Recently, my parents downsized their home to a smaller house.
While on vacation in South Dakota (yeah, I vacation in South Dakota), I got to see it for the first time.
During our stay, I was surprised at how often my mother commented that “they just love their smaller house.” I wasn’t so much surprised that she felt that way about living small (I am a minimalist after all), but I was surprised at the frequency. It was a comment that she repeated over and over again during our one-week stay.
Toward the end of the week, I sat down with my mom and asked her to list all of the reasons why she is experiencing more happiness in her smaller house. And this post is the result.
Some people decide to start living small once they find that there are many advantages to downsizing. A smaller home means smaller bills and a smaller set of responsibilities.
People buy larger homes for a number of reasons:
- They “outgrow” their smaller home.
- They receive a promotion and raise at work.
- They are convinced by a realtor that they can afford it.
- They hope to impress others.
- They think a large home is the home of their dreams.
Another reason people keep buying bigger and bigger homes is that nobody tells them not to.
The mantra of the culture again comes calling, “buy as much and as big as possible.” They believe the lie and choose to buy a large home only because that’s “what you are supposed to do” when you start making money… you buy nice big stuff.
Nobody ever tells them not to. Nobody gives them permission to pursue smaller, rather than larger. Nobody gives them the reasons they may actually be happier if they downsize their home.
Here are 12 reasons why you may be happier if you downsized and bought a smaller house:
1. Smaller homes are easier to maintain. Anyone who has owned a house knows the amount of time, energy, and effort to maintain it. All things being equal, a smaller home requires less of your time, energy, and effort to accomplish that task.
2. You spend less time decluttering. And that should be reason enough.
3. Smaller homes are less expensive. Smaller homes are less expensive to purchase and less expensive to keep (insurance, taxes, heating, cooling, electricity, etc.)
4. Living small means you go into less debt and less risk. Dozens of on-line calculators will help you determine “how much house you can afford.” These formulas are based on net income, savings, current debt, and monthly mortgage payments. They are also based on the premise that we should spend “28% of our net income on our monthly mortgage payments.” But if we can be more financially stable and happier by only spending 15%… then why would we ever choose to spend 28?
5. Owning a smaller house is mentally freeing. As is the case with all of our possessions, the more we own, the more they own us. And the more stuff we own, the more mental energy is held hostage by them. The same is absolutely true with our largest, most valuable asset. Buy small and free your mind. That’s one of the benefits of minimalism.
6. Smaller homes have a smaller environmental impact. They require fewer resources to build and maintain. And that benefits all of us.
7. You free up more time. Many of the benefits above (less cleaning, less maintaining, mental freedom) result in the freeing up of our schedule to pursue the things in life that really matter – whatever you want that to be.
8. Smaller homes encourage family bonding. A smaller home results in more social interaction among the members of the family. And while this may be the reason that some people purchase bigger homes, I think just the opposite should be true.
9. Downsizing your home forces you to remove baggage. Moving into a smaller home forces you to intentionally pare down your belongings.
10. Smaller homes lessen the temptation to accumulate. If you don’t have any room in your house for that new treadmill, you’ll be less tempted to buy it in the first place (no offense to those of you who own a treadmill… and actually use it).
11. You’re less obligated to decorate. While some people love the idea of choosing wall color, carpet color, furniture, window treatments, decorations, and light fixtures for dozens of rooms, I don’t.
12. Smaller homes are in a wider market to sell. By its very definition, a smaller, more affordable house is affordable to a larger percentage of the population than a more expensive, less affordable one.
Downsizing your home and living small is a very personal decision that weighs in a large number of factors that can’t possibly be summed up in one 800-word post.
This post was not written to address each of them nor was it written as a “how to downsize your home” article.
Only you know all the variables that come into play when making your decision.
I just think you’ll be happier if you buy smaller—rather than the other way around.
Useful Resources:
Kelela says
I have one of the smallest houses in our subdivision. I receive messages on my front door about once a week from realtors with clients looking for my house size/model (the models are available on our property assessors website by address).
