As we meandered back to our 12-passenger van last night after leaving Hobby Lobby, I remarked to my husband, “I felt the same in this store as I did in Walmart the other day: like a country bumpkin amazed by the glories of the big city.” There seemed to be a limitless supply of stylish merchandise crowding endless rows of shelves.
He responded, “I need to get you out of the house more often.”
“Not really,” I said. “Even though I appreciate all the cute things they have for sale, if I came here too much I might start to wish I had more money to buy more stuff. It would lead to my feeling discontent.”
“That’s true,” he smiled knowingly.
Contentment
For me, learning to “be content with such things as [I] have” (Hebrews 13:5) has been a lengthy struggle. I often feel that if I just had that thing I don’t have now, then I’d be happier. But that’s not true. How do I know? Because I have right now what I didn’t have a few years ago, and I’m still not content.
I’m beginning to understand that contentment is not so much about arriving at a certain destination as it is about nurturing a certain attitude.
It’s looking around myself and saying “Thank You, God,” for what I see — cracked grout, peeling paint, and all. It’s choosing to see instead, floors that feel the drum of light and heavy steps, and walls that wrap our precious family snug inside this cozy home. A perspective of that nature isn’t the sort of thing you just get, like buying a popsicle from the icecream truck; it’s the sort of thing you practice, like plinking keys on a piano to improve a song.
Wonderful Simplicity
It’s sort of exhilarating, rising to meet the challenge of small-house/large-family “townsteading.” How much can I get rid of and still have what I need? Where can I rearrange things for the best possible fit? What can I place in just the right spot to create a beautiful effect? This is where creativity and ingenuity have soil to develop; where God-given abilities for organization and practical artistry mature (abilities I think we’re all gifted with, in different measures).
Ingenuity:
The quality of being clever, original, and inventive.
Simplicity is also very freeing. Our stuff can drag us down if we allow ourselves to get too attached to it. This is where we practice having a light touch on the things of this world and focus more on the people who live in it.
Welcome to our Home
We have more people living in our house than most families we know. There are nine of us: two adults and seven children. And we reside together in a doublewide manufactured home on a small lot.
Okay, so it’s not really a “tiny home” like the ones I’ve seen which are about the size of RVs and remind one of miniature log houses. Still, it’s pretty small. I mean, it feels tiny.
For this tour we’ve cleaned up our house the same way we would for a guest, since you really are a guest — a digital guest! Typically, we try to keep our house picked up. However, it certainly isn’t perfect. It’s a “lived in” house just like everybody else’s, with school papers on the table, bills that just arrived on the counter, toys scattered over the floor, and clothes in baskets waiting to be folded.
I’ve already showed you our home before. In that article, I gave some “Small House Homekeeping Tips.” Our house hasn’t changed much since then. If you’re not familiar with my previous blog, this will be a first for you; but if you are, this will be another look at that same topic from a slightly different angle. Either way, I hope there’s something helpful here for all of you.
Please, come in! I’m about to lead you in through our front door.
Here’s the playroom/schoolroom:
In this room we store most of our school books and supplies. We also have one shelf for the kids’ toys. Previously, they had two shelves for their toys, but I put an end to that. There were just too many toys for them to manage, so I made a new rule that they could only have one shelf and that all of their toys had to fit on that one shelf (their puzzles and games are put away someplace else).
With an influx of toys every birthday and Christmas they have to give some away from time to time. They must scour through every item and decide which are favorites and which have had their time but need to move on. I think this is good. It teaches them to not hold on too tightly to material belongings. It also helps them to value what they do have.
(We got the piano for free. It’s missing one of its legs, but we still enjoy it.)
There are two bookshelves (currently) in this room. However, with our expanding Sonlight library I will be adding another cabinet and will be doing some further rearranging. That is one of the upsides/downsides of Sonlight: so many books! I love books, and I think that there’s something about having your own that is very special and can’t compare to borrowing books from the library (though we sometimes do that, too). But, we do need to be careful about how many additional books we allow to take up space on our shelves (I mean, in addition to our Sonlight books). Whether with toys or with books, we have to discriminate between those items we feel we need to have and those we don’t.
Right up the steps from our playroom is the dining room:
This table was on sale for $40 on Craigslist, and the chairs were $10 each from a restaurant that was closing (the chairs are nice and sturdy). My oldest son helped sand the table and paint it this cream color with blue highlights. There are three leafs in the center; it’s extended to its full capacity, with eight chairs around it. The 2-year-old sits in her high chair (which we pull next to the table at mealtimes), and the baby doesn’t sit at the table yet.
We eat and do schoolwork at this table (though naturally, not at the same time).
