3 Benefits of Living in a Smaller Home

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3 Benefits of Living in a Smaller Home

We’ve been taught bigger is better. More closet space, for all the clothes you barely wear. More garage space to fit larger cars that you paid for with a loan. Bigger bathrooms for all the unnecessary cosmetics! It’s a never ending cycle of consuming more to get bigger and better things, but what if you actually sought less and instead saw the 3 benefits of living in a smaller home?

Last week’s post focused on how the stuff you own lowers the quality of your life in three major ways: space, time, and money. This week’s post focuses on reclaiming your space and recognizing that you already have enough. According to the BBC The average home size in the U.S. is 2,300 square feet compared to the UK with 818 square feet. People around the world are able to live happily in a much smaller space. I first noticed this while traveling during my summers off as a teacher. Homes are smaller in Europe, but still spacious. How is this possible? In general, because people there have less stuff.

If you are feeling the need to move into a larger home I challenge you to consider “why?” Could you be motivated by your ego? Are you comparing yourself to others? Trying to keep up with your friends and family? If so, your ego is is an expensive voice to be listening to.

When we first moved into our smaller town home I became secretly a little bitter. We had bought below our means and I was unhappy with the lack of “space.” I quickly began filling it up with furniture and stuff. That was of course, before I began my minimalism journey. One day I was staring at the 9 chairs we had in our small living room and realized we were a family of 3. Why do we need 9 chairs? My decluttering efforts have led me to find all the space we need, plus a low mortgage payment.

3 Benefits of Living in a Smaller Home

Bigger isn’t always better. Here are 3 benefits of living in a smaller home and why you should consider downsizing, or remaining content in your small home.

1. You Save Time

Firstly, when you have less space, you have less to clean. I used to live in a much larger home and it would take me most of a Saturday afternoon to effectively clean my kitchen. Now, I can clean it in under 20 minutes.

With less space to store things you automatically get rid of excess stuff more efficiently because you simply have nowhere to put it. As a result, you spend less time organizing.

In a smaller home there is less things to fix. Have you ever wondered how many times you’re off to Home Depot to fix something else in your home? With less home, you have less things that need repairs every weekend.

2. You Save Money

Obviously, one of the benefits of a living in a smaller home is it’s less expensive. Dave Ramsey writes that lowering your mortgage payment by downsizing even by $500 per month over a span of 30 years would yield 1-1.6 million dollars if invested into retirement (Ramsey).

Perhaps you still have student loans to pay off? An extra $500 a month to throw at a student loan would cut your debt free journey short by years! With a smaller home you can also pay off your mortgage faster. So instead of choosing a 30 year mortgage, you could purchase a 15 year mortgage and be mortgage free 15 years sooner. Could you imagine living mortgage free?

3. You Value Experiences over Things

Another benefit of living in a smaller home is that you’re more likely to see the wide open spaces of the outdoors. With lower monthly payments you can seek out adventures like travel, state parks, camping, hiking, biking etc. Furthermore, countries like Sweden, Norway, and Canada that prioritize getting outside in nature rank higher in quality of life ( The 80 Countries With the Highest Quality of Life ) .

Final Words

Perhaps you’re in the market for purchasing your first home, or want to downsize your life. Whatever the case, consider seeking a smaller home so that you can have more freedom with your time, money, and experiences. As you can see, a smaller home may be exactly what you are seeking when you stop comparing your life to others. I also really enjoyed this blog post on the same topic from Awakened and Begin.

Join the Discussion

Have you downsized? Do you live in a small or large home?

P.S. I always ask readers to follow me on Instagram, Pinterest and Facebook. I consciously try to document my everyday simple life. Since we happen to be on a debt free journey, it can be motivating because most of my activities are intentionally inexpensive. However, if you’re trying to cut out social media, you’ll need to subscribe directly to this blog.

Author

-Maria Halcumb
B.A. in Secondary Education, English, and Physical Education
M.A. Ed. in Curriculum & Instruction and Reading Specialist

Sources

“The 80 Countries With the Highest Quality of Life.” U.S. News & World Report, U.S. News & World Report, www.usnews.com/news/best-countries/quality-of-life-rankings.