“What are you going to do with your stuff?”

That’s one of the most asked questions we hear about our tiny house adventure. It’s a valid question too. We have been married over 50 years, having spent 25 years in our three bedroom home complete with  a finished basement. Then we have three married children and nine grandchildren, four of whom are married, and we have our first great-grandchild. That’s important for you to know since since every additional person in your life brings more memories and souvenirs of that relationship, things like photos, handmade paintings, sweet Christmas ornaments. And especially everything you might need when they come for visits.

So about that downsizing: I started with a chair in the living room. As I began to figure out what we really needed to live in the tiny house, I put it in the chair. I love to cook and entertain, so I put three glass measuring cups in first, 2, 4 and 8 cup glass measures that would serve as mixing bowls and bowls to cook in the microwave as well as measure whatever.

Then sets of regular measuring cups and spoons, spatulas, whisks, a can opener, soup ladle and pancake turner. I piled on four dishtowels, dishcloths, couple of pot holders, and well, you get the idea. Then I realized that was going to be the easy part.
What about the photo albums and the picture frames full of memories? That’s when I found the glass box at Hobby Lobby, about half as high as a shoe box. Pretty, and since it is glass, it does not appear to take up as much space, and it is just the right size to fill with family and friend photos. Small enough to fit in the tiny house but big enough to wander through on a rainy day and be warmed and filled with wonderful memories.

That helps me explain my philosophy about stuff. That’s all it is. Stuff, and very little of it cannot be replaced, or is really necessary. So, when the day comes that we truly downsize in a permanent way, I just don’t think of it as something that will be all that difficult. Though I must admit that thinking about it and warming up to the subject has taken time and helped me to get to this place.

We started marriage with a car load of possessions. We left the States for language school and living in France with a suitcase per person.

We went on to Africa with those same suitcases and a trunk. We came home from Africa to start over with the same luggage, minus the trunk. I had learned to hold onto things lightly.

Starting over is rather an adventure, and it‘s cool to see how God helps you define, and refine and remember what is truly necessary.

luggage photo borrowed from

https://www.thegoodlifeky.com/single-post/2017/01/10/Vintage-Samsonite-carries-decades-of-stories    because the luggage we traveled with from 1976 forward looked just like these bags.