Less is More

Ever since I started my job here at WBCL in 2011, I've been in house-hunting mode. For the year and a half that I worked here before I got married, I went house hunting about once a month with a realtor - trying to get a feel for what part of town I liked...what kind of house I wanted...and all the while, I couldn't move, because my house in Marion never sold.

After I got married, Ryan and I became frequent visitors to the realtor.com website - revising the list of what we wanted and trying not to fall in love with houses, knowing that if we ever got to move, anything on the market now probably wouldn't be on the market then.

Our list was not grandiose, but we wanted a step up from what we had. More garage space. A bigger closet in the master. Double sinks in a bathroom. A MUCH bigger kitchen. Open floor plan. Fireplace would be nice. {You get the idea.}

And somewhere in the middle of all that, I encountered tiny houses. Is anyone else as in love with those things as I am? Tiny little garden shed looking buildings that actually house people...and more than that...house them well.

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The thing that fascinates me so much is the fabulous use of space in these buildings. Literally each cranny in the place has a purpose. They're small, but they're mighty.

I can't confess to being ready to move into a tiny house...but I love the mentality of less being more. I love it that the people who move in, some out of choice and some out of necessity, find in the end that life is happier in the tiny house. Things are manageable. The clutter is minimal. The cleaning is quick. And there's that much more time for living.

Ryan and I have adjusted our house list. It doesn't matter so much to us anymore if we find a bigger house or a place with a huge kitchen. we're learning to rest in what we have and appreciate it for its quirks.

We're also learning to adjust our view of life as a whole in that same way. To savor things like dates at home and day trips to state parks. Tall coffees instead of grande. {GASP.}

It's not wrong to dream big, but for us, the permission to dream small has freed us from expectations to overload ourselves.

For us, less really is more. And I'm so enjoying the learning curve.

{And the tiny house plans.}