Filed under: Small housing ideas
That was my Morrisey inspired title.
We are getting ready to sell our house.
We went from an apartment that we were quite happy in, but the rent kept going up. Again, and again, and again, and again. It was nothing fancy, but other than the ever rising rent, we didn’t really feel were were missing out on anything. No yardwork, no maintenance, no need to do those home improvements.
Then we bought a 564 square foot condo. We loved it!!!!! It was pretty much like living in an apartment, but the rent couldn’t go up. However, we did think we would want to someday live in a larger place. We dreamed of a den, a craft room, and a larger kitchen.
We moved from San Diego, CA to Richmond, VA to be closer to family, and to get that American dream home that we couldn’t afford where we were.
Then came the 1900 square foot town home. Yaaaa baby, we had 4 bedrooms, 2 1/2 baths, and more space than we ever imagined we would have.
It didn’t take that long before 3 floors got old. One of us on the first floor yelling up to the other on the 3rd floor. Get up to the 3rd floor, and realize you need something from the first. Then there was all the crap. Give someone 9000 square feet, and they will fill it.
Now we live in a 2 floor house. I still don’t like the 2 floors. At 1500 square feet it is still too much space. Too many rooms to improve. Still too much crap.
HOW MUCH CRAP DOES ANYBODY NEED?????
Having a yard sounds great, and then comes the extra work. Spend more money, lose more time. Have more crap for your yard.
So, here we are. Trying to get rid of stuff. Getting ready to put our house on the market.
There are many things I still love about this house. Some things I will miss about this house. But how much is your freedom worth?
We are now looking at a place that is 570 square feet. I guess we had it right the first time.
Here is a book that I recently purchased (I have mentioned my weakness for books). It is written by Gregory Johnson who is the founder and director of resources for life.
If you choose to purchase this book, you would be supporting my blog by using the link below.
In this book Gregory covers many of the usual issues I have come across when researching living in a small home. I also believe that he has come up with some very original ways to look at things you may already be thinking about, and some things that you might not think of yourself until you were faced with it.
Thinking about living a more simple life? Thinking about living in a small apartment or house?
This book is not going to answer every question one might have, but I would suggest it is like a list of camping supplies written by someone who has camped many, many times for someone who has never camped before.
I wish to particularly praise his use of the word and concept of outsourcing. How it may have negative images, but is often overlooked on a personal basis. There are many such examples: the local library, Netflix, car sharing, public spaces such as parks, gyms, and the list goes on and on.
I found it aesthetically pleasing, enjoyable to read, and contained so many resources that I have barely begun to explore them.
