When Dreaming Leads to Discontentment

The grass is always greener, right?  In this day and age, I think that contentment can be a hard thing to come by, and an even harder thing to hold on to. I am not sure if it is because of the internet and social media, but I personally feel like they go hand in hand. We see what other people have and we want it. Everyone is putting the best parts of their life out for the world to see, and hiding the bad stuff deep beneath the surface. I mean, how many times have you looked at someone's blog or instagram and thought "Wow, they have the perfect life." Every time I think that, I stop and ask myself what their life is really like. We have no way of knowing what is actually going on in their life, but it is hard when all we see is sunshine all the time. It is hard to feel like what we have is good enough. Hard to feel like we even have enough. Maybe even hard to feel like we are enough, sometimes? 

When our family first decided to move over a year ago, we were really discontent with where we were living. Most of it was the location-it was just on the edge of a not very safe neighborhood. But there were things about the house that we also didn't like. When we decided to list our house, we started dreaming about our next house. Would we buy a newer house, a smaller house, a bigger house, an older house? We didn't know at first, but it was fun to dream!  Soon, though, dreaming led to discontentment. The more we dreamed of what the future held as far as our home went, the less content we became with our certain circumstance. All of a sudden, we hated living there. We hated the most random things that never seemed to bother us before we knew we were moving. All of a sudden, everything became annoying and glaringly obvious and we couldn't wait to get out of there! I feel like this happens so often with dreaming. The more we dream about something and hope for the future, the less content we become with our reality. 

Sometimes it's fun to dream. My husband and I love thinking about the future together. Dreaming about what holidays will look like as our kids get older. Talking about trips we hope to take together. Looking forward to years to come. Dreaming can be totally harmless and really good for our souls. Until we hit that place where we are only looking forward to our dreams and don't want to live in the present. I think it is really easy to cross that line and go to "that place". I know I have been there many times in my life. Sometimes it is just something little like living room decor. Sometimes it's dreaming about a new craft or hobby I want to pursue and becoming discontent with my current abilities. Sometimes it's much bigger, like when I dreamed about being a mommy, but wasn't living that reality. Are you sensing a theme here?! I seem to struggle somewhat consistently with contentment in one aspect of my life or another. 
The thing I have noticed about downsizing  is that you really have to continuously choose contentment. There are a lot of aspects about moving to a smaller space that can make you discontent. Like, um, the lack of space. Having to change your ideas to fit your new space. Needing to figure out where you are going to fit more children and all of their stuff. Being forced to get rid of things because you simply don't have a place for it (like the piano my mom passed down to us-so sad). It can be tricky. Having lived in our smaller space for 9 months now (which is so hard to believe), I am learning that it is more than worth it. The physical closeness our family gets to experience (someone is always in the next room), less space to clean, lower energy bills--these are just a few of the reasons I love living in a small house. I won't lie though, it can be hard not to wish for more when you're living small. Dreaming of more rooms, a bigger dining room to host company, and taller ceilings. I've wished for them all in the last 9 months, but when I get to that place, I go back to the reasons this small space brings me joy.
What situations do you struggle with overcoming discontentment in? How do you balance having fun dreaming about things and living in your reality? 

Homemaking On A Dime: Decorating Your Home

Welcome to the first installment of the Homemaking on a Dime series! I am really excited to kick it off today, talking about decorating your home with a small budget. Even if your decorating budget isn't that small, who doesn't love saving money and finding things for a steal?  I recently found out, when we moved and downsized, that moving is really stinkin' expensive. There are tons of hidden costs and unexpected things always come up, even when you've planned well. Not to mention that many of the items from your old home simply don't work in your new home. I made as much of my old decor work as I could, but there were several rooms in my home where I was pretty much starting from scratch. Curtains and pillows and frames and hooks all add up really fast! Here are some ways that I stretched my dollar. 

