A friend who moved to a different state was telling me how proud she was of herself for downsizing her space. She felt that one of her previous places was too big and because of the distribution, not used well. In the end, they only lived in a smaller part of the house. She went on to say that one of the reasons for the move is that they love to be outside, and they didn’t feel like they could do that here. I never thought much about that, except when she started sharing having a big house wasn’t very important to her because she rather spend her time not in it. Mind blown.
This might sound super obvious and simple to you, but it took me by surprise. To help you understand why, most of my time growing up was inside. I didn’t play much sports and I lived in an apartment building so being outside was not our norm. I had freedom to watch as much TV as I wanted, and was encouraged to read and play with dolls. I didn’t get into much trouble so my parents trusted me. The people they didn’t trust people were those in the outside, therefore I barely was allowed to play with the other kids elsewhere, included in the shared patio. Maybe I asked too many times or enough time had passed, that when I was close to eleven I was allowed to play outside once again (we had moved a few years back from a place I was allowed to play outside sometimes).
Fast-forward to today, where I have a child of my own. I try to keep her entertained but there is a very limited amount of things for a toddler to do inside without taking down the house. The truth is that within the walls of the house, after all the other activities have been done, TV is the cure-all. We don’t want her to be glued to a screen, and we try to take her outside every day, sometimes multiple times a day.
I believe a house needs to be a home, and I also believe that a home needs to be cozy but not full of things to make it so. Less is more, and putting money towards comfort and high-usage items is more valuable than towards beauty. Yet you first have to determine what you believe, and separate that what you have been taught to believe. What is the point of investing in a house that you don’t plan to enjoy? If you like to go out to restaurants, you don’t need a fancy kitchen. If you like to travel, you don’t need a big house. If you like to read, you don’t need a high-tech TV. Can you see where I am going? We need to take time to truly understand what is important to us, and put our money on that. There is a lot of value in having a comfortable home, but it might not be valuable to you for it to be grand or small. Take some time to think what you want your life to look like? Put your money where your dreams are.
I’ve understood that I want my family to enjoy the beauties of nature and the variety offered by the city. I want us to come home to a place where we feel at peace and most of our needs and wants are satisfied. I don’t need luxe and I don’t need high-tech. I do want to feel happy with what we have and where we are. My goal is not to have a mansion or the nicest-looking place, because I don’t want to be in any way responsible for so much. I want to experience life outside and with people, so I’ll put my investment in time and money there.
Thriving in Simplicity 