Now, let’s move on to the living room:
Just a quick note: Do you see that white door back there in the corner? It leads to a small entryway which we don’t use. Instead, we store all the children’s clothes that don’t fit them right now in big $5 tubs I got from Walmart, along with a few other extra items. Since we don’t have a garage and our shed is filled with tools, this entryway worked out perfectly!
Small, but comfortable. A lot of time is spent in this room reading our Sonlight books out loud while the little ones (and sometimes even the big ones) do puzzles or color pictures.
Next, let’s take a look at the kitchen:
We’ll be having “Pozole” for dinner (a Mexican stew with pork and hominy — one of my husband’s specialties). Yumm!
Here’s the washroom, right behind the kitchen:
There’s a door on the right side of the dryer which leads out to our porch and the backyard. We won’t be going that way right now, though.
Please follow me down the hallway to take a peek at the bedrooms.
The first door on the left is the girls’ bedroom:
Their mattress is on the floor because the little girls were jumping on it the other day, and the frame broke. Oh, well. It’s easier for the 2-year-old to climb onto now, though she doesn’t sleep here yet except for naps. One girl sleeps on the top, and two girls sleep together on the bottom.
They don’t actually have a closet, so we bought them this nifty little clothing rack for their skirts, dresses, and jackets. All the rest of their clothes are in the two chests of drawers that they share.
We’ve tried to make their room look pretty.
Alright, now follow me to the boys’ room, which is the very next door on the left:
The boys have a bunk bed, too. One boy per bunk.
Did you notice that the closet only has one set of folding doors? This was another case of children not understanding their own strength. Somebody tugged on the doors too hard (for the hundredth time), and off came the now-missing set. We’ll replace those sometime (hopefully) soon.
We keep our sheets, curtains, and tablecloths in this closet. I’ve labeled the shelves so we know exactly where to put everything. Looks like I need better tape, though! The towels and washcloths are in a smaller closet back down the hallway.
They have a mini closet for each of them, but without doors. In addition, they each have their own chest of drawers.
Last, let me show you the master bedroom. This is where we (the parents) sleep, along with the baby who sleeps with us, and the 2-year-old who sleeps in her crib.
We have one walk-in closet for my clothes, my husband’s clothes, the 2-year-old’s “nice” dresses and coats, and the baby’s clothes. To accommodate a few extras, my husband and I share a dresser, while the 2-year-old has the rest of her clothing in the two plastic sets of drawers you see in front of the crib:
We have a little bathroom back here, but since it’s not photo-worthy I’m not going to show it to you. The bathtub is not functioning right now, though thankfully, the sink works fine. We have one other bathroom in the hallway we passed through a bit ago, but it isn’t photo-worthy, either. We all have to share one shower, so everybody alternates “shower days.” Some people take a shower one day, while other people take a shower on the next.
What do you think of my curtains? I think they’re lovely! The bed sits slightly in front of the window; because of that, I have to arrange the curtains so they don’t get in the way.
And here’s my “nursing chair” (a slider with matching stool):
In fact, I’m sitting in that very chair right now! Conveniently, the little plastic drawers I just pointed out to you a few photos ago have little wheels on them. So, all I have to do is pull one over to this chair, settle my laptop on it, and I have an improvised desk! Nowadays, I find myself tapping out posts more often from my nursing chair than from the swivel chair at our desk in the living room.
Life in a Turtle Shell
I guess that’s what you’re thinking I should’ve named this post. Ha, ha! Yes, our house is very small for nine people, though I think it looks smaller in the photos than it really is. You can only fit so much in a frame, making everything appear “squooshed.” That being said, I do tend to bump myself sometimes when maneuvering through doorways. At such times you might hear me complaining about tight, enclosed spaces and needing more room.
As I said, this is a challenge.
And yet, I don’t think that having a larger home and buying all the charming decor at Hobby Lobby to fill it up with could do as much for our family as learning how to relish life with the best my husband can provide for us right now has done. After all, what matters most is not what we nail to our walls or prop up on our shelves; it’s what we gather in our arms and hold close to our hearts:
Our family.
What a lovely home you have, Jessica! Thank you so much for the tour!
Oh, thank you, Nicole! You’re welcome — I’m glad you enjoyed it!
~Jessica
Jessica, thank you for inviting us into your lovely home and for meeting your sweet children. The Lord has truly given you much wisdom into the most important things in life while rearing children in the fear and admonition of the Lord. After all, the Scriptures tell us not to lay up treasures upon the earth, but in heaven. May the Lord continue to bless your home and family and may it be filled to overflowing with the Presence of the Lord!
Thank you, Kim, for those sweet words full of kindness!
