Living Small- Questions Answered
A. We play outside ALOT. Whether it be in the yard, going swimming or playing at the park.
I’ve found that it makes living in a smaller space that much more doable.
It’s also important to me that we do our best to keep our house tidied up.
Because when the kids’ room is messy they are obviously not going to play in there.
It becomes too small and cluttered.
We pick up right after lunch, right before Travis gets home and then once again at bedtime.
It takes all of 15 minutes to get things back in order!
A. The Lord has really laid it on our hearts to live with less for this season of ours lives.
He has blessed us with so much that we want to honor Him with it and use it wisely.
And honestly… I have reached a point where things don’t matter to me.
At all.
I could drive my car for the rest of my life and be perfectly content.
So, all that to say… the Lord definitely changed my heart on this matter:)
It has been nothing that I have accomplished by myself.
Also… with four little ones I do not have any desire to have lots of stuff.
More stuff means more work for me.
No thanks 🙂
A. This is very similar to the question above.
If you’re new to the blog then you may not know our story.
In a nutshell.
We moved from a city suburb to a tiny country town two years ago.
Before the move all I could think about was getting in a large home, driving a nice car and all the things that came with it.
We just moved back to our suburb home that we never sold, but rented out while we were away.
Being in that sweet country town stripped me of every bit of materialism I had.
Not a person in that town cared what you wore or what you drove.
They didn’t care what your house looked like.
“Stuff” meant nothing to those people.
And over time the Lord changed my heart.
And “stuff” no longer matters to me anymore.
So, that’s where I’m at with “keeping up with the Jones”.
I could care less about Mrs. Jones fancy car.
I love my 11 year old car 🙂
All that to say.
Will we ever move into a bigger home?
Yes, I can guarantee we will.
But am I chomping at the bit to move out of this home?
Nope.
We are trying to make it work as long as we can in this house.
The longer we stay here the more we can save!
Q. Where is your shower curtain from?
A. Urban Outfitters!
A. Great question! One thing my family knows about me is I’m not a big fan of toys.
And they also know that I like to get rid of toys 🙂
Both sides of our families are so sweet about gift giving.
They always give the most thoughtful gifts.
I have no rules as far as what they give.
I think that takes away the joy from the giver.
So anything goes!
However, when new toys come in the old ones usually find their way to the thrift store.
And my kids are fine with it.
I think it’s because I’ve been getting rid of toys since they were little 🙂
There are a few favorite toys that I keep around… I’m not that cold-hearted 😉
A. From a garage sale a few years ago!
Most of their clothes are hung up.
And then I keep rubbermaid drawers inside the closet for their pajamas, undies and play clothes.
Travis keeps his hanging clothes in the front coat closet with a dresser of clothes in the laundry room.
And Eloise’s clothes are stored in flat rubbermaid bins underneath the couch.
A. This was by far the most asked question!
Our home is painted several different shades of gray.
The kids bedroom and the living room are this color:
Our bedroom is this color:
And I couldn’t find my can for the bathroom but it’s an even darker gray.
or are there posts that hold it up in addition to nailing it?
A. It is just nailed straight to the wall at the height that I wanted it!
A. Not at ALL! I have had white bedding since we’ve been married and still love it!
Super easy to wash… just throw it all in the washer with a little bleach and it looks brand new again.
A. No.. honestly it wasn’t.
I am probably the least sentimental person ever.
All of my possessions and home could be gone today…
and as long as my family was safe and with me I would be 100% fine.
Truly.
And I would say it was about three good sweeps through before I was all the way de-cluttered.
I had a garage sale for the first sweep.
And the second sweep was kind of hilarious.
I saw an advertisement for a man on facebook who would come and take away anything you didn’t want.
So..of course I contacted him.
And he drove away with trailer FULL of our stuff.
That felt so amazing!
Swingset, couch, toys, dishes, clothes… you name it and I threw it on that trailer 🙂
And the third sweep was once we were settled into our little house again.
I was able to figure out what worked and didn’t.
And whatever didn’t fit or I knew I wouldn’t use went to the second hand store in town.
A. I was a definite hoarder of craft supplies, sewing notions and fabrics.
I got rid of EVERYTHING.
I threw away the half used bottles of stuff.
Donated some of it.
And then sold a huge trash bag full of fabrics and patterns to a friend through facebook.
Have I missed it?
Nope.
