This year so far has come with a lot of stress. We certainly have each other and our health and I am extremely grateful for those things. My husband and I also both have jobs. But I'm still stressed. I'm stressed about all of the things and responsibilities that we have accumulated. And frankly, I'm just over it. Hubby and I have had lots of talks about how we can change things and I think we have come to a good consensus. Minimize.
Wait..... minimize with four kids? Yup! For so long I thought we needed a bigger house because we were outgrowing it. We were running out of space for our things. But in reality, we have more than enough space, its just not utilized to its potential. We have so much 'stuff' and that stuff takes up a lot of space. We also have a lot of wasted space in our house. For example, our master bedroom is ridiculously large. We don't need that much space and we don't use all of that space. In fact, we've actually talked about moving three of the kids into our room, having Mila use a room to herself, and us move into the other room. We also have a "game room" upstairs that is rarely used, except for the kids to throw 'stuff' out of the toy boxes onto the floor.
So, our plan is to minimize. This weekend I gathered 4 garbage bags worth of toys and clothing to take to Goodwill. I'm also putting things aside to sell. I already feel better about what has been decluttered.
We also plan to put our house back on the market. We are looking for a piece of land about 1-3 acres with a simple house. We'd like to raise our own animals and have a large garden to provide for most of our food intake. Smaller house means lower utility bills and less items to clutter the house. Our children also need to learn the value of hard work, honesty, and where our food comes from. Instead of the next "big thing" and keeping up with the Jones'. All it does is lead to stress. Simple is what we are working towards.
Things definitely aren't making us happy. I intend to do what I can to make our lives rich with memories, experiences, and the love of family and each other.
Can we find 1-3 acres right next to you because that sounds devine! I so very much want some land--to have a garden and let the kids run around. Chesterton doesn't have much to pick from right at the moment. :o/
ReplyDeleteI often think that I am in desperate need of a bigger house...however we as well do not utilize the space we have. We have 2 bedrooms upstairs that we don't use...only because the stairway to get there is kind of steep and I'm afraid that Emma will fall. Yeah worry wort me! But we did choose to give up our master bedroom for the girls. They now share what was our master, and my hubby and I now have Emma's old room. Yeah it's small, but really what do we need a huge space for? I love the plan that you have!
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