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Small rooms and dwellings set the mind on the right path; large ones cause it to go astray. Leonardo Da Vinci
Since downsizing from a 4 bed detached to a 3 bed end terrace we no longer have any wasted space. We have lost a spare bedroom/study, a utility room, a music room/garage conversion, a separate dining room in addition to a kitchen/diner and two sheds. We have lost years-worth and room-sized-amounts of clutter. Do I miss the space? NO. Am I glad we downsized and pared down our belongings. YES.
Our new house is big enough for two teenagers to have their own space, for up to 8 to eat at our table in the kitchen/diner and for two adults to work from home. Every room is used everyday for a variety of tasks. Washing and rubbish are more noticeable in our kitchen and we have to keep on top of laundry and rubbish/recycling. We have to be more organised and ruthless with what comes into the house but that has become a normal way of living.
We still have too much but we are getting nearer to having enough. And having just enough space is a very comfortable sensation. Being happy with what I've got is a much richer feeling than the constant nag of wanting more.
I would highly recommend downsizing to anyone who is considering it.
Thanks Claire for the encouraging words and photo regarding your experience of downsizing. We put our house on the market last week and look forward to all the benefits of a smaller space that better suits our empty-nest life.
ReplyDeleteIt will be worth it Megan. Have you seen any smaller properties yet that you like? That's the fun part when you can actually start to visualise yourself living somewhere else xo
DeleteIt takes a bit of getting used to, but with lots of decluttering and planning, it does work.
ReplyDeleteHi,
ReplyDeleteNew reader here. We moved to a smaller house, albeit one with a garden, a couple of years ago. We'd already started living more simply and with less but moving made us really understand what that meant.
When we moved things we thought we could never get rid of went because they were so tied to where we were before we noticed we didn't use or enjoy having them around anymore so they went.
Things are more tailored to where we are rather than just keeping them because we "paid good money" or whatever. It has lead us to be very conscious with our purchases too, it seems easier to go for quality and wait for the right thing to come along. Everything needs to work hard and earn a place in the house and that means that we want much less as there are so many things that don't please us enough to take up our precious space. If that makes sense.
Hi and welcome. We have experienced the same ease of getting rid of old things since moving and having a smaller dwelling certainly helps curb desires for new purchases because "Where will I put it/store it?" is a recurring question. I look forward to seeing your very new blog develop xo
ReplyDeleteThank you. I have no clue where it's going so we'll see!
DeleteSounds like your new home is perfectly sized. Downsizing is really a growing trend in the U.S. Houses just got soooo huge over the last few decades here. I'm happy to see this trend, not just because I think it's a better way of thinking, but because it has a much smaller impact on the environment and resource consumption.
ReplyDeletex
Jenny
Hi there...I have just linked through from Laura at No More Spending and your article above is quite interesting as we are looking to downsize in the next few years when we are hoping to move into a tiny cottage we have bought in Scotland. We are renovating it at the moment (very slowly!) from a distance as we live and work in Yorkshire. I do find it hard to part with things so need all the help I can get - so I will be back to read more.
ReplyDeleteHi Vivien thanks for reading and commenting. Lovely to hear from someone with a downsizing plan in progress - I'm sure you'll get there little by little. Having a moving day deadline really helps with the momentum of declutering but I think you can also make great progress by steadily paring down on a weekly basis. Lovely to meet you and I will be following your blog to learn more about your organising tips and downsizing journey xo
DeleteTimely post for me too. dh and I are looking at a block of 4 flats to buy and thinking of downsizing to a tiny 2 bed back flat so that we will have lots of equity in the flats. Runny thing is we feel quite excited about it :-)
ReplyDeleteCheers Maria