It had gotten to the point where I had so much stuff I didn’t even know what I had.
I have restocked our craft drawer but in moderation.
We don’t need a thousand bottles of glue.
Two is plenty.
And I don’t need a million broken crayons.
A new box will work nicely:)
So…that’s kind of where we’re at with that!
Q. Will you continue to do the Living Small Series?
A. YES! I have so much more to show you!
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In case you missed any of the Living Small Posts here they are…
Ombre’ Headboard How-To
Our Room
Shared Kids Room
Introduction to Living Small
This last question has nothing to do with Living Small.
But this weekend I posted this picture saying that I had made Fresh Peach Muffins for our breakfast.
Quite a few of you had asked for a recipe and I said I would post it.
But the more I thought about it the more I wanted to wait and tweak it a bit.
They were ok…but not fantastic.
So I’ll post it once they’re fantastic:)
Do you have a Peach Muffin Recipe?
ALSO!
In case you missed it…
I am giving away Five Mini-Facial Kits!
Watch the Vlog here and enter!
You are an inspiration to me!!! Thank you, thank you, thank you! I can't wait to get rid of junk!! 🙂
Am I too late for questions?! I have some…
1. I noticed no rocking chair. Do you not rock your babies to sleep? My glider takes up a chunk of space but I can't imagine trying to get a baby to sleep without rocking and nursing?!
2. I love the day I move a baby to their room because I feel like my husband and I finally get our room back. I don't mind at all as far as nighttime sleep but it's the mornings and naps that make it so hard to not be able to go in my room for anything (cleaning/put laundry away/etc). Do you just kinda deal with it? How do you work around that?
3. What is something/s that you wish you didn't get rid of? Like that you actually really miss?
We have two little girls in a two bedroom one bath house as well and we just love it! I purge often but it always seems like as soon a I toss it we need it, haha! You have so, so inspired me, Ashley. You choose Christ and it's led you to a beautiful life. He is so amazing!!
I love this so much! I am like you in many ways- totally don't care what kind of vehicle I drive as long as it gets me from point A to point B. I'm also not very sentimental and have no problem giving stuff away. Love your little home- wish you could come decorate mine. If I say that enough, maybe it'll happen? 😉
Thanks for this series! My hubby and I live in a little house with just one baby, and I love it! The only things I wish we had was a dishwasher and a little dining space for entertaining. In a few months, my hubby will graduate and we'll probably be moving. Although it's tempting to go bigger + more, I really hope to find a home that reminds me to treasure the people living there more than the stuff I bring home 🙂 Your series has definitely motivated me to keep that in perspective!
I know you said that your closet is in the kids room – but do you limit your clothes or are the closets big enough that you can have a ton of clothes? PS. I pray that this series continues, you're an inspiration to stay motivated on keeping our life simple and worrying about only our happiness 🙂 PPS it was SO darn cool to see MY QUESTION – I was giddy!!!
Love the walls, what made you choose grey? I noticed before you moved you had various colors, which were also pretty. I know this may seem like a silly question but for some reason I'm always curious why people choose the colors they do. 🙂
Thanks
I know you asked Ashley and her reason may be extremely different but about 90% of our walls are a shade of gray [the ones that aren't are the ones I want to re-paint/dislike] and our reasoning was because it's a 'neutral' but you can put any color with it. If we want brown tons or black tons they go very well with our grey walls.
I do have a peach recipe I will text you!
I know this may be too personal, but how do you deal with debt and be a stay at home mom? Do you have a budget? Are you free of credit card debt? Do you have a story or advice? Thanks!
You have lots of great advice! May I ask, will the Small Spaces series continue on for a bit (or a lot) longer? I sure hope it does. =) I at least need to see that fabulous turquoise dresser (and to hear how you use it), your gallery wall, and kitchen!!
Love your posts in this series! We've been trying to de-clutter too – we just have TOO much stuff and it makes our space too stressful for me. Thank you for the tips!
How do you make your living small work in the main area of your house? Where guest and family come together? We lived in a very small town house for 2.5 years with 3 kids and I had the hardest time in the living areas!
"I have reached a point where things don't matter to me.
At all."
Bam. That is me too. God radically changed my heart over the past several years. Honestly, I think eliminating television has made an insane difference in this area. I just don't care about trends and fashion and STUFF anymore and it's so incredibly freeing! Thank you for all your answers to the questions. So helpful and thank you for this series!