Go slow This is obviously a really simple tip, but I feel like it needs to be said. When we bought our first house, I wanted everything done right away, so I went and bought a bunch of cheap stuff like $5 Wal-Mart curtains just to get stuff up and "done". Well, of course, within a year or two I hated everything and wanted to redecorate my entire house. This time, I made a vow to myself that I would go slow. I would really live in the space and get a feel for how I use it before I completely finish a room, and I will really think about my style and ONLY buy and place things in my home that fit within that vision! Yes, it can be frustrating to have bare windows or no rug in a room for months and months, but this also gives you a chance to really think about if that is the item you want, and also to save up for it!  Bring out old items One of my favorite things that I have been doing is re-using my own decor items. When I get sick of an item, I will put it in our storage area and then I don't see it for awhile. When I get sick of my new decor, I go down and look through things and come up with a totally new arrangement, and for free! This works well if you get sick of the same thing after awhile. I love swapping out things here and there on my big Ikea shelf to give it a completely new feel! It also works well to move things from room to room. Just because the owl has always lived in my living room, doesn't mean I couldn't move it to a bathroom shelf, or the girls' dresser. Most of the items I've brought from my old house into my new one aren't in the same rooms that they were there! 

DIY This one goes without saying, and if you aren't a DIY'er, don't hate me for this! Hear me out. DIY'ing can be frustrating if you don't feel like you are good at it, but it doesn't have to be complicated. That yellow chalk board on my big shelf? Yeah that thing was like $2 at a craft store (either Joann's or Michael's, I can't remember) and had an unfinished frame, so I just painted it with yellow craft paint to match my curtains. DIY'ing can certainly save money sometimes, but sometimes you have to be careful. I have looked into making my own curtains several times, and it has never been cheaper to buy all of the fabric I would need than to buy curtains from Target. Ever! Doing it yourself is also a great way to get your home decorated in the "in between". I have this giant wall next to my kitchen table that I have had an idea for, but I don't currently have time or supplies for it, so the wall just sat blank for 6+ months. I finally decided one day on a whim to put this banner up that I had made for my daughter's birthday party! I have ended up liking it so much (it is huge so it takes up the whole wall), that I am going to make one for each season and then change them out. The banner template was just a few dollars at Hobby Lobby, plus the cost of scrapbook paper (next to nothing), and I can use both sides of it, so I only need 2 to do all 4 seasons! Score! Someday, I will get around to my big project, but for now, this easy DIY is filling in just fine. 

Gifts This one can be tricky, but if you have family and/or friends who want specific gift ideas from you, this is a great way to get home decor! For my birthday last summer, my mom wanted to get me something for the new house, but wasn't sure what I needed or wanted. When she was here visiting, she noticed that we had no comforter or bed set and that was because I had been saving up to buy the one I wanted, so she got it for me for my birthday instead! If you have a birthday or holiday coming up within a few months, maybe you can hold out on a specific item of decor until then.
Functional decor Sometimes, items you already need in your home are really cute. Use these as decor! I saw on instagram the other day, a lady posted a picture of her new fish and joked that it was doubling as decor, but it totally was! She had it in a super cute little apothecary jar, with colorful rocks that matched her decor, and on a pretty tray. Genius! Now she has a fish for her kids, and decor for that corner of her house! Honey, if you were ever going to actually convince me to get a fish, this is the way... We got this little caddy system at Ikea {rail//basket//hooks//jars. In my kitchen it doubles as decor and a functional and necessary item. I need all of those things, and now it is all pretty to look at as well! 

Less is more If you can't afford to completely decorate, or overhaul an entire room, think about what is going to make the biggest difference in the room. Personally, I always think window treatments make a huge difference and are such a statement. They change the whole feel of a room and make it look completely different. Not to mention, they make things feel a lot cozier and more homey! Maybe you don't have enough in your budget to buy all the pieces you want for your gallery wall, so while you are collecting them, hang something you already have instead. Then work on collecting your stuff over time.  Other money saving decor ideas include: ::Thrift shopping:: Goodwill, local thrift shops, garage sales, Facebook sale pages, etc. ::Shopping sales:: Looking for Cartwheel deals, coupons, or waiting until things go on sale. ::"Cheap" stores:: Stores like TJ Maxx, Ross, etc. often have really inexpensive decor items. Ikea is another great place to go for things like lighting, plants, frames, and more. Some Ikea items will ship, if you don't have a store locally. ::Swap with friends:: If you are like me and get sick of the same thing, see if you have any friends who would want to swap some decor pieces with you!  If you have any other tips or ideas for decorating your home on the cheap, please leave them in the comments below! I would love to read them!! 

