2 of 7: Of house and home

Yesterday's cold, which was contained with occasional tylenol, has morphed into a sinus-pressure, head-two-sizes-too-big kind of ordeal. I feel awful. Everyone slept all night and still I feel exhaustion in my bones. And Joe is in Baltimore until Friday. I could cry.

Instead, I'm going to put on my big girl pants and do this blog thing. Today's topic: Choosing happiness with your house.

Yesterday, my SIL sent a link to a realty listing of a house they are buying. It is beautiful. It is a sprawling ranch with approximately a billion square feet (mostly unfinished basement) and four acres of land. Absolutely perfect for my brother and his family of seven who have been crammed into about 1400 square feet up to now. This house is appropriate for their family size, and it is long overdue.

Posts like this, though, always leave me with just a little tinge of jealousy. Our house is nice, but wouldn't it be nicer to have a basement and storage and an extra space for an office (instead of having the computer in the dining room).

Every time I get frustrated with lack of storage or clutter pile-ups and wish for a different, larger house, I think about the things I love about THIS house.

• There are just enough bedrooms.
• Our screened porch is a very pleasant and enjoyable family space.
• We have a great back yard.
• We live 5 minutes from Local Theme Park, where we spend our entire summer. I'm really not sure what we would do if we moved within the same county but  further away from Local Theme Park. We kind of live there in the summer.
• There is not too much space to clean (although sometimes it FEELS like too much). 
• Everything is on one level, so it is easy to keep track of the kids and not be afraid that someone is pushing someone else down dangerous stairs (ahem).
• The size of our space forces us to be intentional about simplicity.

I think that last one is the one I think about the most. We try to make the most of our resources and not live outside of our means. Living in a smaller space forces us to be more judicious about what we buy and what we hoard keep. It helps us to be less attached to our belongings and more willing to give away things we don't need or use. And (I hope) it helps our kids learn to be less focused on the things in their lives and more focused on the people in their lives.

So, when I get frustrated with our house size, I think about all of the things above and I choose to be happy about our house. And then I clean and throw things out to make it feel bigger. :)

I'm participating in the seven posts in seven days link-up at Conversion Diary.