As my husband and I prepare to move our family of four out of our three-bedroom, 1,070 square foot home, the comment we often hear is, “Oh, you’re looking for a bigger place?” And to be perfectly honest, that is one of the items on our wish list. But there is much to be said for life in a small home.
I could easily write a post titled, “Where do you store your stockpile when you are having a hard time just finding a place for your visiting mother-in-law to sleep?” That seemed a bit long-winded, so I decided to focus on the benefits of downsized living instead. Actually, the whole downsizing trend is hot in the real estate market right now, both for buyers and builders. Leave it to good ol’ green Portland to take that to the next level.
Living in a small space can be challenging. It forces you to think outside of the box, to sort out your belongings, and to be creative when hosting guests. There are harder challenges in life, though, right?
Whether you find yourself in a tight living situation by choice or by circumstances, I hope this encourages you to see the benefits. (Note: This post is not a criticism of those of you who live in larger homes. I am just sharing my own personal perspective/preference.)
FIVE REASONS I LIKE SMALL HOUSES:
- We live in every square inch. We use every shelf, cabinet, closet, and room in our home on a regular basis. Dust does not have a chance to settle. Which is good because I really, really hate dusting. This type of living feels efficient, with no wasted spaces. I like actually living in our living room. My son toddles around, my daughter does puzzles, my husband reads books, and I workout all in the same room. At times, it gets a bit cramped, but I like having my little family within reach. Literally.
– - There is less to keep clean. I’ve mentioned this in previous posts, and I know it is sounds obvious. Think about it, though. I spend less time vacuuming because I have less to vacuum. It frees up time for other things, like fishing chewed-up crayons out of my son’s mouth. If you feel like there are not enough hours in your day, consider how much time your home consumes. Is it possible to downsize your square footage or your possessions?
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Last night, my husband and I walked through a 3600 square foot home with our realtor. 4 bathrooms! 5 bedrooms! Tons of space! To be perfectly honest, I was not excited about it. I felt totally unsettled and uninterested. I would either need to have six more children to fill the space or hire a live-in maid to keep it clean. I wouldn’t mind a little more elbow room, but I don’t want to lose my kids inside of our own home.
– - Utility bills are lower. My husband is slightly fanatical about our energy bills. Okay, he is just plain nuts. He reads the fine print on the water bill and figures out our daily power usage as he scans the electric bill, calculator in hand. In the summertime, our electric bill is under $40/month; in the winter it’s around $70/month. We aren’t doing anything crazy to get it that low. There are just fewer rooms to heat and light.
– - You get good at thinking creatively. For example, I created an office space at one end of our kitchen, maximized our storage spaces, and spend as much time outdoors as possible.
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Hosting out-of-town guests takes the creative thinking skills up a notch. We have hosted up to 11 extra people overnight in our little house. One time it was for four days. Another for two weeks. Impossible? On paper, yes. In reality, we had a blast. People were packed in like sardines. Mealtimes were a zoo. The bathroom was never empty. I have no desire to live like that, but in small doses it is totally possible and can be a whole lot of fun.
– - It helps me keep wants & needs in perspective. When I think of how the majority of the world’s population lives, I feel somewhat silly for wanting a guest room and a master bathroom. Do I want a bigger house? Yes. Do I need a bigger house? No. Our needs are abundantly met in our current home. We have a secure roof over our heads, good food on the table, and spaces to live and play together. Life is good, and I like to be reminded of that often.
I truly believe it is possible to live large in small spaces.
What about you? Agree? Disagree? Ready to join the Small House Society? Leave a comment!
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Is there any safe area in southern California where there are off the grid small solar/wind total power needed, homes available. to purchase – prefer gated communities but not mobile homes?
$40-$70 a month for electric!? That’s amazing!
I have not turned on heat or ac AT ALL last month and the bill was still $147!
I’m thinking about turning off water heaters and definitely will be drying clothes outside.
My goal is to spend under $100.
