We did a thing. 

Matt and I bought a house!!!!

We closed on the house today and will begin the move in process! We have not packed a thing. Our first priority is to do all of our laundry. Our dryer went out a few weeks ago and we have been line drying the essentials for weeks! (It'll give me a chance to try out my new wool dryer balls from The Wild Minimalist! - you can add essential oils to them to make your laundry smell delish!). So while we are sitting in our empty house doing laundry, we will also be figuring out how we want to decorate and what additions we want to make, what furniture we need and what we need to get rid of and generally how to live in a small space well!

I say 'How to live in a small space well' because although we are currently living in a small space, it feels cluttered and claustrophobic and anxiety inducing. I know that a lot of those feelings come from the pure amount of stuff we have, and the way that it is organized. We recently just merged two households together after all! We have so much we can consolidate, donate and purge. 

I have come to learn recently that my environment plays a big part in my comfort and anxiety level. The clutter and claustrophobia created by a space that doesn't feel open or clean, plays a big part in my stress level. Even just sitting in our current living room to relax and watch TV often puts me on edge. And don't even get me started on the anxiety a full sink of dishes induces (sorry Matt!). With our busy work schedules and time spent adventuring, we really need a space that will work for us not against us and that requires very little energy to maintain.

My goals for our space are to diminish our overall possessions (yay minimal living!);  utilize furniture and products that are multipurpose - think spaces that can convert to a work space, hidden storage, visually appealing storage, etc);  create space for our pets - vertical space for the cats, actual dog beds, creative sleeping places for the cats; decorate with colors and fabrics that are calming - think neutrals and earth tones and natural fibers; utilize as many plants and green things as possible. Matt and I both find comfort in the outdoors so why not bring the outdoors inside :).  To add a level of complexity (maybe?) we are continuing on our journey to reduce our waste and utilize zero plastic. I am having a lot of fun finding alternative solutions for cleaning, repurposing items and transforming our kitchen and grocery shopping habits. We have also brainstormed a lot of ideas for our outdoor space including a screened in porch (doubles as a catio!),  composting (yay its our house we can do what we want), raised gardens, wildflower gardens/bird houses/bat houses, etc. 

I know that this will require some time which is probably the hardest part for me. I keep telling Matt - I just want it to be done and perfect haha. Talk about unrealistic. It will require some effort on our part to house four pets and two humans under one roof comfortably but I do think it is worth the time we will invest.

We are very excited to embark on this journey with a house we can call our own and I honestly feel so lucky to have a partner that shares the same ideals as me and is so very willing to go down this path together. Thank you Matt for dreaming big with me <3

If you have any small space living tips/tricks or storage solutions that have worked well for you or any zero waste/plastic free/environmentally friendly ways of living you have found to work well, let me know! I'm constantly looking for new ideas and new conversations and would love to share in the process with you!