Twelve years ago, our family moved into a smaller home.
We made the decision because we recognized the benefits of owning a smaller house: less expense, less stress, more freedom, more family interaction, and more opportunity to spend our lives on greater things than square footage.
One of the most attractive advantages we have experienced in a smaller home is the extra time that has been returned to our lives. All homes require maintenance and cleaning, regardless of size. But smaller homes are easier to clean than larger ones. Consider these practical examples.
11 Household Chores Made Easier in a Smaller Home
1. Tidying-Up. In every home, items get moved and things get used. But in our smaller home, tidying up and refreshing the home for a clutter-free morning takes much less time and effort.
2. Dusting. Fewer rooms, fewer walls, fewer shelves, fewer decorations and fewer knick-knacks. Dusting has never been easier.
3. Taking Out the Trash. Because there are fewer rooms and each of them are closer together, taking out the trash/recycling each week is never difficult.
4. Doing Laundry. A smaller home does not mean less laundry—we still wear clothes everyday. But gathering the laundry from different areas in the home and returning the clean clothes is much less burdensome than completing the task in a larger home.
5. Cleaning Floors. Floors need to be vacuumed and/or swept on a routine basis. They also need to be mopped and scrubbed to be kept clean. Less flooring in our home makes this chore easier to accomplish—and easier to find the motivation to even start.
6. Washing Windows. Fewer windows means less time to clean them, both inside and outside. Of course, our single-story home also makes this chore significantly easier.
7. Putting up Holiday/Seasonal Decorating. We still decorate our home for the Fall and Holiday season. But changing the environment of our home takes less time today than before—and it takes fewer decorations to accomplish that cozy feeling.
8. Scrubbing bathrooms. Because who wants to clean more showers and toilets than they have to?
9. Cleaning the furniture. Because we’re not furnishing unnecessary rooms in our home anymore, cleaning furnishings is less burdensome (also cleaning behind/under the furniture). This is a job that gets neglected in many homes—but not ours.
10. Deep Cleaning Baseboard, Cabinets, Corners. In our previous home, the thought of cleaning baseboards and cabinets (especially in lesser-used rooms) was enough to keep us from ever tackling the chore. In our new home, we complete it on a regular basis.
11. Professional services. Stuff breaks and things wear out. And some home repairs are definitely outside my expertise. Each time we have needed a professional service in our new home (new carpets, exterior paint, spraying for insects), our expense has been far less than a comparable service in our previous home.
Because of the numerous practical benefits, I’ve never regretted the decision we made five years ago. We are far happier today living in a smaller home than if we’d purchased a larger one just because we could.
And I continue to recommend the idea to anyone who is listening.
Barbara says
God, I thought about it when we lived in small cozy apartments on holiday. Just two moderate rooms, a kitchen and a bathroom. But it looked so secure, so private, so easy to keep clean and tidy!
Unfortunately, I can`t relocate into a smaller flat now, cause I live with my boyfriend in his flat and he thinks that the flat should be spacious. But I hope that with time he`ll understand my point of view and agree with it!
Kathy from CT says
I am ready to downsize, hubby is not. Until he becomes ready, we are downsizing our possessions. I am hoping when he finally becomes ready, nothing more will need to be done for showing. Learned a long time ago to set mini-goals to reach long-term goals.
Carissa says
This is my struggle! I’m ready to downsize. Our home is 2700 sq ft. We have 4 kids. I just can’t keep up with it. He’s not on board. I just decided to start getting rid of “stuff.” I just started in October. I’ve gotten rid of so much. I can’t believe how much we still have hanging around! Every month I’m getting rid of at least 2 big boxes/bags. In October I go rid of WAAAY more in a yard sale. What I didn’t sell, I donated. None of it was coming home with us. We haven’t purchased anything to replace it. I got the itch to craft, so I just repurposed what we already owned for the front porch. I’m ready to just get rid of so much! Baby steps, I guess. Lol.
Moira says
I totally agree, and even if money was no object I would never want to live in a large house. The thought of all the extra work and expense that would go into the upkeep of a big house (and garden) frankly scares me…and I hate dust!
Angela Kaschube says
15 years ago, as newlyweds, we bought our small ranch home, fully intending to “upsize” when the time was right. But I stumbled upon Becoming Minimalist in its early days and realized that we were already living in our perfect future retirement house. And since we have stayed small, our home will be paid off before our older daughter to heads off to college. Thanks so much for Being the inspiration for our minimalism lifestyle.