The reason? It attracts first time homebuyers who are trying to get into the neighborhood/school district. My house value holds even when the larger ones fall with the market!
joshua becker says
Yup.
Beth Y says
I couldn’t agree more. I have seen numerous neighbors and friends make the move to “bigger/better” from actually pretty large homes (1800-2000 sq. feet) to pretty massive, expensive homes. We are a family of three in an 1800 square foot home with an acre of land. I would rather have my mortgage paid off to travel than be forced to pay larger bills/mortgage. We just continue to maintain our home well and make upgrades/improvements to the home we already almost have paid off, and will have paid off prior to age 50! Yay!!
Jessica Bell says
I have had a large beautiful house(4000 sq ft) and I can honestly say I felt more alone in that house than I do in my downsized home of 1750 sq ft. Personally having the larger home felt like it was for everyone else to enjoy with hosting and presenting. My smaller house gives me a sense of home and my own happiness and not to really care what others think. I could have afforded the 4000 sq ft house forever. I am happier to say I will be debt free from my smaller home in just a few years time.
Kerry says
I own a super cute 2 bed cottage. I can’t actually afford anything bigger. I do feel like a bit of a failure though because my 3 girls share a room. They are cool with it, but I’d love to offer them more ?
Mae says
You are providing a loving home that you are not at risk of losing because you are smartly living within your means. Sounds like a winner to me! Best to you.
May says
Naw, I hear that, but I hope you don’t take those feelings too seriously!
I grew up sharing rooms with my sisters, and it didn’t hurt. (And I wasn’t one of those kids who adored sharing, either – we fought constantly and decapitated each other’s toys far too regularly!)..
Of course we all want to provide our kids with “the best,” but the best isn’t in a floor-plan. Learning to appreciate what they’ve got, and not expect life to be handed to them on the proverbial silver platter is arguably the best way to set them up for a satisfied life anyway.
Barbara Lewis says
I live happily in 293 square feet!
Cliff Black says
Living in multi-family construction (apartment or condominium) is an easy means to transition from a large, single family home. My last single family home was 2,700 sf/250 sm on just under an acre of land with an outdoor pool.
A promotion tool me back to my Midwest roots to live in Chicago where I had no desire to make a daily 2 hour round trip to work, so I settled in the city. My condominium was a 850 sf/79 sm one bedroom in a 45 story building with indoor pool, gym, parking. The parking was leased as I gave up having a car living in the city.
I moved after a few years to a new development, a 63 story building with indoor pool, gym, community garden, and parking, now having purchased a car, a MINI. My current one bedroom condominium is 1,245 sf/115 sm with in unit laundry, master bath, and powder room. The most significant motivation to move was that the unit is on an outside corner with 60 ft/18m of floor to ceiling windows.
I included reference to meters to consider not just what size of home USA homeowners normally live in but those in other countries.
Elizabeth Speth says
I must take exception to the following reason people buy larger homes: They are convinced by a realtor that they can afford it. I’m a realtor. I don’t tell anyone what they can or can’t afford in a home. My clients must be approved by an independent lender for a specific amount of money based on their income and assets. How much is not for me to say. Without said pre-approval, I don’t work with them. What kind of a monster do you think realtors are, trying to talk folks into things they can’t afford? When I have a client who wants to sell his/her house for more than it’s worth based on market comps, I won’t take the job if I can’t talk them down in price. Padding my commission out of greed doesn’t work at all in the real estate marketplace, never mind that it’s unethical. It just doesn’t work like that, my friend. I like your minimalist approach but this article condemns an entire industry at the same time it displays absolutely no knowledge of the home-buying process. I hope you didn’t pull a muscle with that massive conclusion-jump you did there.
joshua becker says
Lots of good realtors in the world—some of my best friends. Also quite a few happy to show people houses at the very top of their pre-approval range as well. And we all know how well pre-approvals worked in 2008.
