Livin the Dream

...okay, maybe not MY dream, but I'm rolling with it.  I'm sure this little house is someone's dream, so I'm trying not to complain about it too much. 

We have been here for a week now. While it is definitely taking some getting used to, we are learning to enjoy the moment living in such tight quarters with limited space.  Strangely, I feel rather calm in this small house.  If I ignore all of the full boxes in the basement I feel like I have finally achieved the minimalist lifestyle I wanted....on the main floor we are living with just the essentials pretty much.  My cupboards and closets aren't even that full...it's rather peaceful in a way.  Sometimes I feel like I'm in a vacation home or something....like, when you stay some place for a week or so and you only bring your essentials and just use what is provided otherwise.  It's interesting that we can live with so little when we know it's only temporary, but yet we "need" so much more stuff if we are to live somewhere permanently.  If you didn't read this article I posted on Facebook last week, it's worth the read.  http://www.becomingminimalist.com/clutter-stats/

This rental experience has me feeling lots of love/hate towards a lot of things.  Let me share those with you...

Electric smooth top stove. 
Love - SUPER easy to clean!!
Hate - takes SO LONG to cook my food!!  I am used to my gas stove that literally starts cooking my eggs the second I put them into the pan....I could scramble 4 eggs in less than a minute.  Now, it takes 5 minutes.  I also used to be able to brown hamburger in under 5 minutes....now....10 minutes.  I already dislike cooking, and this new lengthy cook time is killing me!  My patience is being severely tested and I'm losing the battle!  Can't wait til I try to boil water on it......

No Pantry.
Hate - no pantry! 
What could I possibly love about not having a pantry??
Love - my kids cannot help themselves to snacks all day long...heehee!!!  I finally have control over what they are eating all day long (yeah yeah, I should have had control before...).  I also love that we don't have an abundance of food, of which half will go bad and be thrown away like it was when we did have a pantry. 

No Water spout on the fridge.
Okay, this one I just hate.  Not only do I miss this convenience, but so does Rylee.  She used to be able to get her own water all day long and now I have to get it for her.  For a young child learning (and loving) to be independent, this is sort of a step backwards for her.

Wood floors.
Hate - hard and uncomfortable
Love - Easy to clean!!  I have lived in this house for 8.5 days now and have mopped the floors 4 times because it's just so easy...and dare I say..fun!  I never thought I would enjoy wood floors in the bedrooms either, but for the cleaning factor, I'm loving it in every room!!  It does look really nice too!

Shared bathroom.
This one gets lots of hate from me.  LOTS!!  This is definitely my least favorite thing about this house.  I don't know how I lived with only 1 bathroom for 18 years of my life!!  I have numerous reasons why I don't like this, but the top of my list is that it only has a pedestal sink....which not only means no storage, but also no countertop....which means no where to set anything while you are using it!!!  Luckily, there is a gross bathroom in the basement with a small countertop that I use to do my hair.  The shower in that bathroom is pretty much unusable though as sewage backs up into it....bleh!

Renting.
Love - yes, I actually have something to say here.... I love that we aren't responsible for anything!  Yesterday James said, "What should I do today?  I don't know what to do with myself!!??"  It's a breath of fresh air for me and the kids to have so much time to spend with James since he won't be working on the house or yard! 
Hate - all the rest of it.

Living right in town.
Love - simplicity of going ANYWHERE!  We can now leave the house multiple times a day and be right back in a matter of minutes.  I love that we don't have to plan our day around naps and bring extra things with us just in case we are gone longer than planned.  The kids are loving watching all the activity out the window...dogs, people, trucks, etc. 
Hate - the only thing I hate is the noise...and having to have curtains.  James however hates it all!  But secretly, I think he loves walking the kids to the park to play.  And when we have pizza delivered for the first time, I'm sure he will love that too!!

Being back near where I grew up is a lot of fun.  I have already run into people I know several times...including my Grandma at the grocery store this morning!  I have wanted to live in Ames for over 10 years now and I'm finally here.  A little walk on campus with a friend a few days ago even gave me a little motivation to get my camera back out.... as soon as it warms up again!

We close on our land we bought today and will start planning for the building of our new house soon!  Living in the moment and looking forward to the future is how I'm spending my days :)  Hope you're having a great Monday!!