Living in an about 1300 sq.ft home, okay all these nearly 33 years, can walk from one end to the other, threw out a ridiculous amount of c–p..The 4 cats love it, we can pick and go when we want, big yard, we got rid of grass with a native plant set up, rocks, the big trees we finally got someone with arborist training to help with the only time we ever cut them on the sides..when it snows and rains it is okay with us which has been over 300 days so far, only got the sunshine and warm days, blue skies in august no 90 degree days broke all kinds of records for that..the rain and cloudy days, we walk everywhere we can, brand new library we can bike to and walk..We came from a tri-level with a new baby, never missed it at all, missed the colorado blue skies and dry weather and hiking and walking 365 24/7..a Home is only a wonderful as the inhabitants, this is native american country, they camped out in teepees and were happy, they used to own all the land and beautiful and lovely as it is..one cannot replace people/family, one can always replace things, if that is all a person hold to their heart things, they will not enjoy a small home, many in this area moved to huge homes up in the hills, big laugh on them, can’t get out when it rains all the times it does, when it is icy and snowy which is a lot in the hills, one is stuck in their homes, they also I am told lose their power all the time, No Thank You, we are content and feel we have always had Plenty, something most americans cannot ever say..they don’t appreciate a small/tiny home which to us is a big blessing we even paid it off early as I am a frugal nut, also energy bills are lower and cleaning is easy even with many family members who come by our home and always have a place to stay and food and love and fellowship..ciao..mary jane & hubby and 4 cats and family!!!
While I can appreciate the joys of cleaning a much smaller house, my husband and I felt hosting family in our home for visits was important as we both grew up only seeing our grandparents once a year. We have 5 bedrooms and two of them are dedicated guest rooms and my children see family once a month. Another added blessing is that we are now able to rent (drastically under the market rate) those extra two bedrooms to a brother who is struggling with work right now. There is another side to people with “big” houses. We don’t all have empty hallways and cold spaces.
I agree with you. Right now I’m in a 982 sq ft apartment with my husband and our two toddlers. It’s super busy right now but every square inch is used. I don’t have to worry about making sure that I take time to clean the any of the floors since I’m cleaning everywhere all the time with my kids. We don’t have a yard which is a problem as I need to take the kids to the park as playing around our apartment can be dangerous. So we will be moving next summer but everyone asks me “for a larger place?” and I just say no, for a fenced yard! We perfectly love living in a small place!
I think it is nice to be able to see the bright side and all, but I would go crazy if my kids were constantly in the same room as me and picking at each other. Am I the only one that wants them to go elsewhere in the house to pick at each other? We rent a 1900 sf house with 4 bedrooms. One of the rooms is an office/guest room. I use it everyday. Could I get by without it? Yes. I think it’s okay to enjoy having your space, especially when you’d be in the mental hospital and your kids would be without you if didn’t have your space.
I so totally agree. I clean houses for extra money. It is such a waste at how much house goes unused and how much more clutter and things people accumulate in a big house. Our home is 1536 sq. ft. I love it. I can clean in in short order and the kids are close by to where I can hear what is going on at all times. I agree. More space isn’t always better.
WE love our house and make great use of it. The only thing i wish for is one more bathroom, well really one more toilet. I swear if i here my kids ask can i just go out back one more time. Or in the winter it is them say I need to go now. Can i just pee in the tub. AHHHH.
We live in a big house. The nice thing is there are not more rooms, but instead every room is bigger. We do love it and live in it all. BUT I am counting down to when we can move out. Once the kids are gone, which is just a few years away, we are downsizing. For all the reasons you listed!!!!
I personally love trying to live in every square inch, which is why I can spend hours walking through IKEA.
i too agree you can make it work for you ya know the old addage if life gives you lemons make lemonade. In feb of this year my mother-in-law had a stroke and needed to come and live with us. now our house is 1500 sq feet and we have 3 kids. so we had to move the kids in the master bedroom so grandma could have a room. and we moved into one of the other rooms i went to ikea alot still am getting things to maximize our space got a wall divider so our daughter could have her own space under bed drawers and new closet organizers i had a really good compliment from a neightbor the other day she came in and said wow from the outside your house doesn’t look very big but inside its so nice i was very suprised and thought i guess we are doing something right yes sometimes i feel overwhelmed with everything but if we had more room it’d be more to take care of and we certainly don’t need a bigger mortgage i know someday it’ll feel big and empty but now its cozy and that is just fine!!!!