Downsizing in a World of Up-sizing

I feel like this world is in up-sizing mode. We want bigger houses, bigger/better cars, bigger meals, more expensive things, and on and on. When we bought our first home in 2009, I will admit that I thought bigger was better. We bought a 100 year old home, so it wasn't the newest and nicest house, but it was big. And I loved that about it. I quickly found out that an almost 3000 sq. ft. home is a lot of work to keep up on. Impossible to have it all clean at the same time, honestly.  Well, we recently moved from that home into a 950 sq. ft. home with an unfinished basement (which we have since been working on finishing and just have a few things to finish up, but the basement is live-able now). Honestly, we were terrified. We weren't sure what we were getting ourselves into. We knew we'd have to downsize some when we moved, and I really wanted to because that house was just too much work, but we didn't think we'd be moving into a house the size of our first apartment. We went from having 5 bedrooms with 2 "bonus" rooms and 3 bathrooms, to having 2 bedrooms and one bathroom.  I'll never forget the day that the opportunity for building this house presented itself. We had been looking at other lots through this program we were building in, but none of them were right. When we found out about this new lot, we were immediately intrigued, but shortly after, we were told that there was only one floor plan available to build on this lot. And that floor plan happened to be a two bedroom, one bathroom. Eek! We were just not sure if we could make it work. Besides the large amount of stuff that we owned, our kids had never shared a room, and we both really love hosting and weren't sure how to do that in such a small space. Long story short, we decided that we were willing to sacrifice more space for other things that we wanted in a house. And I am so, so glad we made that decision!  We were recently out on a bike ride, and I asked my husband: now that we've gone through the whole process, downsized and have been living here a few months, do you think we did the right thing? He said without a doubt, 10/10, 100% yes. I agree.  Being able to let go of so much of the materialistic stuff in our lives and focus on being more minimal has been a blessing to us. We are still working to get there. We had a lot of stuff. We totally became the people who friends and family pawned all their old junk off on because 1) we had the space for it, and 2) my husband is kind of a sucker when it comes to things like that. We got rid of so many van loads full of stuff before we even moved and have gotten rid of so much more since we have moved in and been unpacking! We are a work in progress, but I have loved just getting to focus on the important things in life. Having 1000 sq. ft. to live in for several months wasn't one of those. It was fine. We made it work, and actually I kind of love it. I can clean the whole house super fast, I can be in the kitchen and hear my kids playing in their bedroom, and I have to be picky about what stuff I'm keeping and how I'm organizing things. The fact of the matter is that we are beyond blessed to have this home. Not buying it because it was "too small" would have been silly for us. Sure, we had valid concerns, like how we would be able to host gatherings, which is important to us...especially as a family in ministry, but God has worked all of that out. We've hosted many life groups and a few larger gatherings already, and it has been totally fine.  I could see God's hand in all of the little details of this move so much more than ever before. Every little thing that had to go right for this to work out, every time that He seemed to drop money in our laps when we'd find out about something else we had to pay for, etc. It made me think that it was His way of telling us this was the right move.  I am really excited about continuing to learn to live with less. To be thankful for what I do have. To break the mindset of wanting so much unnecessary stuff. With the completion of our basement (mostly) we have added another living space, a bedroom and another bathroom. This will certainly help out some, but it's only another 450 sq. ft. It has been fun figuring out how to utilize the space to its fullest potential and to customize it to make it work for our family. Now that we are used to living in a smaller space, I could honestly see us staying here for a long, long time. It feels so homey and so "us" and I love that about it. I love that it's just what we need, and not a lot more. I love that God showed me how much I was holding space and things as an idol...they were wants, not needs. And I love that we are learning to be content with much less.