Little homes make life easier

It is so tempting to see big beautiful homes in your area and wish that you lived in one.  However, you can create a beautiful space for you and your family in a safe neighborhood and be just as happy.  In fact, the more square footage you have, the more complicated life can be.  We now have a home that is more than 3 stories off the ground in the back.  The roof is very angular and steep.  Not long ago, we replaced the roof. Then about 8 years later, the chimney was crumbling and we had it tuck-pointed.  Now, we are having leaks in our interior ceiling.  Because the roof is so big, so steep and so high off the ground, we can never examine it ourselves.  We found out from a roofing contractor that when the tuck-pointing workers built their scaffolding on the roof around the chimney, they ruined our new roof (which had a 25 year warranty against normal wear and hail).  Because of recent storms in the area, we can't get a roofing company to do the work.  And in the meantime, our ceiling is continuing to leak causing more damage in the house.  Here is my advise.  Be careful what you wish for.  Keep your life simple.  Keep your home simple.  My oldest daughter just bought her first house.  It is a 1300 square foot ranch.  The roof is very simple.  I could easily climb a ladder and inspect the roof if someone had just been up there to do work for me.  I could even clean the gutters myself.  It's wonderful if you have the means to pay someone, but wealth cannot always get you the right people to your house in a timely manner to get things fixed.  My advice to my daughters?  Keep your small house as long as it is feasible.  Use your money to fix up your small space.  But make sure you can manage the space you have.  Don't buy more bedrooms or bathrooms than you need.  If you want a pool, think long and hard about how you have to care for it, and whether you will really use it.  If you want a big deck, remember that you have to stain and seal it.  If you want a big yard, remember that someone has to mow and fertilize it.  If you want really nice furniture, then don't buy something that you can't afford to replace if someone spills on it.  Keep your home livable and manageable, and I promise your life will be easier and less stressful.