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:
Meg says
We just moved into a new big house last week and I’m feeling a little sad about it. I was so excited to have a new, spacious renovated home, but I do feel sad about losing the coziness we had at our old house. During the day I am happy here, but at night I feel like I have lost proximity to my children. It sort of breaks my heart. I know that it takes time to adapt to any move, but I hope we didn’t just make a “big” mistake, because moving is such a lot of work. I sense my kids are ok with the move but I am feeling sad, sad, sad – and this is such a beautiful place, it’s a little crazy, I so hope that in a few months I will feel much better.
Frank says
After graduating college I plan to move into a small apartment. After that I plan to save up and move into either a small house (less than 1000 sq ft) if I have a family, or a Tumbleweed house. Honestly, the idea of living in 100sq ft or less doesn’t bother me. The idea of living in less than 100 sq ft honestly doesn’t bother me. I don’t have much. I have a ton of books, but plan to get rid of/sell most of them, and get a Kindle ereader instead.
Todd Giesen says
I agree heartily. Before my family of 5 moved to the Palm Springs, CA area we lived in a 2 bedroom, 2 bath 1400 sq. ft. house. Now we live in a 2000 sq. ft. house where we feel disconnected and often find ourselves “holed-up” in the master bedroom enjoying time on Dad and Mom’s bed… We have house full of new furniture and we still find ourselves in the breakfast nook eating at our “old table” enjoying laughs like we did at our “old house.” Oftentimes I long for the smaller house and the smaller life. The only reason we live in the home we live in is due to my profession, where we have multiple people over for dinners and fun – 2 to 3 times per month. The smaller house is something I miss and does anyone have a tip on where to live in a smaller place with good prices?
Tom Johnson says
Now that I have read this article, I am considering buying a small home.
Dave says
I really think the days of large homes is coming to a close. If you have 5 kids, maybe ok – however – 2 / 3 people. I and many people I know would rather have something about 1250-1400 sq feet with a little bit of property (that doesn’t need much maint) and no HOA.
Mary B says
As a family of 8, we lived in a 1200 sq ft home. Made two rooms in the basement, and everyone was fine. We’re now a family of 6 in a 1100 sq ft home, although, I think someone fudged the meausrements, and it’s actually smaller.
With a family, I think it is important to have different areas where people can at least get away from each other, which this house has. It’s a raised ranch, which means the “downstairs” isn’t like a cellar, and is very pleasant. We also have a garage for bulky storage, and an attic for smaller storage. We have a covered (unheated, uncooled) back porch, which is a very popular place to escape to when the house gets to noisy.
Even though this is the smallest house our family has ever lived in, it is ideally laid out, and if my older kids ever need to move in, and even one set of parents, there is room to do it, without undue hardship.
And I like that a single gallon of paint will paint a whole room, and two or three boxes of tile will cover a whole room’s floor.
Mary
Monroe on a Budget says
A lot depends on how the home is designed. My home, and one of my friends’ homes, were built by the same contractor, about the same time.
Now while my home comes in at about 1,000 square feet and hers might technically be 1,100 square feet, my home is certainly more livable in terms of the layout and storage spaces (which are not included in the living space.)
Faithofallcrafts says
I have what most of my friends consider a “tiny” home. We have 1200 square feet (3 beds 2 baths 1 car garage). It is a great size for us, but because we have 4 children we are constantly being told that “one day when you can afford more you’ll want a bigger place.” We could afford more NOW, we just don’t want more.
Liana says
This is almost the same as our family too! We have 1500 sq feet. 3 bedrooms. 4 children. People always think we should move or want to move. I do think maybe when the kids are teenagers another bedroom would be nice (1 girl, 3 boys and right now the 3 are sharing) .. or a garage. But I am not moving to a 3000 sq foot home. I LIKE the comfort of being close. The warmth. The feel of family.
KimC says
We have 10 kids in a house with less than 1200 sq. ft, and I have to say I wholeheartedly agree with all 12 reasons. While another bathroom and bedroom would be nice, I truly love my modestly sized home and the mechanics of our large family.
shelly says
Thank you for posting your comments. It really helped me humble myself and realize that if a family of 12 can love being in a 1200 sq. ft. home. I can downsize to a 2300 sq. ft home with my entire family of 7!
sincerely,
Shelly
Candace Martinez says
We are planning to ‘move home’ to the upper midwest next yr, leaving a costly exurban McMansion in FL behind & moving to a family-friendly urban neighborhood (walking distance to grocery, shops, dining, parks, bus). Our current home simply chokes me – too far from everything, too much stuff, unused space, too much time, money & energy to maintain. My dream is to get my family in to a smaller, affordable & more manageable home in a fabulous urban location next yr. After having our first child in 2008, I quickly realized I don’t need much in life but my husband, baby girl & pets – and knowing we’ll soon be in a smaller, beautiful urban home thrills me beyond words.