Living in Less: The Benefits of Downsizing to Single-Family Homes
Living in Less: The Benefits of Downsizing to Single-Family Homes
Bigger is better, or at least that's what everyone thinks. When it comes to your home, bigger is actually worse.
Most people work hard to own a big, flashy house. The truth is that this may be for nothing.
Smaller homes have so many benefits that people aren't taking advantage of. As a population, we've been assuming that the phrase "bigger is better" applies to everything. However, you will find that downsizing is better.
To learn more about the benefits of living in single-family homes, keep reading. You may discover that downsizing is better for you.
Benefits of Living in Single-Family Homes
There are many different benefits of living in single-family homes or even tiny homes. From saving money to saving space, there are so many different reasons that you should look into downsizing.
Downsizing your home is important for everything to consider. Keep reading to learn the differences that you'll find when you downsize your home.
Smaller Homes Are More Energy-Efficient
Energy-efficient appliances are becoming more and more popular. As we learn more and more about how important energy-efficiency is, these appliances become more popular.
Smaller homes don't take up as much energy as larger homes do. Simply because of their size, smaller homes are able to use less energy per square foot.
If you're looking to jump onto the energy-efficiency trend, it's time to dwell in a smaller home.
Smaller Homes Are Easier to Maintain
These days, it's hard to find time to clean and maids can be very expensive.
Smaller homes like single-family homes have less space in them. Therefore, there are fewer things to clean.
You'll find that you'll be able to keep your smaller home looking better than your bigger home could ever be. Maintenance on your home will be much easier to do.
Smaller Homes Are Comfier
Smaller homes have a comfier feel than larger homes. If designed right, the tighter spaces can actually become more soothing.
Larger homes can be magnificent, but they aren't cozy. Smaller homes have a greater potential to help individuals feel more at home.
Simply put, smaller spaces may be tighter than larger spaces, but they are also much more emotionally soothing.
Smaller Homes Cost Less
We all know that smaller homes cost less. It's one of the most cited reasons as to why you should invest in a smaller home.
You won't have to pay for needless space and a large yard that you won't use anyways. Get more use out of your money by paying for a home that costs less per square yard.
Smaller homes also don't need as much furniture or other belongings to fill them. You'll cut costs on your belongings as well.
Smaller Homes Require Fewer Utilities
Additionally, you'll be spending less on utilities. Because smaller homes are more energy-efficient and require fewer utilities to keep it running, you won't have to spend as much as you would expect on things like power and gas.
A family living in a mansion would spend more on utilities than that same family (at the same rate of consumption) living in a single-family home.
Don't spend more on utilities than you need to. Downsizing will help ensure that you aren't spending more money than necessary on utilities like power, water, and gas.
Smaller Homes Bring Families Together
Because there is limited space in smaller homes, families tend to spend more time together. This doesn't mean that you all will constantly be stepping on one another.
Rather, you won't all be separated into different rooms. With smaller homes, the common room tends to become the space for everyone to spend time together.
Even if you're worried about some space issues, you should know that this can actually build your bond. Your family will learn how to cope with one another and learn how to get through disagreements.
Smaller Homes Encourage Minimalism
Minimalism has been deemed a healthier way to live. Living a minimalist lifestyle has helped many people find freedom from everyday objects.
Smaller homes encourage living in minimalism because those who live in them tend to own fewer things. Those with smaller homes tend to value grandeur less, allowing more room for non-material things.
A minimalist lifestyle can help you retract emotion from objects and lead a more relaxed lifestyle.
Smaller Homes Are Easily Customizable
Unlike large homes, small homes can be changed and adjusted more easily. There are less things to work around when you're completing a project in a smaller home.
In fact, companies that come to work on your home will charge less for the projects.
It's more work to change a room in a larger home than a smaller home. If you're looking for a space that you can easily change, a smaller home is the way to go.
Smaller Homes Have a Better View
You may or may not have noticed, but smaller homes tend to be positioned closer to the city. If you buy a smaller home, you'll have a better view than any of the bigger homes in town.
This is not to mention that you'll have a shorter commute if you work in the city.
Even if you aren't a city person, you'll find that most popular places are filled with smaller homes. Smaller homes are in higher demand in these areas because of the larger population. If you're willing to live in a smaller home, you'll have one of the best views no matter if you're wanting to live in the city, near the mountains, or on the beach.