JillAnnSarah says
I have been working on de-cluttering, thanks to you, Joshua, and others like you, for about 18 months. It is slower going than I like because of working and going to school; and life in general. But I am getting there… sitting in my living room right now, that would be bare/sparse by conventional standards, but feels open and peaceful to me – especially the 16 feet of windows with no furniture to clutter the view or sunlight. I complete school in February, and am looking forward to free weekends to finish the process – and then a clutter-free (and school-free) summer of 2017!!!
Bette says
My family currently lives in a 2600-sq foot home, while I am working/living in a faraway city in an 800-sq foot apt. This is a temporary arrangement necessitated by my job. But it affords us a great opportunity to review our lives. House or apartment — car or subway — yard or public park — home gym or nearby fitness center — and on and on. What I’ve found, and everyone else is coming around to, is that the smaller place is ideal.
Rohvannyn says
I love this post. When I made my latest move, I’d hoped for a bigger apartment – instead it turned out to be about the same square footage but broken up differently, and that combined with some intensive decluttering have left me and my spouse both much happier with the situation.
A tip on minimalism:
If you have the choice, tile or hardwood floors are much better than an all-carpet home. Throw rugs can be used for getting out your aggression as you beat them, the floors don’t catch dust, dander and mites, and you don’t have to have a vacuum plus a mop plus a broom plus a dust mop plus who knows what else, like a carpet shampooer. You can do all your work with hand tools that are cheap to replace, easy to store, and easy to fix. Try to fix a vacuum cleaner? Hard. Try to fix a broom or a mop? Easy. So that’s my contribution for the day.
kim domingue says
Lol! Agree with all of your points. Sinus issues decreased dramatically at our house when we got rid of all of the carpet. Probably, in part, because I clean more often….. hardwood floors don’t lie, you can IMMEDIATELY see when they’re dirty!
I do still have a vacuum cleaner however. It’s a good Dyson, bought and paid for before we eliminated all the carpet in the house. It comes in handy for dusting hard to reach areas (9 1/2 foot ceilings in some parts of the house), cleaning the upholstered furniture, cleaning the car’s interior, etc. And, since I have a place for it to “live”, it’s not taking up room that I don’t have or need for something else. But it’s definitely nice not to have to haul that noisy thing out every time I need to clean the floors. A broom and a dust pan are way, way quieter ad much, much lighter and easier to tote around!
ren says
Hashmo,
Great post, food for thought.
I am on journey to minimize. Have gotten rid of a third. But more than the physical purge, is the mental light bulb that lit up flashing, ITS JUST STUFF, much of it was just dragging me down.
I will have to work for several years yet regardless of what I get rid of, but atleast i know there is light at end if tunnel.
Thanks for the reminder.
hashmo says
thank you ren. I totally agree, decluttering is one of those things that gets easier the more you do it because often only when you start do you see the benefits of it and it becomes quite addictive and freeing. We only have one shot at this life, let’s not waste any more time/energy/money/space on stuff that really isn’t important and stopping us from being the best we can be.
COPA says
We just bought a 1400sqft townhome without a garage and with a tiny patio, it will accommodate our family of four and my mother seasonally. We have been downsizing throughout the years and this townhome would offer us extra time and free some of our income, plus I do agree it is so much nicer when we are all in the same room. There is a bit of second guessing given that it is unconventional in the social groups we move in, but freedom is better than a bit of eyebrow rising from others ;)
AGS says
I think you will find it sufficient. My husband I live is 1,500 square feet with 3 children. We are building a small suite over the garage in 2 years, to help with visitors, and also my need to frequently work from home. The additional space is welcome, but won’t fundamentally change our day-to-day life. We are really quite happy, and the size of the house encourages me to kick the kids outdoors most days. We also have friends/colleagues who don’t understand our choice to stay small. The financial freedom is the biggest blessing, and I think it’s something many folks can’t understand. Best of luck with your new home.
Joy Dryden says
My husband and I are thinking about downsizing our house, but I’m concerned that we won’t have enough room if one or both of my parents need to move in with us (and our two boys) in the future. COPA, I’m curious how many bedrooms your house has and how you make it work when your mother is visiting.
John says
My wife, son and I used to live in a lovely condo. Then my mother moved to assisted living and signed her home over to me. It’s a much bigger home and we’re blessed to have no mortgage. But it’s bigger and requires everything you wrote about. We’ve talked about selling the house when I retire and downsizing, to lower the property taxes and have more freedom!