Our homes are one of the most important aspects of our lives. It is where we are usually most comfortable, spend quality time with our loved ones, and truly relax. We are free to be ourselves without judgment inside the four walls of our homes, so where and how we choose to live is very important to our mental and physical well-being.
When I talk with people about their homes, the conversation usually switches relatively quickly into what they do not like about their home, what they’re missing, what they need, and how they are on the lookout for a bigger home. Whether it’s due to having a new baby on the way, people growing up and getting bigger, or whatever other reason, we are constantly looking for bigger and better. It has become a part of our society’s culture. Has someone gotten a promotion or begun making more money? Time to upgrade! Are kids getting a little older? They MUST need a separate playroom, so it’s time to upgrade! It’s the autopilot response so many have ingrained in them to want more, more, more.
The size of our homes has become an assumed outward expression of our financial situation and wealth (or lack thereof). Those with smaller homes are often looked at as though they have less than those in the “McMansion” down the street. Though home size has somehow become synonymous with assumed income, this is not mutually exclusive. This mindset is contagious, but it is a race to the bottom, as far as I’m concerned.
A home does not have to be expansive or extravagant to be beautiful, comfortable, and functional. In addition, some of the families I know living in small houses are financially better off and with much more financial freedom therefore leading to a much higher quality of life than those in bigger homes.
As a family of four thriving in a 950-square-foot home, I am on a mission to show others that it is possible to raise a happy family in a small home. Below are five easy tips to learn to love your small home that you can begin today!
1. Be Intentional with Design
When designing and decorating a small house, it is critical to choose items for the space. If you have a small corner dining room (like I do), keep the dining table small, and maybe utilize a corner banquette rather than a large dining table with four chairs that will take up more space. Every inch matters in a small house, so choosing items that will free up more floor space is crucial.
For families, so much of what we need is more space just due to storage needs. Getting creative can solve these problems without requiring a whole new mudroom addition or a garage. Maybe the banquette can have drawers below it to store bulky winter boots, hats, and gloves.
There are so many ways to be creative with space without needing a bigger home, it just takes some time to figure out what will fit your space and be most useful for your family.
2. Financial Freedom
Having a small home can feel like a burden if you’re looking through the lens of wanting or needing more. In the past few years, I have intentionally shifted my mindset into an abundance mindset and it has helped tremendously.
When we first purchased our house, we thought of it as a “starter home” and that we would in a few years move on to bigger and better. In comes 2020, and the housing market went crazy. Home prices sky-rocketed and there was a buying frenzy. Homes were off the market hours after going on, and people were buying homes far above their market value. A couple of years went by, and now here we are: interest rates are near 7%, and housing prices are still inflated, making it harder and harder to purchase a house. Through all of these ups and downs in the housing market, it made us realize that there is beauty in slowing down and staying put, appreciating what you have, and making the most of it.
Every time I was tempted to look at the housing market and see what was out there, I was finding homes only slightly larger than what we currently have (maybe one more bedroom or an extra half bath) for significantly higher monthly payments. Over time this shifted my perspective and made me appreciate our current house.
We have financial freedom right now in the house we have. Moving to get something larger only removes that financial freedom from our lives. We have the freedom to work less, to vacation, and to enjoy our lives more deeply without the worry of such large mortgage payments each month.
3. Time Freedom
Smaller home, smaller responsibility. I never truly understood what people meant when they said things like this, but I do now. A bigger house means more rooms to clean, more spaces to furnish, and more places to store unnecessary stuff. Having so much less space requires so much less time spent cleaning and organizing. It is so freeing to have time to do what you love rather than what you must do, such as chores.
4. Appreciate the Flexibility
One of my favorite things about having such a small home is that we are much more free than those with larger homes. For example, because our bills are so much lower, we have more freedom and can work less. My partner is in a seasonal job and gets laid off each winter for three months. This would never be possible in a bigger home as we would need more money coming in to offset the higher bills.
Those three months off are a time of amazing growth for our family. We have so much quality time together and we make such great memories in those months. In addition, as we look to the future we are considering spending the winter in a warmer location to be able to make the most of our time off.
Maintaining a smaller home has allowed us to create our lifestyle rather than work around the constant daily grind of work, work, work. We have fully embraced the idea of working to live, not living to work.
5. Remember your WHY
Remembering your why is such an important step in beginning to love your small home. Throughout your journey of beginning to embrace a simpler life, there will be times when the comparison can creep in. It is important to notice it and remind yourself of your “why”. Your why is the reason behind wanting to live a simpler or smaller life. Is it because you want financial freedom? Do you want a slower life, filled with more connection and appreciation for simple things? Are you looking to get away from the constant obsession with more, more, more? Maybe your why is that you want your family to be in a smaller space so you can all spend more time together in your days.
Regardless of what your “why” is, it is important to remind yourself of it often. I am constantly going back to my why to make sure I am living a life authentic to myself and a life that continues to put us on track for our future goals.
