“Your home is living space, not storage space.” —Francine Jay
Recently, the New York Times referred to our generation as the most stressed, tired, and rushed generation of all time.
“A Portrait of the Modern Family,” is how the author chose to title the article. She is, of course, correct. We are tired, stressed, and busy. In the article, the author cites a number of reasons why this is the case: public policy, workplace structure, unrealistic expectations, just to name a few.
Around the time that article was being published, a different kind of report was being produced, The 2014 U.S. Department of Commerce Report on New Housing, an annual study surveying the size and cost of new homes being built.
I couldn’t help but wonder if there might be a significant correlation between the two.
Certainly, there is a direct link with the number of possessions we own and the stress we experience. Every increased possession adds increased anxiety unto our lives. There is a direct relationship also with excess possessions and an overall lack of time, energy, and focus.
The 763-page study on the homes we live in confirms what most Becoming Minimalist readers already know to be true: We own too much stuff—and yet, rather than getting rid of it, we just build bigger homes to store it all.
Here are some findings from that 2014 report and other related sources:
- In 2014, the average size of new homes built increased to an all-time high of 2,690 square feet. In 2015, the average grew another 30 square feet to 2,720.
- While our houses have gotten bigger, our families have gotten smaller. Because of these two factors, since 1973, average living space per American person has doubled.
- The growth in square footage of new homes has wiped out nearly all the efficiency gains. In other words, though energy efficiency has developed rapidly, we’ve increased our home size to the point that we’re still using almost the exact same amount of energy.
- As would be expected, housing costs have risen alongside square footage. In the U.S., the existing home median sale price is $356,700 (up from $154,600 in January, 2012).
- Housing expenses, all totaled, accounted for more than 33% of the average consumer’s total expenditures during 2014.
- Renters aren’t doing much better. In fact, it’s the worst time in 36 years to be a renter in America. The median rent nationwide now takes up 30.2 percent of the median American’s income, the highest cost burden recorded since tracking began in 1979.
- Meanwhile, Americans aren’t even building the largest homes in the world. Australia holds that honor (they are even filming television shows about it). The U.S., Canada, Denmark, and France round out the top five for largest home sizes in the world.
Our homes continue to increase in size, cost, and responsibility. Our biggest investment has become an ever-increasing drain on our resources.
But this doesn’t need to be the case.
Your biggest investment also represents your greatest opportunity.
Consider the benefits of living in a smaller home: less expense, less worry, less upkeep—more time, more money, more freedom, and more opportunity.
When we first began pursuing minimalism, we made a lot of changes in our home. We removed the excess from every room in our house. But when we began removing entire rooms from our home, we started to experience even more significant benefits.
Four years ago, we intentionally decided to downsize to a smaller house. Our mortgage payments were sliced in half. Our insurance and taxes were also lowered. Our energy bills were slashed. Our ongoing repair and maintenance is a fraction of the expense it was before. And our cleaning responsibilities are noticeably easier.
Recently, I was asked by a friend how we are able to make ends meet financially while still doing a fair bit of traveling as a family. My answer immediately centered on our decision to minimize—not just our possessions, but our home as well.
“When the rest of the world was building bigger and bigger, we decided to buy smaller. And that decision has freed us to do many wonderful things.”
Choosing to buy a smaller house is a decision I have never regretted. Likely, neither will you.
CTH says
The NYT article referenced says “[feeling stressed and overwhelmed] is not an individual problem but a societal problem.” I would agree that it is a problem created by society, but it also seems an individual, personal problem. If our society weren’t so BIGGER!BETTER!!NEWER!!!FASTER!!!! then maybe there wouldn’t need to be so many dual-income families working and living at breakneck speed. Except for the working poor and minimum-wage earners, many (most?) families could probably live in one income if they owned less, spent wisely, and weren’t always pursuing the greener grass in the Jones’ yard.
Mindy Doyle says
Last year we downsized from 2700 sq. ft. 5 br/3 baths to 1200 sq. ft. 3 br/2 baths, and from home ownership to a rental, and I’ve never been more content. After massively decluttering to make that happen, keeping the house clean is a cinch and I enjoy the freedom of not feeling tied down to a 30 year mortgage. This is all thanks to the fact that in 2013, when I was struggling through the busiest and most challenge period in my life, I ran across Becoming Minimalist. It has changed my perspective, and my life. Our next stop is full time travel in an RV. Thank you Joshua for all you do. You are an inspiration to so many!