We have raised our nine children in an 1800 sq ft fixer upper. There is a toilet in the laundry room but essentially we have made do with one bathroom. there have been many times when I really desperately needed another bedroom and I still want a new kitchen but one thing has been evident: The house does not make the family happy and close or the opposite. It would have helped if we did not all have hobbies and like crafts.
Thank you for loving your small house! We raised 2 children in 1300 square feet and I wouldn’t trade my house for a million dollars! I am so thankful to be free from the “wants” and LOVE being content. We could have bought a larger home but never felt it necessary. We entertain outdoors in our large beautiful yard and when we have company we just shuffle around and make it work. We also have the “guest house” aka trailer out back. 🙂 We always knew where our kids were in the house, what they were doing, what they were looking at on the computer, and usually we could overhear their phone conversations…so no secrets here! I plug my vacuum in one spot to do the whole house, dust and in 15 minutes we’re out the door for a hike or a bike ride. YEAH for small houses!
Nice post.
Our family of 5 plus a dog and cat live in a 1900 square foot 3 bed 2 bath ranch home. Luckily every room is large and there are no duplicates i.e. living and family room, 2 eating areas etc. We are also lucky that the room the kids share is as big as our master and has a walk in closet so an Ikea divider was put in with each having their own space. What helps us is that our lot is large so I’m not feeling closed in by neighbors and we have a great layout with our bedroom on the opposite end of the kids rooms. Sometimes I think a bigger house would give each there own space but then I think too much space for kids is not a great thing and they can get into stuff.
As I live in an area of mini-mansions, I enter houses with a lot of hallways and unused cold spaces. When I have company I’m complimented on what a great house we have and I like they have to ask where the bathroom is as I rarely do in new houses as they are all the same:)
Our first house was under 700 ft. I miss how totally spotless I could get it.
Our current house is just under 1500, still not big-especially with our two boys and all their junk. Sadly, it’s never clean.
The one thing that makes me have big house envy is when I go to parties at homes with more spacious kitchens and living areas. I just hate that, “Everyone sitting on top of each other,” feeling when we try hosting events at our place. We’re hoping to put some money towards our yard so we can have some outdoor get togethers instead.
Agree! We are currently raising our six children in an 1800 sq. ft., 3 bedrooms, 2 bath. We use it all!
For most of my life I lived in small spaces. When my Hubby & I first married we lived in one small room, maybe 300 sq feet, and kept most of our stuff (which we never used) in storage. It was tight but very cozy & intimate & I look back on that time as a 4 year honeymoon. Because we had very little stuff to care for we had more time to spend enjoying eachother. Eventually we moved into a bigger apartment & then once the first baby arrived (two years ago) we moved into a 2000 sq foot ranch style house. I thought I’d love all the extra space but it turned into a huge burden. Too much to clean & organize. Too much yard care. Too much space to accumulate more & more junk. We found ourselves bickering more & spending less time together. When I got pregnant with our second baby I convinced my hubby we had to downsize and now we’re moving back to a small apartment in a great location within a short walk to the library & YMCA. I feel so liberated!! Our living space feels more cozy, intimate and homey. I feel like I’ve reconnected with my husband & can really enjoy my two babies instead of worrying about cleaning & organizing a bigger space. I love living a simple, smaller lifestyle! Downsizing can really be a blessing.
As a short addendum to my longer message above describing my own challenges these days,
I also really enjoyed reading the personal experiences of others who wrote in reply to the original article.
Everyone has their own story, and the 20+ people who’ve written in so far are so individual and unique in their personal efforts.
Thanks to Frugal Living (and the other blog authors in our area) for these forums, as they provides us with an expanded perspective outside of our usually internally focused lives in the often mundane day to day world.
–Bill In Seattle
We just sold our 3000 sq foot house and I’m glad we did! It was too big! Our reasoning behind it was that we wanted our family to grow and fit in it. But life is unpredictable and we had to sell just after living there for two years. Now I we’re buying a smaller home and when we were shopping for one, I refused to see anything over 2600 feet, no matter how nice it is, its a lot to clean and you don’t have time to enjoy your little kids with all the cleaning. The other negative I’d like to add is furnishings. If you want your hope to look cozy you need to furnish it and the more space you have the more furniture you need, which costs money and gathers more dust! 🙂 Great post!
