Tiny Living

Once upon a time I lived in a big house. Actually, I've lived in a few big houses.

My wife and I didn't start off living in a big house, we worked our way to one.

I will never forget out first house together, this tiny little house that my momma had previously lived in. It was this ugly mint green, tiny house that sat right in the middle of a huge field, all my itself.

From the outside that thing was hideous, a true eyesore, but on the inside was a remodeled dream. It was so cozy and cute.

When you walked in the back door you walked straight into the kitchen/laundry room/living room. LOL.. it was all so little. The washer and dryer just kind of sat off to the left of the kitchen, fully exposed. When either were running, the whole house could hear it.

There was one bathroom and two small rooms, and that was all the house there was. But the view, man the view from the back porch was so beautiful. I remember before we lived there, going to visit my mom, and taking pictures of the field in awe wishing one day that I could live there.

Little did I know at the time, that I one day would.

Anyway, that was our first tiny experience, I guess you could say.

From there we moved into two different much bigger houses.

I've lived in big and small. I've had very little space, and I've had way more space than I knew what to do with.

But nothing could've ever prepared me for the tiniest move of all, when we moved into our RV a few short months ago.

I was so excited! I had finally convinced my wife that this was a good plan. We would move out of our too-much-house that we rented and into an RV to save money to one day build.

I prepared so diligently! I sold everything. And when I say everything- I mean everything! I sold everything in our bedroom, our whole living room suite, our dining room table, every bed in our house.. everything! I never realized how much crap we really had until I started the daunting task of going through it all. Why in the world did we have SO MUCH CRAP?!

I had so many pairs of shoes I never wore. A HUGE closet full of clothes I never wore, about 13 scarves I couldn't tell you the last time saw my neck. I had bags and purses and cups... oh the cups!!

I had extra sets of dishes, WAY too much tupperware with no matching lids. I had a thousand cup straws, more than one crockpot, and the list goes on.. and on..

Anyway, I got rid of it all! I felt so accomplished and so much lighter, and I was READY!

So the day came that we were to pack up everything and move into our RV. We packed up what was to go to storage, which was mostly memorabilia and one piece of furniture; and the rest we planned to take the the RV.

I remember that night after we were finally finished moving things into the RV, looking around and thinking, "Oh crap. This is too much stuff, still."

I will say I was very overwhelmed. I thought I had prepared better than this. I mean, I sold so much stuff! But the reality is: if you're planning to go tiny- plan to sell everything, and then sell some more!

I had totes of things I wanted to hang on the walls- there is very little wall space in an RV. I had books I wanted to read- there are no shelves or hiding places for 25 books that used to fit comfortably in your walk-in closet. I had tupperware I just knew I would need for leftovers- there is very limited cabinet space and even more limited space in your tiny fridge. I had clothes.. oh the clothes! - INSERT - I have since we moved gone through my clothes again about 4 different times, to give away even more! There is absolutely no closet space. There is no place for clothes. RV's (at least the size we live in- 320 sq ft) were not meant to be lived in. My wife and I both have a cabinet a piece that serves as our "closet". Somehow by the grace of God we have made it work, but I am still not quite sure how. And shoes, I don't know what I even have anymore. They are all shoved in different places, wherever they will fit. I should probably go through all of those again too...

I no longer have tons of bags. I have maybe 3 purses here at the RV, and even that takes up too much space.

Even though it's been a challenge to get used to this sort of living, I will say that it has changed my life in ways I never knew it would. I thought the idea of living in an RV was "cute". But the reality of actually living in one, it humbles you, to say the least. I used to think about what I wanted for Christmas, but now that I live minimally with everything I could possibly ever need, I realized that I need nor want for anything!

I don't need anymore purses or bags or shoes. All they do is take up space. I think before I buy something now. If I truly want something, I know that something else has to be sacrificed for that purchase.

I now realize how much actual crap was taking up space in my life. The clutter in my life was debilitating. And now the biggest obstacle I have each day is what I'm going to do with my time, now that I no longer have to dust furniture I never used, organize boxes of stuff that went untouched for months, clean up toys that were just dumped on the floor daily but never really played with, go through hair products that just collected dust under my bathroom sink. I don't have these problems anymore.

And while I will say- it has been a huge feat to go from constantly busy to almost bored, I am SO GLAD that I no longer have that clutter. It is literally an entire elephant that is no longer sitting on my chest.

Sure, one day I want to build a house, but it will be a tiny house. I don't think I will ever be able to live in a full-sized house ever again. Haha.. I would like to have a normal-sized shower again one day, and a slightly bigger closet than my current cabinet. (: But this journey has been an amazing one. It's been an eye-opener and it really forces you to search your heart for what is truly important in your life.

I'd love to talk to anyone that has ever thought about, or is currently, thinking about going tiny. I'm sure I have ALL the advice for you!

Until next time.. xoxo