Mark Hines says
We just bought last year. Some of the realtors we spoke with absolutely were encouraging us to “stretch” our budget and buy the most house we would qualify for. Technically, the realtor in this case is not showing me “more than I can afford” because a bank told us we could based on our down payment availability and income. However, what the bank says is affordable at max loan is a stretch and not smart for people who have other goals in mind. A realtor should not just rely on what the independent bank says when talking budget for a new house. Encouraging to buy at the top of the pre-qualification often is convincing someone they can afford more than they really need. It might not be intentional. You might even say it’s not the realtor’s responsibility. But it’s happening.
Liz says
This just happened to me. I ended up in a bidding war that was totally provoked by the relators by means of “there’s another offer but we can’t tell you what it is.” They drive up the prices through these tactics. It’s just wrong. I fell for it bc I thought I could trust my realtor. And now I’m in a contract to buy a huge house we can’t afford. It’s insane what is going on out there.
Susan says
Then why is it so, so common for buyers to complain about their realtors driving them around, showing them houses “just a bit” higher than their preferred price range? We may have been preapproved for a set amount, but we did not want to buy at the high end of that amount. We grew so tired of our realtor who, in 1990 or so, was constantly showing us houses around $220 K, when we wanted to spend, at most, $190 K. (We ended up buying our current house in ’91 for $167 K, paid off long ago.) It would not make any sense for a realtor to show houses more expensive than what buyers have been preapproved for, but it sure makes sense for them to push you to the high edge of that preapproval amount, b/c yeah, realtors do have an eye on their commission. Why wouldn’t they? It’s how they make their living.
Karyn Dillard says
I just moved from a 10,000 sq ft home. The upkeep was killing me. The taxes were killing me. Even with the home being paid off. I had so much furniture, and “stuff” I had an Estate sale,sold everything. I moved in a 1600 sq ft luxury apartment , ranch style. I love it..I don’t even have to change a lightbulb. I am 70 yrs old,and have found peace.
Rose says
My mom still lives in our childhood home. I agree that she would be so much happier getting rid of so much stuff. It’s paid off and she could pay for a smaller one with no payments. Her yard needs so much work all the time.
Also, I believe there are lots of good and probably some bad realtors out there. That is the same in car and every other business. You are responsible for the amount you want to pay.
I think there has to be a happy balance in how, where, and what’s important in the way you live. Not trying to say anything to offend anyone, but woman require more stuff. ❤️
Cheryl Genung says
My husband and I just moved from a too big for us house. It had five bedrooms, a living room, family room, dining room and large kitchen, and The entire house was full of stuff. It was nice to entertain and people to visit, but the upkeep was too much. Our new house has the Great room, where the kitchen, living room and dining area is in big room. 3 bedrooms instead of 5. I absolutely love it. A lot of people ask if we miss our big house. Not at all. Got rid of 80% of our possessions and couldn’t be happier.
Heather says
I am a Realtor and I resent the assumption that we “convince” our clients and customers to buy bigger houses. That directly clashes with our Code of Ethics and fiduciary duties to our client.
It is not the Realtor’s job to tell their clients they can afford a bigger house. Homeowners are qualified based on their income through the bank they are receiving the loan from. That is the job of the mortgage originator, and ultimately the choice of the client themselves.
Mark Hines says
This is also called “passing the buck.” Just because a banks says someone can afford a big house, it doesn’t mean they need it. Realtors do rely on what the bank pre-approves. The author is not saying realtors encourage people to buy more than they can afford. He’s stating that they often convince them that the extra space in a bigger house is a good idea (you never know what you need in the future, and hey – the bank says you can afford it). A savvy consumer hopefully will tell their realtor that’s not what they’re looking for. But the power of suggestion about what’s possible is strong. Realtors I interviewed last year very much were pushing us beyond our comfort zone because we should have “bought as much house as we could qualify for;” “you don’t want to regret buying too small – although we’d love to sell your house for you in a few years;” “interest rates are so low, it’s the cheapest money you’ll get.” Banks, realtors, and consumers all have different interests in mind. It doesn’t mean it’s nefarious. Yet the result sometimes is buying a bigger house than necessary because the bank and realtor said you can afford it.