Home >> downsizing and efficient space

It’s hard to believe that this is what we’ll call home in a few weeks!
But we will…

To recap, we’re going from a 5 bedroom, 3 bath house to a 2 bedroom, 1 bath apartment. Two garage sales and 10 van loads full of stuff donated to thrift stores, and we still have a lot more whittling down to do. It’s amazing how easy it is to fill up a house. Before we bought our house, we had a condo about the size of the apartment that we’re going to try to fit into. Of course it was only Paul and I way back then. This is an excercise in complete efficiency. Every pocket of space in this new adventure will be utilized. We’re moving a few walls and building closets that go all the way up to the ceiling so as not to waste that space above the hangers. In fact, we’ll be using some IKEA systems to maximize every cubic inch of usable storage space. The fun has begun!

Why are we doing this?
Lots of reasons. It’s a great opportunity with so many facets. We’ll scale back and simplify our lifestyle. We enjoy international students. Our kids can go to a neighborhood school two blocks away. Paul is good at managing property and burned out on teaching. The building is in a beautiful community. And when our house sells, we’ll be completely out of debt. COMPLETELY!

Santa is buying bunk beds this year, not piles of toys. And the beloved little playhouse will be re-assembled so as to merge the feeling of the old house and the new apartment into one experience…hope it works! We’re also using similar wall colors to help the kids adjust. Miika resists change, so if there are as many similarities as possible, I hope to reduce her anxiety.

As I drive through River Forest and Oak Park every day, I can’t help but shake my head. Yea, the HUGE mansions are beautiful, but what a burden, like a ball and chain. I have not one drop of envy…only pity for the people who are slaves to their homes. These people must work all the time and have the weight of the world on their shoulders! Anyway, I’m very happy to be lightening up and decluttering our lives. It all begs the question: How much do we really need? “Not much,” I say.

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