~Jessica
Thank you for sharing this on your blog too! I saw it on YouTube this morning! I love seeing how other people organize their stuff in a practical but pretty way and I’ve definitely gotten a few ideas to save and try on our little apartment when I have the time 🙂
You’re welcome, Erika! I’m so glad you enjoyed both my video and blog post!
I love to see how other people organize their stuff, too. It’s always so nice to get new ideas. 🙂
~Jessica
Jessica!
This post is beautiful! We live in an apartment. And though it is larger than anything we’ve ever lived in (it has 3 beds and 2 baths), we still are used to our tinier life style. My mother lives with us right now so the end of the house and guest restroom is pretty much hers and we don’t go in it, so we too shower and use one restroom. To be very clear and honest, we hope in The Lord to be able to move to a place on 3 acres that my father lives in now. But….it’s a 2 bedroom, 2 bath single wide, made in 1978. My dad and his wife have many dogs and aren’t home much, so I understand that it could be cleaner but it isn’t, though it works for them. Anyways, anyone would tell us we’re crazy! You want to move your family of 5, going to be 6, from a 3 bed/2 bath in the city, close to all the “stores and shopping” to a run down, single wide that has semi functioning plumbing, no gas in the propane tank as of now with no promise the company will fill it, since it’s been almost 10 years since use, window units instead of central a/c, the threat of scorpions occasionally entering the house, and very, very old “doggy” used carpet that for sure needs to be ripped up. And our answer is yes! For many reasons, but mostly to honor God and His word in the way he has called us to. To make the absolute most of my husbands income, to give the children room to run and play and “till the earth”, to eat the fruits of our hands that God provides from the ground, to attempt at living a bit more sustainably, and hopefully raise our own food enough to minimize our very small budget of $400 a month on groceries to as close to $0 as I can. So many reasons! But again, not reasons most would support or even understand, and that’s ok. Really and truly, it is very small. There are some immediate concerns that would need to be fixed immediately like the carpet, or no hot water, but those things don’t scare us. We’re more excited than afraid, and we earnestly hope in The Lord we can move there. It would save us $1000 at the least a month with rent and bills alone. We honestly struggle so hard in the city, the system here is tailored to the “party” scene, young and single crowd, and is so expensive it almost forces a mother to go get some kind of outside of the home job. Sadly, I am one of the very few people I know staying at home as a mother and though sometimes I feel alone or that others sneer at me thinking I feel “above” others for it, we refuse to succumb to these ways and we know that to honor God’s word, there has to be a change. We hope and pray this is the change! Anyways we think your home is beautiful!!!! Your spirit is full of the fruits of God’a spirit! I’m overjoyed to see this post! Please pray for us! Live in Christ!
-The Sanchez family
Thank you so much, Sheridan!
What you described to me about moving to the 3 acres in the country sounds exciting! I’m sure that if you do make that move, you and your husband will be able to gradually do repairs and make things nicer for your family. Even though your home will be small, think about all the room the kids will have to run and play that they wouldn’t have in a small lot in town! Yes, so exciting!
I appreciate your compliments — thank you! And yes, I will pray for you and your family. 🙂
~Jessica
I love seeing your home! Small homes and how other families live in them fascinate me. We live in a small home, 2 bedrooms and one bathroom—though we have two children and it still feels quite large enough. Comparative to the average modern house, it is very small! I sometimes have to remind myself to be content when I see the size of other people’s closets! Overall I really like living simply and frugally. It is all in how you use the space—you have to really make every inch count, and not have a lot of extra stuff! Hobby Lobby is a wonderful place haha! I always get the urge to re-decorate when I am there! Walmart and Target are about as fancy as I get, and I also love secondhand shopping at the thrift store 🙂
Mrs D,
“I sometimes have to remind myself to be content when I see the size of other people’s closets!” Ha, ha, too funny! Yes, I can totally relate!
It is so true, that you have to make every inch count. In one sense, that can feel like a trial, and in another sense, an adventure!
I hardly ever buy anything for our home. But when I do, it’s usually at the thrift store or Walmart, like you said about yourself. Our home isn’t the trendiest, but it’s homey. 🙂
Thanks for sharing your wonderful thoughts!
~Jessica
I love seeing your home! You have it arranged so beautifully. I love the entryway storage idea, too!! Right now we have all of our clothing storage boxes in our mater bedroom walk-in closet, but we’re bursting at the seams (especially as we add girls’ clothing boxes as our one girl gets bigger), and we definitely could use a better solution. We also have our mattress on the floor – I just got so tired of children falling off of it and hurting themselves, so I took the stand and box springs off, and shoved the bed in the corner, and now no one ever gets hurt!! 🙂 Thank you for showing us around your lovely home – it is such a perfect mix of beauty and practicality.
