Little House

Last night I watched a fantastic little documentary called Tiny. If you are not familiar with the idea of a 'little house' it is pretty straight forward. It is living in a home that is, well, little. I think by definition around 200sqft or less. I have to admit being in love and frighted with the idea. It REALLY appeals to me. I find that naturally the little house movement goes hand in hand with the ideals of minimalism, I mean, you can't have a TON of stuff if you are living in the space that is the size of some peoples walk-in closets.

Anyway, the concept of smaller not larger has been something I have been really playing with for awhile now. I think the problem with most houses is poor design. I firmly believe I could live in a tiny space if it was designed the right way. I have been slowly sharing that my ideals, and ideas about housing are changing to my husband. I am not sure he really understood what I meant until he watched the film with me last night.

While I don't think either of us are ready to dump our things and live in 200sqft (truthfully I haven't seen too many people with kids do this) I have stopped thinking that my life and it's success has to do with how large my home is and how much stuff I have in it. It is the mindset. One day, if we aren't military, we hope to build a home, or perhaps buy one. I think that depending on where our family is we, for the first time ever, will not be dreaming up a 2500sqft home. That, in its self, is so much growth for us as a couple.

So, what room could you really do without? Do you have a room in your home that you are almost never actually living in? Or perhaps it's a room totally dedicated to housing stuff that you never use. Do you have a guest room but never have guests? It's amazing what we could truthfully do without if we really thought about it.

Kay xxx

Minimalism in Dinner

This week has to be the first time in awhile I didn't feel utterly stressed out about the meal planning. It was kind of amazing. I typically feel the task of coming up with new and exciting meals for my family exhausting and draining. I often ask my husband's input, which honestly usually makes me more frustrated as he loves to come up with some outrageously big meals sometimes. Mostly he just goes with his cravings.

Anyway, this week I pantry shopped, and then made a decidedly simple meal plan of good, uncomplicated dinners. Not only has it helped my sanity this week but it has helped our grocery bill as well.

So, how do you simplify your meals or is that an area left untouched on your quest for a simplified life?

Kay xxx