When Your House is Just too Small…

Today’s heart-cry is from Rhonda:

Hello Davonne,

Thank you so much for sharing your story. At the present moment I am drowning in clutter. We live in a small home that is just over 1,000 sq feet. We seem to purge often and not purchase much, but grandparents gifts and hand-me-downs seem to flow in often.

Our life is full here.

My husband recently started his own engineering company. His giant executive desk, double monitors, computer, fax/copy/print machine, and two file cabinets share our bedroom with our bed and two dressers.

All 3 of our children (ages 9, 6, 3) share one bedroom. There is no closet in the room (old house) so we make due with 1 dresser for each child. Floor space is maxed out.

Our third bedroom (also without a closet) holds all the kids toys, school supplies (we home educate our children), crafting supplies (for kids), and my office things.

I love to sew, and paint, but I find I have no place to keep those supplies in an accessible place. I haven’t done much creatively for many years as I seem to be “just getting by.” I feel a little like I’m slowly dying inside because of this.

I’m a bit overwhelmed and would appreciate prayer. I know God can, and will help us. He is a God of order. It will help me to push through if I know someone who understands is praying!

Thank you,

Rhonda

Rhonda,

I am so sorry that you’re having a hard time with your things!

My husband Nathan and I have talked about moving to a tiny home in the country someday. The only thing that stops me from wholeheartedly throwing myself into that idea is because I think of our sweet girls. The toys, the dolls, the books… things they love that would no longer fit in our home.

But then I also think about how free we could be from earthly things and how much we could just focus on Jesus and relationships instead of stuff. The choices are hard and I don’t always know what the best balance is.

I have spent time reading articles and watching shows about people who live in very small spaces. I’m going to link to a few of those because I think it may encourage you a bit:

Tiny: A Story About Living Small (documentary on YouTube). This movie is SO inspirational!

Eight reasons to love life in a small house. I LOVE this article by Jill from the Prairie Homestead.

The Burning house: “If your house was burning, what would you take with you?” My husband recently introduced me to this site and it’s really thought-provoking. It started a discussion about what we’d want to take, and it made me think about how little of what I own is truly important to me.

All their possessions in one photo. This article absolutely blew me away. People around the world were asked to stand next to their homes with every single possession they own next to them. Wow.

This short You-Tube video about organization in a tiny home is very inspiring!

I also have a board on Pinterest with small home ideas and inspiration.

I hope this encouraged you, Rhonda! I did and will continue to pray for you.

 PS Go here to learn how to submit your own questions.