Great post! I live in a home I think is much too big for just my husband and me. I always say I wish it had come with a maid because there’s so much to keep clean. Vacuuming is like painting the Golden Gate Bbridge: By the time you get from one end of the house to the other, it’s time to start over again. I mean, we have more toilets than we have people! Is that really necessary?!
I love this phrase I picked up somewhere:
HAVE WHAT YOU WANT, BUT ALSO WANT WHAT YOU HAVE.
One of the benefits of downsizing and moving is it acts as a filtering mechanism for reducing needless clutter. My employer moved from a suburb of Tacoma (low rent, big spaces, a backyard, a garage, quiet location on the end of a cul-de-sac, etc)…to downtown Seattle (high rent, no space, no backyard, and people crowded right up on top of you in an apartment complex).
My goodness what a transition.
The best thing was downshifting from a “fill up all physical spaces with stuff”, into a very focused “what do I really need” thought process.
It wasn’t pleasant or easy to make this transition, but was wonderfully helpful in reminding me that physical posessions tend to take over your life if you let them.
Clutter and collection of stuff happens over time in a way that might not be noticed directly.
My apartment complex is undergoing rejuvenation, so I had to move from my former apartment to a temporary one-month apartment a few floors upstairs.
While I learned a lesson moving from the suburbs to the central core of the city those years ago, I learned more this most recent time that even in the small spaces I’ve lived in here near downtown Seattle, clutter still seems to have an independant mind of its own, and will build and expand to levels that are amazing.
Add on the fact that I am a guy, and therefore generically oblivious to subtle changes in my environment that don’t directly relate to “stuff guys immediately care about”…the physical reality of moving really brings a whole bunch of focus right back onto “why am I still carrying around all this @#$!? in my life these days?”
Thanks for another well-thought out blog item that addresses the stuff that we experience in real life.
–Bill In Seattle
Utility bills are lower Please expand on your husbands “slightly fanatical”ness.
Right now we live in 1000 squreft with two kids and one on the way. I would give anything for one more room!!! Granted my stay at home job is buying and selling so we constantly have extra items floating around our house. Along with my kids resale stuff filling my living room 2 months of the year and all year in the kids closet. I’ve thought about giving it up but I love it to much ;). Right now we pay very little for rent and to even go up to 1300 ft we are looking at an additional 400 a month in rent :(. So I am stuck here. All this to say thank you for the encouragement. I also hate cleaning so that is a good reason to stay happy here for now.
We currently live in a 1,000 sq. ft. 2 bdrm apt. with our 3 kids (ages 10 – 6 1/2) and 2 cats. It’s cozy, but absolutely perfect for us! Organization is sometimes challenging, but absolutely essential. We moved here two years ago, so we’re still working on some things, but we’re more streamlined than ever before and loving every minute (and so does our bank account)! Take courage, Melissa; it can be done, and loved! 🙂
We live in a fairly spacious 2600 square foot home with two (almost three) kids but we find we don’t use all the space, at least not yet. Perhaps we will when kids are older. We just returned from two weeks in Japan where the 4 of us lived in basically the space of a studio apartment. Talk about efficient use of space. While our living situation during those two weeks was a little more extreme than how most Japanese families live, it wasn’t far from it. Stores sell all manner of crazy organizational equipment designed for small spaces. Closets are tall and cupboards/ bookshelves reach to the ceiling. Furniture is small, very very small. Beds (futon mats) are often put away during the day to turn a sleeping area into a play room or living space. It became a little too cramped for our family but made us realize that we definitely have more than enough space at home, even for our growing family.
