The biggest challenges are storage, privacy and bathrooms. These will always be drawbacks to small home living. Forget about stocking up at Costco and Sam's Club. And if you buy a new outfit, be prepared to donate last year's fashions to good will. Expect everyone who is home to hear any conversation or argument that takes place and say goodbye to bathrooms with whirlpool tubs and double sinks.
But would I trade my smaller house for a larger version? Absolutely not. The advantages of living smaller outweigh the negatives. Chief among these is the lower financial cost, especially in this struggling economy.
Still, making a small house into a Jewel Box® is as much about creating a beautiful space, as the life that goes on within its walls.
So going forward, I plan to pull back the curtain and show the realities of small home living - starting with the biggest reason for my lifelong struggle with big house envy. Also, my boys have agreed to talk candidly about sharing a room and we will hear more from Charlie. Of course, the decorating and entertaining tips will always be a part of Jewel Box®!
Sometime before Thanksgiving, there will be a new look for the Jewel Box® blog to go along with its evolving content. Until then, I'll be taking a break from blogging and doing my laundry. Which as you can see from the photos below, has piled up! (Over the last few weeks I made my new job a priority.) I'm debating whether to take it all to the dry cleaners and pay to have it done, or save money and do it myself. When Jewel Box® returns, I'll let you know what I did.
My mountain of laundry. I always find it interesting that piles of dirty laundry never seem to bother my sons. Is this just a boy thing?I look forward to seeing you all in mid-November!
Warmly,
Genevieve
I also have two boys and it is amazing what they can ignore...spills, garbage that needs taking out and of course laundry. Living in a small home things seem to become messy very quickly and I feel like I need to be constantly on top of it but I wouldn't trade it for anything.
ReplyDeleteKim
Oh Kim, thanks for making me feel better about my sons' blindness to household cleaning and chores!
ReplyDeleteAnd what about that teenage boy smell? The combination of sweaty sports equipment, sour shoes and inconsistent deodorant use, can be overpowering. But I have found that Oust spray along with strategically placed charcoal room deodorizers do a good job.
Genevieve
I'm so glad you'll be discussing "the other side" of life in a smaller home! My house is 1700 square feet, and I have two young boys (they share a room, too).
ReplyDeleteI'm looking forward to reading any tips you might have.
I wonder sometimes if I would be better off being blissfully oblivious as my college age child. This photograph is priceless Genevieve! I love our small home and my husband and children are happy "nesting" in it . Thank you for this post. I often thought that someone out there would be brave enough to step out of the box.
ReplyDeleteElise
tapping foot.... it's mid-November Genevieve ;)
ReplyDeleteYou think that pile is bad.... oh honey puh-lease! LOL I've been struggling with my mountain for two days. Laundry is Hell and girls are the demons in charge of making more ;)
I can't wait to see what you're up to. Thanks for visiting me :)
rue
It was extremely interesting for me to read the article. Thank author for it. I like such themes and anything connected to this matter. I would like to read more on that blog soon.
ReplyDeleteI think I will tune in for the other side of life in a small house. My mother who is elderly and getting dementia just moved in and the house is feeling like there is no where to just get away! But I wouldn't trade the space for a large house payment and that keeps me content.
ReplyDelete