At Passionate Homemaking, Emily shares about why she loves having a small home. I agree that small homes can be what's best for families, but I have a different reason. Small homes can help keep our children from being selfish.
The American dream has evolved from everyone wishing to be homeowners to wishing everyone have their own space. Every child "needs" their own bedroom and in it, their own TV and possibly their own computer. They each need room for their own stuff and a place they can be alone. We've seen the damage this dream caused on the housing market with the economic downturn.
Our generation was raised by Baby Boomers who sold us this dream. Many of us thought we needed the space and everything that went in it and felt entitled to it the minute we graduated from college or got married, and many of us unwisely went into debt to get it even if our income couldn't back up the mortgage.
And what if we can afford a bedroom for each child? Is it best? I don't know that it is. So everyone has their own room and possibly thier own TV. Before and after dinner, if everyone even bothers to eat dinner together, each person is in their own space doing their own thing. That's not what's best for the family. Not even sitting in the house together keeps us from teaching God's word to our children, let alone talking to them about anything else as we're commanded in Deuteronomy 11:18-19.
And as for everyone's "stuff" - Don't we have too much of it anyway? It's harder to remember that people are more important than things if we hold onto posessions too tightly.
I'm all about a large kitchen and plenty of storage space, but it breaks my heart to hear people say they don't think they can have more than two children because they'd need more bedrooms. Even if it's too early in the morning, it's a joy to hear sisters giggling with one another. The lifetime affection between siblings is a precious gift. We can give them more of that by letting them be together.
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