We have a little vegetable garden out back where we grow tomatoes, squash, cucumbers, peppers, and zucchini... and just in the qualities that is perfect for two people to enjoy during the months of July, August, and September if we are lucky.
We water our garden using the water that we collect from the dehumidifier downstairs in our 6 foot wide area that travels the length of the house with cinderblocks against the outside dirt. While that area has been sealed, we still can pull moisture out of the walls most every month during the years except for many 3-4 and while it is not a problem down there with moisture, we do not want it to become one.
Downstairs we use for the car and the outside lawn mowers and for storage although we have finished part of the basement with a living area which includes couch and television, microwave, and small refrigerator, along with a full bathroom. However, most of our time is spent upstairs in the kitchen/living area or the bedroom with a full bath. We have two other bedrooms, one for a guest and one we use for an office and the cat's room.
Except for all the room that we are presently using for storage knowing that 80% of that storage is stuff that we will never really use, this house is really either too big or just right if we could tear down and put up new walls.
In other words, there is just so much space that two people can use at any one point in time... and basically that is a living room, kitchen, pantry, laundry, bedroom, full bath, closet space, storage space, and a garage. All other space is not really needed.
We don't really need an extra bedroom. We don't really need an extra room for the office and cats. We don't really need a downstairs bedroom, bath, and storage area... and yet, we have all that with this house.
We have a dining room table but we hardly ever eat there. Mainly we eat at the counter in the middle of the kitchen or while sitting on the couch watching TV. Our screened in back porch is only used in the fall and in the spring. We don't need an office because the sit in the living room with our ipads and laptops.
If we had the ability to design our own home, we would have created a bigger area that would be open and include kitchen, lots of counter space, a dining area and a living area. We would have designed a pantry and a laundry room. We would have a bigger guest bathroom and a smaller bedroom with a large full bath and plenty of closet space not just for clothes but for all the stuff used to take care of a house.
We would have a two car garage with storage areas and a work bench. We don't really need either a front porch or a back porch because we seldom use either. We like being outside so it would be nice to have a patio with a shaded area. We don't need a lot of grass to mow but we can tolerate neighbors not too close... like the distance of a driveway on either side.
A house should not be a status symbol of wealth but that is exactly what it has become. A house should be functional and incorporate no more space that is absolutely needed by one's lifestyle... for example, inviting several couples over for dinner. One can show wealth by one's investments and not by one's toys that are seldom or infrequently used and sit around gathering dust.
We learn these lessons too late in life to implement them successfully... typically when we retire and we realize what is really important in our lives. We also learn these lessons when we realize our financial resources are limited and we have to really make do with what we have...
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