Small Houses

Today's cleanstravaganza made me so happy to live in our little house - I realized today that if I finagle it right, I can vaccuum both upstairs and downstairs WITHOUT UNPLUGGING. Sigh. Heaven. We really wondered if we could survive in 1500 square feet when we bought this house, and I love it. Less is more.

Chris' parents old house

Chris and I both grew up in big houses. Our parents worked hard and bought (well, his built) houses that they felt met the needs of a growing family in the 90's. I think if we had the money, Chris would have wanted something in that 2000+ sq ft range to get us out of the 'starter home' category. And as much as I love skipping over things, we just couldn't make the money work and almost ended up in a condo (shudder) before we found our bungalow.

Before we bought this place, I was already a believer in the Bungalow. I nannied for a family in NH while in college who lived in a tiny house, probably around the same sq footage if not a wee bit less than ours. At the time, they had two cats and two girls under five who were everywhere in that house. I remember thinking, "How in heaven's name will I manage this in so much space?" Here's what was great about that situation:
1) You always knew where everyone was. There was almost no place to hide or get lost.
2) You were constantly within yelling distance of anyone else in the house.
3) Animals were extremely easy to locate (especially the ones that didn't belong in the house...that's a long story).
4) There was limited space to get messy/less space to clean when it did.
5) Easier to heat in the winter/cool in the summer.

And most importantly...it forced everyone to be together. Growing up, if you didn't like what was on TV in one room, you moved to another. The two girls I cared for had to hash it out. The tight quarters led to very useful life experiences for all of us. Big houses can be very useful, but at this point in life we are so happy to have a house that meets the size of our needs.

That said, we're pretty far off from having kids. There's a good chance that could change my mind entirely. But you know Chris...he's already got napkin plans about how to re-configure and add to this house to meet whatever needs we come up with. We'll just have to see if this stays a 'starter home.'