a year in the life

 Today I was looking back over the past year.  On January 17, 2009 we moved into our apartment here in Utah.  As I've said before, it's relatively small.  We moved from a house with 1800+ square feet, 4 bed 3.5 bath to an apartment with about 950 square feet, 2 bed 1 bath.  When we moved in I was convinced that we would be here no longer than a few months, and then we'd buy a house and all would be well.  Things didn't work out quite like that, and over the past few days I've been thinking and talking to my neighbor about what I needed (and need) to learn from this experience. 

Guess what?  It turns out that:

You don't really HAVE to have a dishwasher- it's a luxury.

You don't HAVE to have laundry in your house to have clean clothes  -(it's around the back of the house for us) YES, it's more convenient and I hope to not always have to go outside to do laundry, but really, it's not NECESSARY to have it in the next room to sustain a good life.

When it comes to finances,  it's better to have peace of mind than space (or things, for that matter).

You can cook good food just as well in a small kitchen as in a big one.

If you take all the stuff away from a baby, they really don't take up that much room. (Still working the kinks out of this one......)

If you clear out a few of your 2 year old's toys, she will be just as happy playing with pots and pans.

Sharing a bedroom with your computer won't kill you.

These are all things that I didn't know a year ago.  And don't worry- I'm STILL learning them and much more.  I am SO not even close to being a minimalist.  I am still a pack-rat and trying to mend my ways..... 

Yesterday when my neighbor and I were talking (she has 3 kids and lives in the same amount of sqaure feet as I do) she mentioned to me that she would be more inclined to move if she thought it would make a difference in her children's lives- i.e. make them better, happier, more fulfilled people in the long run.    In 10 years will they be worse off for having shared a room?  Nope.  In 10 years will they be worse off if their parents are so deeply in debt that they have to file bankruptcy so that they can eat?  Yep. 

Got me thinking about what is most important to me, and even through my crazy nesting phase, I know that Cecily is just as happy and healthy here as she would be in a bigger place.  I need to be happy too, and I am most of the time. 

One of my new years resolutions for 2010:  Simplify my stuff, simplify my routine, simplify my life.  I think I can do it.  Yay for me.

That, and to lose some poundage..........but not starting until March.