Chenay says
I absolutely love this idea and we have been looking to downsize for a year! In Reno, NV the housing market is limited right now and prices have skyrocketed, which is great for us in selling our house, but buying i ridiculous. Houses that are half the size of ours are going for much more than what we paid for our house five years ago, and there are crazy bidding wars occurring. We put an offer on a house, only to find that there were ten other offers and they expected us to put in an offer well above the house’s asking price! I really have no idea what to do; I had no idea it would be so difficult to downsize.
michelle says
We live in a 1300 sq ft old farmhouse that we bought with cash and are remodeling it the way we want, and at our own pace. (Being mortgage free means you have more control over your life.) When you live in a small space, you choose to keep only the things and gadgets you truly love.
michelle says
BTW our home is on 10 acres with a barn and a trout creek. It still only cost what most people put as their down payment on a large home. Our boys were raised in this size home through adulthood with no problem. We are able to garden and farm as much as we want, yet take time off to travel occasionally. Wish we had figured this out when we were first married! Finally off of the hamster wheel of life!
Emily says
Thank you for this thought-provoking post. I just got married two weeks ago and my new husband and I have been trying to figure out how to maximize living in our tiny one-bedroom apartment that is slowly but surely falling apart (we waited until after the wedding to move in together). I have been so frustrated that we have not been able to figure out a better living situation before we got married (we’re trying to move to a different city for work) that I have forgotten to be grateful that we are living in a place that offers us privacy, lots of beautiful sunlight, affordable rent and a memorable adventure. Thank you for the reminder not to forget what is most important. I needed this gratitude perspective!
Shannon says
We live in the Fargo ND metro area and have no mortgage. Would LOVE to downsize to 1000 sf. We live a streamlined minimalist lifestyle so we can travel (retired in 2015). BUT….we cannot find small homes in our area! Every builder seems to be going larger and larger. Seriously thinking about getting a half acre south of town and building a yurt!!!
Christy King says
We used to live in a 2200+ square foot home on an acre and a half. The home was always too big, even for 5 people, 3 dogs and a cat, because everyone tended to congregate in one space anyway.
We did love the outdoor space to raise chickens, goats, fruit and veggies. However, we decided we’d like to have time to volunteer as well as try some new hobbies, and unless you’re paying people to do the yard work, livestock care and clean the house, there are just not enough hours in the day for that plus work, childrearing, sleep AND volunteering and other hobbies.
Two of the kids grew up and moved out, and the three of us remaining (and the remaining 2 dogs and a cat) moved into a 1250 square foot townhouse about a year ago. So easy to keep clean and no yardwork. We love it.
Will we someday want another garden? Maybe. Maybe not – I have enough room to grow a large selection of herbs plus some salad fixings and flowers in pots. Plus a summer farmer’s market within walking distance.
Someday will we want more room for indoor hobbies? Maybe, maybe not. We would have to decide whether those hobbies were worth the time and money we’d need to spend on a larger home.
The point is not so much precisely how much space you have, but whether you use it and enjoy it, and whether the trade-offs in time and money are worth what you’re getting in exchange.
The problem is many people don’t think it through, or, if they try to, are overwhelmed by concerns such as the work it will take to declutter or what friends and family will think of the downsized home.
In our experience, people have been supportive of our decision, although it doesn’t match societal expectations for people with professional careers.
Jennifer says
Embracing minimalism enabled my husband and I to sell our 1300 sf house, move from the east coast to the west coast of the country (to a much more expensive city) with just a 4’x6′ trailer for our things and live in a 700 sf condo. We have felt the benefits of minimalism deeply, with the freedom to move, and the financial security to leap into a new city without employment. I sing the praises of a minimalist lifestyle to anyone that will listen, it certainly has changed our lives for the better.
Sarah says
I want to echo Carol’s sentiment; I think living in a smaller house is great if that is what will improve your quality of life. I live in a 2600 sq ft house with my husband and daughter and I absolutely love it. We don’t even have much stuff, some of our closets are completely empty. But I now have a huge art/sewing studio, a yard with ample room for my vegetable garden, and a garage so I don’t have to shovel several feet of snow off the car in the winter. We are in a great school district (where it is difficult to find smaller homes). Some of my hobbies are design, gardening, sewing, and woodworking, something I did not have space for in our previous 1200 sq ft townhouse with no yard. The only place for kids to play at our old house was in the parking lot, constantly having to move away from cars. Now my daughter can roam acres of farmland. I think that owning a small home is great if it fits your lifestyle, but so is having a larger home if that is what brings you happiness.
Gloria McCord says
What I chose to do when moving, was to buy a small cottage, with enough land to put a guest house/granny flat. When not needed, I turn off the utilities in the guest house. The cost for both is still half of the new house that I left and provides so many options for life changes with my parent, my kid, or resale.