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Thursday, September 16, 2021

On the Plus Side

On Monday I whined a bit about how I dislike the drive to MD from NJ and back, that white-knuckle, 246 mile, five hour plus round trip that we have to make every week. But a lovely positive comment from Becky started me thinking about the good things. I still can't come up with anything good about the drive, but there are some things I like about the house in MD. Since it's Thursday, I'm joining Carole for Three on Thursday.

It's a tiny house. Not one of those tiny houses on wheels, but rather a small house. There are three bedrooms, but I'm not sure we could even fit a single bed in the third one (but there is knotty pine on the walls). With a desk and a bookcase, it works fine for John's office. There is just one bathroom, a smallish open combination living room/dining room and a little kitchen, all contained in ~ 1000 sq. ft. There's a weird little five foot square nook off of the kitchen, but it makes a good place for my plants. 


The small size is just right for two people. It means that I can clean it in about 20 minutes. It means that we didn't have to buy too much furniture. I even found some of my plant stands on the street and I like them. 


It has central air conditioning. Our house in NJ does not, and window units are expensive to run. You can't be comfortable in all the rooms at the same time, so central air has always felt like a (delightfully comfortable) luxury to me. And since we're cooling such small square footage, it's not too expensive. 

We haven't had time to clutter it up. We've lived here for three and a half years and we just moved in with the basics. (Well, I did. John may have way too many shoes, coats, and fishing stuff.) Our only Christmas decoration is a wreath for the door because we usually spend Christmas in NJ. Our dishes and much of my kitchen equipment came from Goodwill. It's really nice and feels quite freeing not to be surrounded by the clutter and all the stuff we've collected in 30+ years in NJ. 


Small, cool, and uncluttered. Those are all good things!
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12 comments:

  1. Becky R.September 16, 2021 at 8:31 AM

    Well, I'm glad that I stimulated good thoughts, but I don't know how I did that - LOL! I live in a house that is too big for only 2 people, but it is full of stuff. I would love to throw most of it out, but my husband does not agree. While I know that the house in MD has its downsides, it does look like a very calming and lovely retreat in the photos. It's much more restful to look at rooms without clutter!

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  2. CaroleSeptember 16, 2021 at 8:42 AM

    Thanks for sharing more photos of your house in MD, I enjoyed seeing them. And you have a lot of antlers and sheds around!

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  3. Vicki KnitoriousSeptember 16, 2021 at 9:02 AM

    It's the lack of clutter that I like about the Airbnb(s) -- and how much easier it is to clean without all that stuff to work around!

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  4. KymSeptember 16, 2021 at 9:23 AM

    Those are three very good things, Bonny. You've created a lovely and inviting little space for you and John to . . . make the best of a not-ideal situation. For several years (before Pfizer completely gutted most of its Michigan operations), Tom worked in Ann Arbor and we lived in Kalamazoo (things were too unstable w/Pfizer for us to want to pull our kids out of school and buy a house in A2). He had a little "bachelor pad" apartment over in Ann Arbor, where he stayed for 3 nights a week. We called it "The Humble Abode" and it was filled with just the most basics of the basics. But it worked! We do what we need to do . . .

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  5. SarahSeptember 16, 2021 at 9:45 AM

    It kind of feels to me like the two of you have gone off to college and set up a temporary home! I love that it has a minimalist feel and that you've filled that odd small space with plants.

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  6. DebbieSeptember 16, 2021 at 10:53 AM

    Your little house looks nice and cozy and I like how you have it decorated.
    When I lived in NY, I had a 1200 square foot craftsman style house that was built in the 1920s. It was small, but so efficient that it seemed larger than it was. I still miss that house!

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    1. BonnySeptember 16, 2021 at 2:44 PM

      Your house in NY sounds wonderful, and reminds me of my grandparents' house. There were lots of built-ins - corner cupboards, twin beds built into the eaves, and even a stove top that pulled out. It was small, but wonderfully efficient like yours!

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  7. margeneSeptember 16, 2021 at 11:42 AM

    You live in two worlds. A small house as a second house is a great way to go. When growing up I lived in several houses but none was more than 1200ft. That one felt like a luxury!

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  8. VeraSeptember 16, 2021 at 1:10 PM

    There is something to be said for small houses. Yours looks lovely Bonny. Mine is very small, but unfortunately filled with clutter (yarn and stitching stuff does NOT count as clutter).

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  9. JanelleSeptember 16, 2021 at 2:52 PM

    It's a good test to see how downsizing might work when the time comes! I love those little 1950s houses...

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  10. karenSeptember 17, 2021 at 7:52 AM

    even though our new house is 100 sq feet bigger than the old one, we downsized considerably with storage space and this kitchen is half the size as the old kitchen I LOVE IT! I can clean it so very fast :)

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  11. JaneSeptember 23, 2021 at 8:59 PM

    I love the minimalist approach you've taken to create a home away from home. Easy and quick cleaning sounds great to me.

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