planning for the future, my husband is though, and I'm sure there will come a time where I'll say, okay fine, another bedroom would be nice or even a second bathroom. Let's be honest, I've definitely said that now especially when we have family visiting from out of the country or when the boys are crying at night and walking each other up.

But most days I love our small home.

And yes, our house is tiny compared to the majority of our friend's homes, but it's a home, and it's ours.

And yes, it's only 770 sq ft. - 2 bedrooms, 1 bath. And this month marks six years of living in this small space. And when we bought it, I remember telling Peter, if we're still here in 5 years, then our 5 year plan hasn't gone according to plan. And I laugh thinking about that statement now because we're still here.

And yes, our living space is small, but we have a big yard, a covered deck, and an oversized garage, and a few months ago we hosted Jack's birthday party at our house and over 30 guests filled our home.

We don't have a ton of toys, we don't have a ton of clothes, we just don't have a ton of stuff because we just don't have the space for it.

And I love that.

I love that I can hear my kids anywhere in the house. 

I love that we get outside every single day and we're always getting in the car and going places - to the gym, to the library, to friends houses with lots of cool toys!

I love that we don't have to babyproof anything because I always know what they're getting into and where they are.

I love how small our mortgage payment is, especially in the season of underemployment as our income was the lowest it has ever been. 

And I'm so thankful we made the decision we did six years ago to buy less house.

And I loved this article on the Becoming Minimalist blog, Less House.

And I completely agree with Joshua Becker's thoughts on the benefits of living in a smaller home: "less expense, less worry, less upkeep—more time, more money, more freedom, and more opportunity."

It's really true what he says, "Your biggest expense is your greatest opportunity." 

It truly is our biggest expense and our greatest opportunity, as a smaller home offers you so much more financial freedom.

And I love that freedom. And because of our small home and our smaller mortgage payment (not to mention God's grace), we were able to survive living on an income of $3,600 a month! And what a journey it was!

Here's to our small home and our small mortgage payment, and greater financial freedom in the months and years ahead. And it probably helps that Ryan's still sleeping in his mini crib in the closet.

(Come back to me after we add a third child to the mix someday and then see if I still feel the same way about our small home!!!)