Someday I’ll Have Very Little.

The house I grew up in was small. I shared a tiny bedroom with my brother until I was ten and he was twelve. There was a tiny living room, a medium sized dining room and my parents had a room. Their room was eventually split in two so that they could separate us. I’m certain if we were the same gender we’d have shared that room far longer.

In rebellion against my upbringing, I wanted a big house. I wanted a room for every whim with lots of space to spread out. Basically I wanted a McMansion.

mcmansion

(photo credit: www.nachi.org )
I guess this size house would do.

We did not buy this type of house. We chose a modest three-bedroom bilevel. It was a good size for our family of three, but would be too small should we have another child. The layout also wasn’t working for us, so we decided to move. Our current home has the same number of rooms, but with better flow and bigger rooms. If we had more than one child, I suppose this house could feel smaller, but for just the three of us it’s more than enough room. I’m not complaining and I know I’m fortunate to have the space that I do. Growing up in an overfilled small house, I don’t take for granted the breathing room I have.

Just the same, someday I will downsize. I dream of a small house, one that will hold just the essential things I need and nothing more. I am borderline obsessed with the notion of owning a Tumbleweed Tiny House. They are super cute. They are so small some are portable. I couldn’t inadvertently acquire extra things because there would literally be no place to put them. There are cottages ranging from 264 to 884 square feet. The Houses-To-Go, as they are called, range from 117 to 172 square feet.

Harbinger_1024x1024

Harbinger Cottage, 1 bedroom, 404 sq. ft.
Image Credit: www.tumbleweedhouses.com

I find that in most aspects of my life I’m drawn to the extremes. The in-betweens, though seemingly the thing that would make me more comfortable, leave me anxious. It’s almost like I don’t know where I stand. I’m sure it will be decades before I live in such compact quarters, but in the meantime, I need to start getting rid of my stuff.

This is NaBloPoMo Day 10.

16 thoughts on “Someday I’ll Have Very Little.

  1. cynkingfeeling

    I feel like the house we have under contract is too big for us, but it was the best thing we could find in our price range. In other words, I understand what you are saying. Not sure if I would downsize quite so much as you imagine, however.

    1. michellelongo Post author

      Buying a house is so hard because you’re basically making a decision that’s going to need to stick for many, many years. Downsizing completely sounds wonderful, but I have to wonder if I’ll then regret it and want to buy a second tiny house. Good luck with your move!

  2. Stacie

    There’s something nice-sounding about that. But I still think I need at least 3BR and an office. Because when the kids visit, with the grandkids and stuff like that.

    1. michellelongo Post author

      I’ll save so much money in housing costs that I’ll spring for a nice hotel suite ๐Ÿ˜‰ or maybe I’ll get a guest-tiny-house for next door.

    1. michellelongo Post author

      Those were really cool pictures. 52 dead cats might be a deal breaker for me though.

  3. Diary of Doting Mom (@shyvish)

    You’re like my daily blog fix! Can’t start my day without your posts.

    We’ve been living in rented homes for the last 12 years and have moved 7 times. With each move, I’m so glad that we declutter and donate so much of our stuff to goodwill.

    Now, we are getting ready to move into our own place, which should be ready by next Fall. There’s excitement obviously, but also a twinge of worry that I’m going to collect more junk than I can manage. It’s a bigger place and I prefer compact spaces. Sigh, onward to bigger and better things? Let’s see.

    1. michellelongo Post author

      Thank you for the sweet comment!! I find that not acquiring too much stuff takes a lot of work. It’s far easier for me to continue collecting things.

  4. Samantha Brinn Merel

    The hardest thing when we were buying a house was to try and figure out what size. Because for just the two of us, our house really is too big, but we hope that it’s not just the two for us for much longer, and if we have a couple of kids, all of a sudden that house that felt enormous is going to feel pretty small. It’s all relative I guess.

    1. michellelongo Post author

      That was hard for us, too. At the time we were looking, we were thinking we would have another baby. Now that we don’t plan to, we could have gone smaller and it would have been OK. That’s fine though, next house ๐Ÿ™‚

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