I agree with you 100%….our first home was almost 1700 sq ft and was a two story home. When we moved towns we felt we needed a bigger home and so we bought a 2500 sq. ft( 4 bed, 2 1/2 bath) two story home. To be honest it was too big for a family of five and I felt like I was constantly cleaning and picking up after my 3 boys messes they left as they went room to room. We spent a lot more time “away” from each other. We just recently downsized to a 1300 sq. ft. single story home with 3 bed and 2 baths and I love it. It’s really easy and fast to clean, our boys (12, 10 and 7) are a lot closer and spend time together because they have to, we save $160 a month in utility bills and because it has an amazing floor plan the house actually lives larger than our 4 bedroom home. Downsizing made us realize how much “stuff” we have in our lives that we don’t need. After living in a single story, smaller home, I have no plans of living in a two story again. As the kids get older and are involved in more activities, we aren’t spending the whole day on top of each other like we did when they were little and it’s nice to come home in the evenings, eat dinner together and then spend some time as a family.
Laurie, I also have three boys. Ages 7, 5, 2. It’s good to hear you say that. I’ve been a little worried having three big boys in a small house. How do you split the rooms?
Jenessa- The 12 year old has his own room and the younger two share a room. It’s nice because my older son has his privacy and the other two love being together. When we lived in our bigger house the younger two would always end up in the same room at some point during the night anyway so now
they get the opportunity to share a room.
We are a family of five and live very comfortably in our 960 sq. ft. home (granted we have a large backyard and an attached double car garage, which we use as a multi-purpose room). I used think bigger would be better, but with that “bigger” would force major life changes for us….it would mean we would have a 30 year mortgage (we currently are on a 15 year), I would have to work outside the home. For our family we will take the smaller home that always has someone home compared to a larger home where people are gone all day. 🙂 Great post!!
A bungalow is a win-win-win…in the “small house” movement. Here’s why:
1. paid off in 5 years so we own it free and clear…Yay!!;
2. the relatives stay at a hotel…Yay!!;
3. bungalows are cozy, classic, very well built, and all my friends with McMansions want one.
And I thought only my parents called them McMansions! 🙂 I bought the home I grew up in… 1800 sq ft, which includes the basement. When I was growing up, it was 6 of us and always an additional person – exchange student, girl with a bad home life, etc. (And one bathroom! My parents didn’t add a bathroom downstairs until I had moved out!) Now with only 5, there are days we never enter the basement! My toddler and preschooler share a room. Our living room is our play room, office, living room, etc. And my husband talks about moving to something bigger “someday”, but why? I agree… the bills are lower and the cleaning is less – now if only it weren’t in Multnomah county…
We moved into our 1200 sq. foot house when our boys were 6 and 8. There were times when things seemed a little crowded but we managed just fine. We’ve had big family holiday dinners here. We’ve had as many as 6 guests stay with us. We’ve survived. Now our boys are 21 and 19. One has moved out and the other is planning on moving in December…..I think my house will feel big and empty.
What a great post! I read somewhere once that no matter how big your house is, you really only “live” in 600-800sf of it. So true! We have a 2200sf house and even with 3 little kids afoot, it seems like a lot of space…and most of our finished basement is used for “storage,” which is code for saying we throw things down there and forget about them. Scary. Even with stockpiling, we really don’t need that much storage! We spend most of our time together in the main 1200sf of the house and share 1 bathroom between the 5 of us which works just fine. I love having my kiddos’ bedrooms close for the middle-of-the night illnesses and nightmares…..it would make me uneasy to be on the other side of the house in a master suite somewhere. And we have friends stay with us every Christmas which makes for close quarters but great memories.
Our family of 5 live in a 1400 square foot home. I’d be lying if I said I wouldn’t LOVE to have a second story (with a playroom) around 2,000 square feet. Obviously we aren’t moving out of our home anytime soon.
I DO, however, agree that “love grows best in small houses” as the pp wrote. I totally agree with that. I grew up in a family of five in a 4,700 square foot home. I didn’t have to talk with my brothers. I didn’t have to share anything. I wasn’t spoiled (didn’t have nice things like my friends), but parents built the house and were smart and bought property young. They are frugal still today.
BUT, I remember going to a friends house (that’s like mine now) and thinking WOW… how do you get away from your mom? your brother? She talked with her family WAY more than my family did. I remember thinking that wouldn’t be so bad, which is kind of what is sustaining me now. My kids will have to pass me by. I will be at every crossroad in my kids life. It will be harder for them to hide things from me.
