Our "Not So Simple" Plan

My greatest apologies for not posting anything new over the past few days!

I had/have every intention of posting about our "plan" for downsizing....and I have had to hold off not only due to being busy, but because our plan has taken quite the roller coaster ride over the last two weeks or so! Just when we have an idea, it changes! But some foundational things have not changed and will remain our focus...so...let me gather my thoughts up to this point and keep your eyes out for an update within the next few days! :O)

 

SimpleMom

A Simple Thought

I saw this quote today and chuckled at it....is this not true or what?! :)

“Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated.“
~ Confucius

                                                  

Thank YOU!

Thank you to those who have decided to follow us! Very appreciative :) Make sure you read our first post "Quality vs Quantity" that is where we explain our story and reason for this blog. 


Blessings to you all!!


*Simple Mom*

Simple Church

As we embark on our simple life journey....we are looking at simplifying in a few areas. Our home is one of the main areas, but Church is another area. I have found a great site I would like to share with you!

http://www.simplechurchjournal.com/

I feel like this blog (it's writers) touch on much of what I feel lately. I am not against "church" by any means! And we have been a part of great churches for sure. Just going through a season of Simplicity and this site has been helpful. 

Blessings!

*SimpleMom*

Simple Home

In the quest for a simple life...Let's look at a simple home concept. This can mean anything from cleaning out junk and clutter to finding great ways to save space , to decorating simply. This can also mean downsizing. Lets look at what the definition of downsizing is.

Downsize-1. To reduce in number or size. 2.To make in a smaller size. 

PERFECT! ;) Since our family is talking about downsizing our home, our living space-reducing and making smaller is exactly what we intend to do. There are great websites out there that I have found so far that help you design and plan your home, help you figure out how to lay out the plan of a small house so that it "feel" and even "looks" bigger then it actually is, and also sites that help you see how to build great shelving, storage and space savers into your plan. This way you can have adequate storage and keep your small space neat and clean. 

Here are just a few sites I have found so far :

http://countryplans.com

This is a great site with some awesome small home plans for cottages, cabins and houses. They also have a forum that I am a part of where you can post tons of questions under a large spectrum of topics! Many of these great individuals tackle the building project themselves. Which I admire greatly. If you are considering doing that you should visit this site!

www.tumbleweedhouses.com
 This site is incredible! You have to check it out to see what I mean. I would love to be able to build in and live in one of these tiny homes, but it is very unrealistic right now with a family of 4! Maybe one day! As for downsizing we are not looking at going this small but just incase you may be interested here is the link :) 

http://www.designboom.com/contemporary/tiny_houses2.html

Another great site for small houses!

http://homefronthomes.com/
Another awesome website dedicated to small affordable and green homes! They have a design called the Katrina Cottage, you may have heard of it! I love this site. Good stuff for going small at an affordable price. They sells plans and have good information. 

http://tinyhouseblog.com/

A blog dedicated to living simple and small. Great tips and ideas here!

http://www.styleathome.com/homes/small-spaces/25-space-saving-tips/a/952
 This site has 25 space saving tips! There are so many great sites out there all you have to do is type in "small home" or anything related to dowsizing, space saving tips, etc on google and you will find what you are looking for eventually!


As I come across more great sites I will be sure to pass them along. Until then...happy downsizing!:P

Quality vs Quantity

We are your regular family living a pretty regular life. It is a good life. A great life even. We are happy, healthy, and having fun.  So, what has pushed me to start this blog? 

We have come to a realization, that we have more then enough. As far as quantity, we have it. We have a generous sized home. With a little over 2000 sq ft we have more then enough here! We are very blessed indeed...but...we are awakening to this fact that we are "slave" to our home. To a very high mortgage, high utilities, taxes, etc etc etc. Yes, this is the "average" family life these days. But, this leaves little room for fun and adventure, since most of our income is going to pay for the house and the utilities. It leaves enough for groceries and basically almost none left for anything else. Is this what we want? Is this house we want to spend our lives raising our family in? Is this a QUALITY life?

We moved to a wonderful town about a year ago when my husband got a new job. We were cramped in our previous home (don't know exact sq ft, but it was "small") especially when our baby came along.  To be honest, we were fine with the living space..we just had very little storage. We had a small shed , no basement or attic storage and the closets left little to be desired. So, if we had the extra storage (small garage, basement, etc) we would have been fine! We had few and cheap utilities so we paid the mortgage and lived fairly simply. We had to move though since the new job was located a bit too far for daily travel (we never would have seen my husband and that is NOT the way we wanted to raise our family-with Daddy never home and always at work).  Upon moving, we had few options that were decent in our price range and we were looking for that garage, basement, extra storage. So, we ended up with a beautiful home with ample living and storage space, but for a high cost. It was that or a very small home with little storage again. We chose more space. Don't get me wrong...we LOVE this home! There is nothing wrong with it...it is a blessing. We thought we would probably raise the boys to at least 16 or 18 yrs old here (about 10 more years for the oldest). But as of late, we have been rethinking this plan...




