Back to the basics

Going from a 1600 square foot house to a 900 square foot house is a HUGE change- we're talking losing SEVEN HUNDRED square feet. Almost cutting my house in half! It really put a lot of things in perspective. You really don't realize how much stuff you have until you try to squeeze it into a house with technically one closet, one bathroom, one bedroom the size of a closet, and a kitchen comparable to the size of your old master BATHROOM. Sounds absolutely miserable right? Oh forgot to mention, the outdoor "wash" shed that houses my washer and dryer. Yeah, I have to go outside to wash clothes. Sounds absolutely miserable, right? Actually it is far from that.

How much stuff in our life is just "fluff?" Do I really need thirty purses? Oh I shudder thinking of how much money was spent on those babies. Those sweet, sweet, expensive babies. And to think at one time I lived for buying purses. Birthday: purse. Anniversary: purse. Easter: purse. Presidents Day: purse. Do I really need twenty pairs of heels that I never wear? The humor to be had if I tried walking in those ole pre baby having heels today. Who needs fifty t-shirts? Over half of those t-shirts I only wore once. I did keep the good ole Girls State shirt- going fifteen years strong. It's really eye opening when you realize what you don't really need.

Now I'm fixing to get really absurd---- a dishwasher. Do you really need a dishwasher? Let me go ahead and tell you, you don't. Speaking from the girl who hand washes EVERY night. It really isn't bad. Do you know how many memories I have at my parents house as a little girl washing dishes for chore money? I loved washing dishes as a kid! L-O-V-E-D it. Why shouldn't I love it all over again? Why shouldn't I get my kids excited about washing dishes? If there is one thing in life I hate it is putting a three day load of dishes up from the dishwasher. Hate it with a passion. Well now I don't have to worry about that. Put up a couple of cups, a few plates, and silverware and I'm done. Besides, that dishwasher made me a little OCD. Having to "reset" it every time after Chris loaded it. All the plates to the left, all the bowls to the right, cups up top..wonk wonk wonk.

One of the only parts of my old house I miss is that huge, roomy, sink into King size bed. I miss being able to have everybody piled up into the bed, comfortably, for a cuddle session. We still have our cuddle sessions now, it's just a wee bit tighter.

Now when I step foot in Target I am constantly thinking, do I really, like really really NEED that. And the majority of the time my answer is no. Don't get me wrong, there is absolutely nothing wrong with having things, but in the end it's not those things that will bring you true happiness. Jumping back to my childhood I can remember maybe three toys I got for Christmas over my whole childhood, but oh the memories I have of my parent's house. (That's why if they ever have the crazy ideal to sale it, I will buy it.) I remember breaking the globes to my mother's living room light and blaming it on the train that went by, I remember riding bikes, I remember playing on the swing set all day long, I remember playing in the mud behind my parent's house as a teenager, I remember all the sleepovers, I remember almost catching my parent's living room on fire by lighting the fireplace, I remember swimming until dark, I remember prank calling people way into the night, and the list goes on and on.

I have always had the mentality, no matter how big of a house you have, you will always fill it up with stuff. But in the end, it's not the "stuff" that matters, it's the memories that are stored in the walls of that house, and I hope my kids will hold tight to the memories made in this little house.