This Thrifted Life

Before we moved to this area a few years ago, we lived in homes that were both around 1100-1200 sq ft. We had plenty of room in each of them and I don’t remember ever feeling cramped. It was a great size for us.

Then we moved here and lived in a 900 sq ft house for 3 years. For those of you who live in 450 sq ft studio apartments, that kind of space might sound huge. But compared to so many of our friends and family members who live in 2000 sq ft homes and above, we lived in a cracker box. When we decided to purchase our own home, we knew we didn’t want anything nearly that big, but I was really craving a bit more space. We decided something around 1500 sq ft wouldn’t be too crazy for us to buy. As it turned out, the home we ended up purchasing is just over 1500 sq ft.

And it is too big for us. After a few months of living here, I miss a smaller space so much. This house feels too spread out, and we’ve only used the living room a handful of times. Even with a baby on the way, we are going to have lots of extra living space.

I am really surprised by this realization. I grew up in a 1600 sq ft rancher, and I always thought it was the perfect size. But what I have come to realize is it is not the size of the house that matters the most to me but its efficiency. I realized I chafed at the small laundry room in our last home not because it was small, but because it had a terribly inefficient layout. What I thought I wanted was a little bit of extra room; what I have come to understand is that efficiency in a small space is truly what calls to me.

So we are discussing options for the future, including some ideas I never thought I’d even consider. We had looked at Tumbleweed homes in the past, but I don’t know if that’s an option we’ll put on the table this time. All we are sure of at the moment is we thought we were moving up and gaining a bit of space and freedom, but living small is where our true freedom lies.

And don’t forget you have until midnight tonight to enter the giveaway!

This dreary, freezing weather has me dealing with cabin fever; I find myself running to the coffee shop or the consignment store just to get out of the house. The winter always seems to be the time of year when I spend more. Summers are full of free community events or simply spending time at the park. I have been craving some motivation to keep my eye on the long-term prize (let’s just say we have a myriad of goals right now) I recently reread Getting a Life, the companion book to Your Money or Your Life, and it’s provided me with fresh incentive to focus on eventually reaching financial independence.

When I first read Your Money or Your Life a few years ago, I immediately identified my “gazingus pin.” Magazines (and most of you guys know that!). I’ve been subscribing to different magazines since I was 10 years old, and I’ve always loved poring over those glossy pages as an afternoon escape. Last year I gave up buying fashion magazines and decided to only buy publications that were actually useful to me, like magazines that provided good recipes or home remodeling information. So while I no longer splurged on Harper’s Bazaar or Lucky, I have still been buying titles like Real Simple and Better Homes and Gardens.

Now I’m just tired of maintaining that gazingus pin hobby. The only magazine we’ll still subscribe to is Mother Earth News as we both use the wonderful information that publication provides. I’ve decided to let any other subscriptions I have run out, and any other magazines I want to buy for recipes or other info will have to be done at the thrift store. $3.99 compared to $.25? It’s time to get over that gazingus pin!

I’ve never been a huge fan of the traditional Valentine’s celebrations–I don’t really fancy going to a crowded restaurant to spend more money than I normally would on a regular dinner out. Roses are insanely expensive around V-day, and I’m not much of a jewelry person. But, hey, I still enjoy celebrating a holiday. So just how did we celebrate?

Jason came home with a bag of chocolates and this pretty bouquet; you can buy these mixed bouquets for less than $10 at most grocery stores.

On Saturday I made my gift to Jason: my first-ever batch of homemade cupcakes (hey, I am usually a cookie-maker). I cheated and bought store-bought icing, but these were delish.

On the day itself we hit up the dollar theater so we could finally see The Princess and the Frog. For $4, we bought 2 tickets and a small popcorn and soda for me. Then we hit up our favorite pizza place for dinner–pizza places aren’t usually too crowded on Valentine’s day.