We have been in the home about 6 months now. It has taken up to now to realize just how "strapped" we are here. Yes, that is everyone's story. But does it HAVE to be? We choose the home we are to live in. We chose this home. We knew it would be tight. But had no idea HOW tight. We are making ends meet but..barely. Like I said, it leaves very little left for any extra's in life. Little breathing room after we pay the bills. And because we are trying to attain a debt free life as best we can...we will not put things on credit cards unless it is an emergency.  It makes us sick when we have to pay our bills each month...a physical sensation in our stomach as to the fact that there goes our money to pay for this square box we live in. It is absurd! 


QUALITY...


I started really feeling burdened about this. You know..you always here "times flies" and "before you know it they are grown and married". I don't want to waste our life stressed with bills and mortgage and not being able to travel and explore and make the most of our days with our boys! In just 10 more years our oldest will be finished high school...probably heading off to a college or trade school...starting HIS OWN life...in just 10 more years. *sigh*.  I want more for us..for our family! So...this requires some serious thinking, planning  and most important..PRAYING! 


We long for a quality life. Not a quantity life. We are naturally "simpler" people. We have used cars that do just fine (with an occasional break down here and there) but they are payed for so we have no car payments. Thank GOD because if we did...we would be in the poor house! We do not want or need fancy things. Our children have toys but we also want to teach them that while you can have nice and fun things..you don't need them and there is more to life then having "things". Things only make you temporarly happy but eventually you tire of them and want something else. Something newer, cooler, larger...


We do not buy into the "bigger, better, newer" scheme. We believe you can be even happier, with less. It is about quality. How happy do those things make you? Do they really enhance your life? And if so...awesome! Sometimes you have to buy a "newer" car if it runs better..but what about that payment? Can you make it each month? 


For our family...for my husband and I as partners and parents...being strapped to payments on "things" and not being able to be free to do other things for our family and our children...is not what is best. And yes we can dream about the day when the boys are grown and gone and we are more financially free...but I don't want to wait until then! I want that for us now..and I believe we can have that freedom! We can have a quality life now!


It takes time, research, and renewing your mind. Rethinking success in life. Rethinking what we "need" and what we "want". It takes some letting go of ideas that are implanted in our minds of happiness. I love our new home. It is a blessing..but am I any happier here? I miss the country so bad. I would give anything to have the peace and quiet and beauty of the country we used to live in. It is a give and take I realize that. To get more space we had to give up the country setting. 


I believe that with the right savings plan...that down the road in about 5 years we can save enough to build a smaller , but comfortable home-with proper storage space-and pay for it cash. This way we will not have a mortgage payment to worry about , and a smaller home means less utility cost! You can design the home to be built in an energy efficient way as to save big time on utilities. I do believe with the research already done, that this can be a reality for us one day in the not so distant future. 


Yes, I could get a full time job some where and help pay for the house and bills. But, why do that if it is not necessary? I am a Massage Therapist and I hope to expand that business as time goes on. But, we have a toddler and an 8 year old that is cyber schooling at home. The price to put the toddler in day care every day would be insanely high and probably anything I make would go towards paying for that. With my MT career as times goes on , and the toddler gets older, I can work around our schedule to where my husband can watch the kids while I work.  If I get a full time job, then the toddler goes into daycare, our son goes back to regular school..and we have even LESS time together as a family. Is this the quality life we are searching for? Not really.  


If we can downsize and avoid a mortgage, pay less in bills, pay off credit to get out of debt..then we have our finances freed up! Our kids can remain home ( or at least Mom can be home for them) and we have freedom to do more things because we don't have to worry about not having enough money. 


So, this is where we are right now....


We are still in the "thinking and planning" stages of this process...but we are together in this and on the same path. We are seriously considering this path and our options. A path towards quality and not quantity. A path towards a simpler, more peaceful and adventurous life! 


This blog is intenteded as a type of "journal" to get our thoughts and ideas out there. To join up with other's longing for a similar life. To document our journey over the next 5 or so years. To encourage others that they too can have a simple, quality life. 


Let me note here that this has nothing to do with happiness. We are a very happy and loving family. You choose how you will respond to situations and life's ups and downs. This blog has nothing to do with that. This is only one part of being happy. This has to do with realizing that life is short and before we know it our kids will be grown with their own families and I just don't want to remember these years as barely making ends meet while giving all our money to "the man" so -to-speak. Happiness is internal and also from God. We realize that. This is a separate /yet related topic. 


**Please feel free to comment below and share your thoughts and also any tips and advice dealing with downsizing and seeking a simpler life!**


Blessings