Small House Living

 Tiny Homes are the new rage for people wanting to downsize and cut back on their expenses.

Do a lot of people collect way more than what they actually need?  Absolutely.  Am I one of those people?  Yep!   

Every so often I will go through my stuff and declutter.  Even after "decluttering" I know I have more than I need to have.

I've been watching tiny home videos on YouTube lately, as one of my dearest friends has been contemplating living in a tiny home one day.  I think these homes are absolutely adorable and they really make you keep less clutter in your home.

Watching these videos definitely inspire me to keep decluttering.  Plus, one day I don't want my children to have to go through so much crap in my house.  But that's not to say that I still can't get rid of a lot of it.  I have a couple of collections that I have, but I am in the process of creating a spreadsheet so when that time comes, they will know how much to sell it for <grin>

Back to small house living.......

I grew up in a 1 bedroom duplex with my mom, my two sisters and myself.   1 bedroom, 1 bathroom (can you even imagine? 4 girls and 1 bathroom!).  My two sisters and myself slept in the bedroom and my mom slept in the living room on the couch that pulled out to a bed.  Her dresser was in the living room and she got a wardrobe eventually to hang her clothes.

In the bedroom there was a trundle bed and a bunk bed.  Me, being the oldest I chose the upper bunk.  My mom hung a shelf up there so that I could display my things.  The bunk bed encompassed a small closet, 4 dresser drawers and a small bookshelf next to the lower bed.  The bunk bed itself was L-shaped.   When we got that bunk bed I was so excited, because I got to have my very own closet, and 2 of the drawers were all mine.  (When you share a room with others, being able to have your own "space" is extremely important.) My mom even let me put up posters of musicians in my room, including a poster of Prince in a leopard speedo (can you even imagine that today, with my younger sisters in the room? LOL)

I can still picture that bedroom. There was a small cubby as well in which my stereo was placed upon it, another small cubby for a TV that we eventually got, and even a little table and chairs for my sisters.  My mom was extremely creative in organizing so that we were able to maximize the space.  The closet ended up being for my two sisters, along with their toys.

The living room encompassed the couch (which was my mom's bed at night), a stereo cabinet where we could listen to records, a TV stand for the TV, a desk (which each one of us took turns using as we got older), my mom's dresser and armoire.  There was a coffee table and and end table as well. (My sister and I love looking through old pictures and looking at the background of the picture to see the surroundings we grew up in.

Eventually my mom purchased a washer and dryer that was able to fit in a utility closet in the kitchen.  We originally had a table and chairs in the "dining room" area of the kitchen, but I can't remember if it broke or we never used it that much (we seemed to eat at the coffee table most of the time).  I do remember once that I wanted my own room so bad, that we moved the table and chairs into the living room and I created my own "nook" in the kitchen for my "bedroom".  I think that lasted about a week or two and I wanted to go back into the bedroom.  Eventually my mom got a "bar" that replaced the table and chairs, and it was used for storage.   She also had a bakers rack and some other knick knacks in that area.   The kitchen itself was decent, however the cabinets only were on the back wall.

Looking back and how little we had, compared to all of my friends (all my close friends were only children and they all had their own rooms), there were definitely hard times.  But my mom worked hard to provide for us.  She worked full time and yet still had time to make clothes for us when we were younger, decorate the house for the holidays with what little decorations we had, and provide us with every ounce of love she had for us.   It was definitely hard for her, and you know the saying "it takes a village"?  Well she was very lucky to have that.   We had wonderful neighbors, grandparents who lived close by, and aunts and uncle who were close by as well.

And maybe, because I had so little back then, I feel like "needing" more at times.  I am lucky in the fact that I was able to buy a townhouse for me and my two daughters.  And given the fact that I am a "homeowner" now, when I find things for great prices or things that I think I MIGHT need in the future (such as home improvement items), I'm apt to pick them up.

Within the next year or so, I will become an "empty nester". I feel by then I will definitely declutter more and more, but also work on making it even more inviting so that guests will want to come stay with me so I'm not so lonely, lol.

While the tiny house idea seems very inviting, my goal is to retire here and have my mortgage paid off by then.  We shall see what happens.  And honestly, my townhouse is about 1100 sq ft, so it's not like it's all THAT big anyway