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For the last 10 years my family has lived in what most would consider a small house. Our 900 sq foot ranch house has 3 bedrooms and 1 (gasp!) bathroom. We do not have a garage or a full basement. We love our darling house. We brought our first baby home to this space, and we now enjoy life as a family of 5 inside these walls. There are moments when I want to knock down some walls and gain a little more breathing room, but overall, we are quite content in our home. I have also come to realize that there are some wonderful benefits to living in a small house.

1) It’s easy to clean. I love the fact that my home can be ready for drop-in guests in 20 minutes. If we are hosting a dinner or party it might take an hour or so to clean. I don’t have to go up and down stairs. I only have one toilet to scrub. Toys and clothes can be put away in a matter of minutes. Counters can be wiped down without much hassle.

2) We have less stuff. If you have less room to store things then you have less stuff. Every inch of our house has to be used appropriately, so we can’t be holding onto things unnecessarily. For example, we don’t have a garage or a full basement, so our outdoor toys and gear must be limited. We don’t have lots of extra closets so we can’t buy numerous amounts of bedding or towels. We do have an attic that stores items that we feel are worth keeping (but not keeping in our main space), but we have tried to become more careful about evaluating an item before we put it upstairs.

3) It’s easy to heat. We only need to heat one floor, and we are able to do it for almost no money because of our wood stove. When we first bought our home we received a free wood stove from a friend. My husband spends the spring and summer collecting firewood from family and friends who lose trees in storms or want them removed from their yard. He chops and stacks, too. Free wood=free heat. We love our wood stove. We are always toasty warm, and the stove creates such a lovely ambience.

4) You have to learn to share and put others first. Two of my children have to share a room. That’s not always easy, but they have learned how to share a space. We only have one bathroom, so we often have to “wait our turn”. Yes, it would be nice if my children could each have their own space; yes, sometimes I wish my husband and I had our own bathroom, but we can appreciate the character-building that occurs in a small space.

5) It brings you together. There really is no hiding in our home. Our lives have to be lived in front of one another, so this makes for a lot of togetherness. Yes, we can shut a door (and maybe even lock it), but when it comes down to it, someone is always right there. We have learned how to do life together and have bonded in ways that might not happen if we had more square footage and two (or 3 floors).

We might not always live in this home, but it truly is a gift that we love and appreciate. We are thankful for the years we have had here, and we do acknowledge the sweet benefits of living in a small house.

What about you? Do you live in a small space? What benefits do you find from living in a smaller home?

Until next time,

Charissa

 

I am too easily overwhelmed. If I walk into my messy kitchen I get discouraged. Piles of clean laundry needing to be folded and stacks of papers that need to be sorted create a similar feeling inside of me. When I actually start and complete a task, though, I am often quite surprised at how much I can accomplish in a short amount of time. Sometimes even 5 minutes can yield a good amount of progress. Below I have listed 5 things you can clean in 5 minutes. Take a look!

1) Your nightstand (or top dresser drawer). My nightstand holds a few books, some lotion, a lamp and a basket of odds and ends. Too often a few odds and ends become a large number of odds and ends. 5 minutes is just the right amount of time to return items to their proper home, maybe give a quick dust and straighten the book stack. An organized nightstand is a soothing sight for tired eyes!

2) Your purse. How in the world do purses gather so much extra junk? (Or maybe it’s just me?!) Gum wrappers, receipts and random papers seem to be the types of things that are generally found in the extra pockets and bottom of my purse. 5 minutes can change all of that! I think this is a practice I need to incorporate into my weekly (or daily?) routine.

3) Your makeup bag. This is one of those areas that is easy to ignore but important to clean out every once in awhile. And guess what? 5 minutes should be all you need. Dump expired products and pass along or toss things you are no longer using.

4) Your microwave. This is one of those tasks that can seem overwhelming but isn’t so bad once you get into it. Heat a bowl of water in your microwave for about 60 seconds, and then wipe down the inside. A microwave that has been ignored for months might take a little more time and elbow grease. I have found that using a microwave spatter cover like the one shown below (and encouraging others to do so) makes major cleanings a thing of the past. 5 minute touch ups can do the trick if we all remember to use this cover.

5) Your magazine bin or basket.  Magazines and catalogs can quickly pile up. Take 5 minutes and sort through your basket. Recycle catalogs and magazines; you might even pass along a few of your magazines to a friend or neighbor.

Do you have 5 minutes? Choose one of these things to clean today! You’ll be surprised how good it feels!

What about you? Which cleaning tasks take you much less time than expected?

Until next time,

Charissa

(This post contains an affiliate link, so thenotsobusymom receives a very small commission if you make a purchase through this link.)

When I was growing up I would usually wake to find my mom reading her Bible and praying each morning. Seeing her that way was so familiar and comforting. I, too, have always liked the idea of rising early and spending time in God’s Word and in prayer. There have been various seasons of my life when this has worked out very well; in others, an early wake time has just not been possible. I have found myself in one of these seasons again because of my early rising 3 year old. I desire to get up early (before my children), but there is (for me) a “too early”. Prayer and time with the Lord is a priority, but I know I need a certain amount of sleep, too. My early rising child has made the early time alone with God more challenging. I have been thinking about and implementing creative ways to pray throughout the day as I do life.

Here are 5 of my favorite ways to pray throughout the day:

1. Text or email a prayer to a friend or family member. It’s common to pass along the phrase, “I’m praying for you”. What if instead you chose to write out the prayer for that person? It doesn’t have to be long or fancy. Just include a line or two of prayer and hit the send button.
2. Place prayer bookmarks in some of the books you are reading. I create lists of names of people for whom I want to pray, and pop the lists in the books I am reading. When I open up the book and see the bookmark I stop and pray for the list of people before reading.
3. Create a prayer list or journal and keep it in your purse or car. This is a practice I am hoping to establish this year. Many years ago I created a small poster with the names of close family and friends. I hung this poster in my closet, and it was a reminder to pray for these special people. Similarly, keeping a list of people and requests in a purse or car is a great way to encourage prayer during unusual blocks of time throughout the day (like waiting in the pick up line or sitting in a waiting room).
4. Pray over your children while they are sleeping. I am a big fan of praying with your kids, but I also like to pray over my children as they sleep. I check on my children before I head to bed and find that it is a great time to kneel beside a bed and pray for them. I can pray for those things that I might not be as comfortable praying about with them. It’s a beautiful moment.
5. Do the alphabet prayer.  This type of praying can happen anytime throughout the day. I use it when I am struggling to fall asleep. I start with “A” and think of someone I know who has a name beginning with that letter. I say a quick prayer for them and then move to the next letter.  This is a unique way to pray, and I am normally asleep by “L”, so it’s a good sleeping tool, too!

I hope you have found a tip or two here that encourages you to pray throughout your day.

16 Be joyful always; 17 pray continually; 18 give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

 (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18)

What about you?  How do you pray throughout your day?

Until next time,

~Charissa