Our apartment in Finland is 80 square meters, or about 860 square feet. I estimate that our house in Sharjah was at least twice as big. As far as specs go, our apartment now is two bedrooms, 1.5 bathrooms (except with no bathtub, so does that make it 1.25 bathrooms? It's a powder room and a toilet+shower bathroom). Our house in Sharjah was four bedrooms and four bathrooms (two full bathrooms, a powder room, and a toilet+shower bathroom). So yes, I think "twice as big" is a safe estimate.
Of course I was apprehensive about giving up our larger living space and moving into a much smaller one, but I was also looking forward to it (downsizing is good for the soul). Here are the things I've enjoyed the most about living in a smaller house.
1. Less. to. clean. Housecleaning technically comes under Jeremy's jurisdiction now (but don't hold your breath - tonight I cleaned both toilets and mentioned it to him so he didn't repeat the work tomorrow or something. His response: "it would not have even occurred to me to clean the toilets." !!?!!?!). But I feel like jumping for joy when I stand in the middle of the living room and realize that almost every point of cleanable space in the house is visible from there. It's an amazing feeling after dealing with four bathrooms and expansive tile floors across two stories for five years. This is the single biggest benefit of living in a smaller apartment, in my opinion. Housecleaning used to take up so much of my time and while it was rewarding to have a tidy home, it was exhausting to keep up.
2. A kitchen table that is close to the kitchen! This is maybe more of a floor plan thing than a small house thing, but I love having the kitchen and food-prep area be right there by the table. It makes for a cosier feeling and it's so much easier to catch up with each other as we eat, cook, or do homework at the table.
3. Proximity. I'm sure there are stuffy winter days where I will wish for more indoor space to spread out in, but for now, every day I am grateful that I never have to raise my voice to call out for a family member. There's only so far away s/he can be! It's also easier to keep track of Sterling.
4. Building character. I realize the situation may change as Miriam gets older, but honestly, why do our kids all need their own bedrooms? Fact: they do not. Right now we have all three in one bedroom because that's all there is. And it's fine. Besides, sharing a bedroom builds character. I didn't have my own bedroom until I was 13, and even then it was not actually a bedroom but the couch in the laundry room.
Look for the antithesis to this post after a few months, where I'll be begging for my huge house back, ha ha.