Smaller Homes Work Long-Term
One of the best things about small homes is that they work for families on a long-term basis. Many families have to worry about downsizing after their kids leave the home.
With a small home, you can sustain children in the home and still live there after they're gone. With minimalist living, you'll find that you can transform rooms as needed throughout your life instead of having useless, empty rooms as time goes on.
If you're looking to stay in one area for a long amount of time, a smaller home may be the way to go.
How to Downsize
After learning about the many benefits of living in smaller homes, you may be excited to downsize and learn how you can obtain your own small, single-family home.
Lucky for you, downsizing isn't difficult at all. In fact, the process of downsizing can be therapeutic.
Knowing how to downsize is the first step to getting into your small home. Keep reading to find out how you can downsize your home.
1. Start With the Big Stuff
When it comes to downsizing, you should worry about taking care of all of your large belongings first.
Start thinking about what appliances you need or don't need to bring with you, especially your washer and dryer. Usually, most appliances will stay with the home. You should find out what is staying and what needs to go.
Think about other big things like your car as well. If you have too many cars, your smaller home may not be able to park all of them.
2. Make Piles
In order to keep everything organized, you should make different piles based on where different belongings are going. Make a keep pile, a donation pile, and a sell pile.
As you're organizing your piles, you need to keep the amount of available space that you'll have in mind. You don't want to show up at your new house with too many things. Think of the piling process as an opportunity to cleanse yourself or start over.
It may be helpful to add a 'maybe' pile that you can sort through while you're moving. You may find that you can get rid of more than you thought. If you're feeling adventurous, you could start from scratch.
3. Look at the Smaller Things
Everyone has a junk drawer or even a junk room. There are multiple places in the house that can accumulate junk. Those places may be the easiest place to find junk that you can give away rather than take with you.
When you're thinking about placing smaller items in your smaller home, you should take your storage places into account. Many people that live in smaller homes find creative ways to make the most of the space that they're living.
If you've found ways to make smaller spaces seem bigger, you may have more room for your belongings. Smaller items accumulate easily over time. Be sure that you're being careful when you're looking to keep too many of them.
4. Move on to the Furniture
Now it's time to downsize your furniture. If you live in a large home, you're more than likely going to have to get rid of some furniture.
Before you even think about this, you need to know the dimensions of your new home. This is the best way to determine what furniture will fit.
The furniture that you're not taking could be a great way to earn some extra cash before the move as well. Downsizing isn't just healing for you, it's also healing for your bank account.
5. Focus On Your Kitchen
The kitchen is one of the most-used spaces in the home and contains most of the everyday items that people come to need. When you're looking at what to keep or get rid of in your kitchen, we highly recommend that you start with what you know you need.
Pull out your blender that makes protein shakes every morning and your water bottle you take to work out every day. Make sure to start with these and then look at what's left.
You might find that you have two of the same appliance or have an appliance that you have never used. These - along with other extraneous items - can be removed and donated or sold.
6. Go Through One Room at a Time
Now that we've hit the main items and rooms, it's time for you to comb through every other room. We recommend that you comb through each room one by one and follow a similar technique to that which we shared for your kitchen. Look at what you need and then sort out the rest.
As you comb through each room, think about the space your smaller home has. You might have a theater room at your current house but not in your future one. Keep in mind that the things in your current extra rooms probably won't be needed at the new home.
Again, be mindful of actual needs and actual space. There's no use in bringing everything and then seeing what you can stuff where. You will run out of room if you aren't mindful of your new space.
7. Practice Minimalism
As you're going through what things you're keeping or not, you should make sure that you're starting to practice minimalism. Think about need and function rather than want and emotion.
Minimalism is a great mindset to have when you're moving into and living in a smaller home. If you start practicing now, then living in a smaller home will be nothing.
Minimalism has been deemed a freer state of mind that allows oneself to remove emotion from objects and belongings. Starting to craft your minimalist mindset now will help when you find that you can't bring everything in your old home to your new home.
For more on practicing minimalism when it comes to your household objects, read this article.
Getting Started on Your Journey to a Smaller Home
Smaller homes are not synonymous with poor homes or ugly homes. Just because they take up less space doesn't mean that they are any less meaningful.
A small home may be exactly what your family needs to live a more focused, harmonious life. You may find that smaller homes could make a big change in how you live your life.
To learn more about small homes and what you can get out of the tiny home lifestyle, go to the Dwelling section of the planksip blog.