Diana
You’re welcome, Diana!
And thank you for the compliments! Having to manage a small home with a large family can be challenging, but it can also be rather exhilarating to conquer the problems with our own, homemade solutions, can’t it? So glad we can share ideas!
~Jessica
I really enjoyed seeing the pictures of your house and how you manage it all!
Thank you, Chiara! I’m so glad you enjoyed the article and pictures!
~Jessica
I recently discovered your channel on YouTube and happen to catch that you have a blog! I was so excited. This momma is struggling. I have 9 children (8 are currently living at home; oldest is married) and feeling a bit burnt out (long story) and was just looking to rekindle my joy again; so, I thank you!!!
Btw, in case you didn’t notice; your pics are all over the place, upside down, sideways, and just right!
But, I want to add that your voice and sweet disposition is just such a sweet blessing. I look forward to what else you have to offer!
Also, I noticed that you don’t have a TV. I would love to know why?! I am struggling to get rid of it; and would love some encouragement!!!
Hello, Talia! Thanks for reaching out!
I’m so happy to meet another large-family mother! You know, we’ve been going through some hard times ourselves recently, so I think I might be able to relate. It’s hard enough keeping up with the average three, right? But seven (like I have) or nine (like you have!) complicates things times that many more children. You probably understand when I say that sometimes I feel like people are playing tug of war with me, but I can only deal with one problem at a time! It can be exhausting! This is really a chance for me to put into practice that thing called, “Faith” which the Christian life is all about.
I don’t know what you’re dealing with right now, but I do hope that you will find this blog a supportive and welcoming place. I think it’s so important to encourage and uplift each other. You have been so sweet toward me with your compliments, and I would love to be able to bless you in any way I can. 🙂
As for having a TV, yes we do have one, it just doesn’t show in the video because it’s behind a “screen” on our book shelf. However, we don’t have cable or dish service, so we only use our TV to watch movies, YouTube videos (we connect our computer to it for that), and listen to music and audio books. Years ago we had cable, and I got fed up with it and just stopped paying for it. It was sucking up way too much of our time. Because we were paying for it we felt we had to get some use out of it; basically, we had the TV on most of the afternoon and evening. But, that wasn’t how I wanted our kids to grow up or my husband and I to live together, hardly talking and just watching shows. Besides, there’s a lot of bad stuff on TV that I thought we would do best to avoid.
Now, my husband pays a small fee to view his soccer games online (his only addiction and hobby, as far as I can tell, ha, ha), and watches movies on YouTube. But, this costs less than what we were paying before for cable, and it is easy for him to pause a video and come back to it later if he needs to. The kids hardly use the computer at all, except on weekends or as a special treat if they get all their work done. I prefer to see them playing or reading.
If you want to get rid of your TV, you could talk to your husband about it first and see what he thinks. You could present to him all the good reasons why you want to get rid of it, and what you’ll be able to replace some of the benefits with (you can view news online, you can rent movies on Amazon or pay for a Netflix or Pureflix subscription, the kids will read/play more, etc.). If he agrees with you, then maybe you could get rid of the TV right away and explain to the kids afterwards. I find that it’s often easier to do something drastic if nobody knows I’m doing it at the time, to reduce conflict. If you are going to be using the computer more, you will need to put a password on it (which only you and your husband know), and put up a webfilter, such as K-nine or Covenant Eyes.
You mentioned the pics on my Tiny Home article, but when I look at the article on my computer, everything looks fine. Maybe I should try looking at the post on my phone or another computer. Thanks for the heads up!
I hope I answered your question in a way that was helpful to you. If you have any more thoughts to add, please don’t hesitate to go right ahead!
~Jessica
Hello. Thank you for your gentleness. The pics are probably my computer then. I don’t know for certain. Just thought it was so strange.
yes, my family has been going through the ringer the past several years and seems to get worse every year! It stinks; but I keep persevering through.
as for TV, we haven’t had cable or satellite TV in years. We just have “rabbit ears”. But, I find that even that has tons of garbage on it that outweighs any good it can offer (with the exception of Wild Krats; my children love that show!). But, it just seems like it’s on all the time anymore. Just sad. But, I was curious; so I thought to ask. Netflix, Hulu, PureFlix are not an option for us at this time because of our Satellite internet.
We have passwords on the computers as well.
I just thought it was a breath of fresh air to see the sweet disposition of your children. It was a beautiful blessing!
Yes, I will be coming back often as you are such a sweet encourager. And, yes, we do need to be an encouragement to one another! 🙂
Blessings to you all,
Talia