Comments on: Positives from downsizing our home

By: Sarah

Sarah — Tue, 13 Apr 2010 02:39:19 +0000

We are getting ready to downsize as well despite still having a 9 year old and 13 year old at home plus 4 cats and a dog.

We bought a 5 bedroom house with a pool and a large yard 5 years ago. It is far more than we need and I would say at least 1/2 the space doesn’t get used (nor the pool/yard much).

We are moving to a very planned community with small yards but great schools. It’s also very convenient as far as transportation needs. We will probably rent a townhome for awhile and I’m looking forward to less space.

I agree with others that we will become closer in relation to one another. Right now, I have an upstairs office, my husband has another one downstairs but we couldn’t hear each other if we had to. I hope to get back to one story.

By: Ivory

Ivory — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 22:11:41 +0000

We recently moved from 3000sqft to 700sqft (with plans to refinish the basement and double our usable space). It will never be a large house (aka, our three kids will never have their own rooms) but it it just the right size for us, in the right neighborhood, with lots of usable garden space. Of course everyone thinks we are nuts, but it has been the absolute right choice for us as a family.

Another benefit I would add to your list is that you have to learn to be a family again. There is nowhere for everyone to scatter to as soon as they walk in the door – you play together, you sleep together, you eat together. If you don’t like it, you go outside, which is good too.

By: Ashley

Ashley — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 21:39:54 +0000

We are just about to downsize as well, and are very excited about it. Our 2 story house (3, with basement) is just 1600 sq feet and is more than enough for our family of four. When we downsize we will live in a bungalow and rent out the basement, so will likely live in about 1100 sq feet. I don’t anticipate feeling cramped at all! The kind of spaces we will be losing are the extra bathroom (which I won’t miss cleaning), the guest bedroom (not used enough) and the extra family-room/den (one livingroom should be plenty).
Even more than having a smaller house, what I look forward to is living completely on one level. I hate the feeling of distance between my children and I if they are sleeping or playing in their upstairs rooms, and I am doing something in the basement. We can hardly hear if we call one another! Won’t it be wonderful just to look down the hall and speak to my children, or have them speak to me? I look forward to the fact that we will all have to learn to share all the spaces with each other, instead of being increasingly possessive of our ‘own’ spaces. This move will certainly force us to be closer as a family, both physically and relationally.

By: Tiffini S.

Tiffini S. — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 18:12:37 +0000

We are closing on a smaller home on Thursday 8 October. I can’t wait! We bought a monstrous old home 3 years ago, intending to renovate and update it. We had a baby exactly 9 months after moving in, and our plans went to heck! I thought a nice, big older home would be perfect for a baby, but it’s a pitfall of dangers. Plus the amount of time we spend with upkeep has totally negated any possibility of spending MORE time renovating. We are moving from 2800sf – two levels and basement to 1200sf – one level and basement. The thought of getting a glass of water from the kitchen in the middle of the night without traipsing down a huge staircase (we have 10 foot ceilings) or hauling laundry baskets up and down 2 monstrous staircases is making me positively giddy! Not to mention saying goodbye to $700 heating bills and a solid hour to clean the dining room floor! AND not being forced to host all the family functions because I have the room! Downsizing rocks!

By: jan

jan — Sat, 14 Feb 2009 15:34:50 +0000

Downsizing is definitely something we want to do but there is no market here in rural Maine for our home and 70 acres. We have closed off rooms and only used part of the house but would love to be in a smaller place. The space works best the two or three times a year we have family here otherwise its too big and hard to clean.

By: The Simple Dollar Weekly Roundup: Nature Exploration in Winter Edition - All web resource stuff

Fri, 30 Jan 2009 10:09:18 +0000

[...] Positives from Downsizing Our Home Most people want to upgrade their homes to something larger. Matt found great joy in downsizing – it saves money and needs less maintenance, providing more “life space” for other pursuits. I’d like to … “go sideways” with our home. The square footage is right, I think, but I’d really like to rearrange the rooms. (@ unclutterer) [...]

By: rayruth

rayruth — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 12:41:28 +0000

My husband and I have found that the smartest thing we have done in all of our past homes (14 of them) is select one of the smallest bedrooms as our Master and use the larger bedroom as our office! Think about it…We go to bed after dark and get up early in the morning , while it is dark. Why would I waste the larger space just for sleeping? It is so nice to have the larger space for our office and computers. Try it…you will like it!

By: Bonnie L.

Bonnie L. — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 03:19:54 +0000

I live in 120sq ft in Sydney, and I love it.

- It takes me 5 minutes to sweep/vacuum
- I spend less because there is no physical space to actually store my purchases
- Because my place is so tiny I can afford quality fittings (I managed to wallpaper with roll remnants that I got for a song
- Heating and cooling costs next to nothing
- A significantly less mortgage + because I brought small, I was able to afford a much nicer area, closer to transport and shops.

By: Matt

Matt — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 20:41:58 +0000

@ Diane, our home includes three of us. Myself, my wife and our 2 year old daughter. One of the bedrooms is my office. If we had a second child, which we don’t plan on, I would have to find a new office area. It would definitely be a much tighter fit with one more occupant.

By: The Simple Dollar » The Simple Dollar Weekly Roundup: Nature Exploration in Winter Edition

Wed, 28 Jan 2009 17:45:28 +0000

By: Amy

Amy — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 16:38:35 +0000

The first apartment I ever lived in alone was 120 square feet. It’s still my favorite place I’ve ever lived.

Now, I share 10 times that much space with another person, and my stuff has definitely expanded to fit the space available.

By: Verbal

Verbal — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 16:20:39 +0000

I often miss the apartment I had when I was single — just 325 square feet. SO easy to clean! Now that I’m in about 1000 square feet it’s nice to have room to entertain, but cleaning can take a couple hours, especially if I want to mop as well as vacuum and dust.

By: Kira =]

Kira =] — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 14:21:39 +0000

We are a family of 5 (with 3 very little children) and currently in the process of downsizing. We’re going from 1424 sf to 1091 sf. And I love the cozy feel of our new home and can’t wait to move in. My biggest concern is actually going down to 1 bathroom w/ 1 potty trained child and 1 on the verge of potty training. lol =]

By: Another Deb

Another Deb — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 03:29:03 +0000

My husband and I debated whih house we could keep when we got married. His 1800 sf house won over my 1680 sf house (smile) The issue now is that he wants to hang on to a lot of stuff we never use, like all of the fishing gear, the motorcycle, two file cabinets full of papers from a career he swears he will not return to because: “we have the space”

Luckily we have enough closet space for all 200 tee shirts he wants to keep.

By: Diane

Diane — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 17:16:16 +0000

To understand what we’re talking about here – how many people & what age children live in your “just under 2000 sf” home?

We’re in a 1500 sf home (ala) with 2 adults and 2 nearly grown sons – 17 & 22, plus running a home office where we both work full time.

We plan to move when the boys are both out of school, but I don’t know that we could be comfortable in anything smaller, even then. We really need at least 1 room for an office, plus 1 spare room.

We’ve decluttered, which makes it roomier and easier to clean, but its still a tight fit, especially when the kids have friends over.