I do have dreams of a slightly bigger home though. Just to have a play room for the kids. That’s the only thing I miss. Then maybe I’d get to watch TV once a day… what shows are even on these days? I wouldn’t know! 😉
This is very true, but sometimes, when the walls are closing in and there is nowhere to hide…I would just kill for some space between me and the kids! I work at home and take care of two kids at the same time and man, this house can seem smaller than small some days!
I feel the same way. We just visited my husbands family and stayed with them in their basement (completed, but not furnished). It was amazing.
I was shocked that she didn’t hear her kids whining and crying and bickering constantly. They could go downstairs and play, or upstairs to their rooms.
I found myself wondering if I would be a bit more patient with the kids if there was more space between us. Not a ton, but a ROOM for them. To play. To mess up. Away from the front entrance, which is our living room now!
Our 1250 sq ft starter home has been on the market since Thanksgiving with no offers. We’re just about to pull it off the market & we’ve been sad about not being able to buy a bigger home. Thank you for the good perspective!
I really miss my small house! What is the song “Love grows best in small places.” The kids and I were together ALL the time when we didn’t have a family room. We had to learn to share 1 bathroom. There are definite advantages to a small house and I am looking forward to my next small house now that most of the kids are gone.
I SOOO agree with you. My husband and I decided to spend our money on location instead of size. People thought we were crazy. There are 6 of us living in 1600 sq feet. But honestly, our home is comfortable. We don’t waste money on heating space we don’t need. It is easy to clean. It forces my 4 kids to compromise, to learn to share, and how to be creative. I wouldn’t trade it for a house twice this size. Plus, to top it all off, I love living close to the street car and downtown Portland life!! 🙂
I grew up in a large house and yes, had my fair share of cleaning. My first house as a married woman was a two bedroom fixer-upper with just under 900 square feet. Even before kids it was too small (for me) but, it was affordable. Fast forward 10 years and two kids later (one boy and one girl), I was getting really cramped and getting really cranky!! My husband and I finished our new house about three years ago. We built it ourselves (every board) and yes, we are still happily married! We have lots breathing room and three, yes three, bathrooms! I think everyone should live in that tiny, crowded, fixer-upper. It truly makes you appreciate sacrificing your sanity and elbow room when you do move into something bigger. Besides, doesn’t it build character for kids to have cleaning chores? 🙂
I hear ya on the cleaning!
I just moved into a house (not huge roughly 2200 sq feet) not too far up from our 1500 sq feet – we do plan on growing into our new place with kids – but right know (less the a week in) I feel way over whelmed – there are too many options on where to put things and everything seems to far away to put things!
THe kitchen has too many drawers and too many cabinets – I know in a while I’ll be grateful but there is a downside! 🙂
Wow, same with me. We live in a 2000 sq ft home, and there is just me, my hubby, and baby. While all 4 bedroom are not in use ALL the time, its nice to have when guests come. Once I had like 20 people overnight! it was nuts. But I was thankful I found a place for all of them. And I come from a big family, and so does my hubby, so when host parties, its actually crowded!
But day to day, Its overwhelming. too big. I want to move in to a smaller home. We bought this one to grow into, but I hate it sometimes.
The thing that I love/hate about this house is the heating. We have zoned heating in each room. so we just close off the rooms we don’t use, and they don’t get heated. (and stay clean too.) But man does it take long to heat up a room sometimes after not being heated,
say, all night.
I wish I could organize better though. SO hard for me. If I had the money, I would go on an IKEA shopping spree, and do a month long organization project!!!
Couldn’t agree more.
Hubby and I downsized from 1200 sq feet in the city to 900 sq feet in the country, which is on 4 amazingly beautiful acres. Even with the large property, the property taxes are half, utilities are half, and we can clean this little one level house in a snap. It was fantastic to purge the clutter and excess. A sleeper sofa works for company. If there’s more, we also have a camper.
It’s not for everyone, and sometimes staying organized and neat can be challenging, but it suits our lifestyle just fine! I have no desire to ever live in a larger home again.
I totally agree with you. We live in a small apartment now, before we lived in a large townhome. It was more expensive for the utilites, way more trouble to keep clean and we seemed to fill any empty space (costs $). Now that we live in a small place, I can’t imagine buying a large house when we become homeowners. Small and cozy is the best for us. 🙂