Smaller is Better - TT # 21
We live in a house that is about 1400 sq feet. We are a family of six. I'm not going to lie, and tell you we are perfectly happy in our little home. The fact is we are crowded, and there simply are not enough places to put our things. The biggest problem with this house is not the living space, but the storage space. There is no basement. There is no attic.
Our previous home was about the same size, but it had a large basement, and a large attic. We really had plenty of room in that house. (Granted there were only five of us then.)
We do plan to build someday. When we talk about house plans there are always things thrown out like wouldn't it be nice to have a separate room for school, for Tim's music stuff, for canning, and a list of other things. Then reality sets in, and I wonder how big of house do we really need? Is bigger always better? I think in the case of homes the answer is no. Here are thirteen reasons why a small house may be better.
1. The Price Tag
All other things equal, whether building or buying, a larger home will come with a larger price tag
2. Utilities
The more square footage the more it will take to heat and cool the place. And the more rooms the kids will leave the lights on in.
3. Furniture
You will need something to put in all those rooms.
4. Decorating
More curtains, pictures, and other items to buy.
5. Cleaning
All that floor space will need swept, the furniture dusted, and those curtains washed occasionally. I can't keep up with what I have now!
6. Clutter
I find having a smaller home forces me to de-clutter more often. When we moved from the home that had lots of storage I was shocked at home much we accumulated because there were places to put it.
7. A bit tight now, but perfect for the future.
There are six of now, but there won't always be. I know this probably doesn't hold true for a lot of people, but when we build we plan to stay. we aren't looking for any North Carolina land for sale, or any other land for that matter. Thinking about when there will be just two of us is a consideration.
8. Redecorating
At some point new paint and carpet will be needed. This could be a big difference in time and money for the future.
9. Upkeep
Whether you are talking about the roof or the siding a bigger house will take more of it.
10. Life lessons
Sharing space may not always be fun for the kids (or the parents who have to hear the arguments,) but I think there are lessons to be learned in those conflicts.
11. Forces us to get outside
Being on top of each other makes getting outside in the open spaces more appealing.
12. Use of resources
We don't want the focus of our time and money to be a house. A larger house is a larger draw on those resources. A smaller house lets us put those resources to uses that are more important to us.
13. Encourages me to stay on top of things.
With a lot of people in a small space getting behind on laundry, dishes or picking up toys soon makes it hard to function in the house. I'm not saying that it never happens, but it is hard to just close a door and ignore the mess in a little home.
So, how large of a home do we need? I'm not sure about that. I do know though for our lifestyle and situation, bigger is not better. There are some things we certainly need more room for, and other things that might be nice. It comes down to prioritizing those wants, and deciding where to draw the line. It will be interesting to see how it all plays out.
Thursday Thirteen
40 comments:
My condo is maybe 200 sq ft. less and I'm just one person. I go crazy because it is so small. I don't know how you do it.
SJR
The Pink Flamingo
Wow, that's not a lot of room for 6 people. You seem to have thought out getting a bigger place quite well. Good luck on whatever decision you make. Have a great TT. :)
Thanks for sharing your thoughts on this topic. My husband and I are very happy in our 1100 square foot condo at the moment. I am quite confident we could raise a family in this or a slightly larger home. He has different ideas (let's just leave it at that!) Your post was great food for thought.
If storage space is the problem, how about getting a shed? Way cheaper than expanding the house. Just my 2 cents.
Those are all good things to consider. Bigger definately isn't always better...
You bring up some good points. We're thinking about having a house built. Although we want a lot of space it does come with a price tag, both in terms of money and in terms of the environment.
Thanks for giving me something to think about.
The price tag is always the most important to me. It just isn't worth killing ourselves to get the pmt made if we can't take the house with us when we go! We now have a huge, dreamhouse, and the mortgage just went up. You get my point, I'm sure ;)Happy TT and good luck :)
I don't want to live just to pay for a house. I want a house to live in. I'd go for comfy and affordable.
Happy T13!
I agree that the house is not the focus of family life. Your post made me think of the Eames house.
With the cost of heating where it is, I am glad to have a humble abode, too.
Katie,
That is hard when you don't agree. I'm sure you'll find a good compromise.
Frugalchick,
We do have some outside storage, but some of the things I need room for don't store well outside like the jars of green beans I canned. Mice are also a problem because we live in the woods so I am hesitant about what I will store outside. But you are right a shed is a much cheaper option than a larger house.
Rhonda,
I understand, completely!
Great common sense thinking! There are many in forclosure who wish they had considered these things. Bigger is not always better!
I used to have a 14 room two-story Victorian home. I was much younger then (30 years ago) and it was a lot of work keeping it clean. Yes, I had a lot of furniture then. My 2-bedroom suits me fine now.
I would love to have you stop by to check out 13 Phrases & their Origins. Also you may want to submit a recipe to win a programable slow cooker (shipping included in continental U.S.) for the contest I am offering for National Soup Month. Happy TT! Blessings, Cricket
Happy TT, and good luck in the small house.
Stephanie, the wood siding looks wonderful!!!
My compliments to the builder : )
You have some good points!
I know living in a smaller home is possible, but I am pretty content in my bigger one. Hope that works out for you! Enjoyed your list.
TM
Yes -- you are wise. Smaller is better in so many, many ways.
And sometimes larger means you accumulate more stuff! I've been taking away storage in our one car garage in order to force us to get rid of stuff, and get more creative with storage. If my husabnd sees space, he'll just fill it up with "stuff we might need someday". ;)
Sounds a lot like what we were in for 4 years...with 8 people. Cozy. Now, we're in something even smaller, but with better layout...it's amazing the difference one more bedroom makes! Happy T-13!
Small houses keep the family closer together! :) Thanks for visiting my TT post!
Loved your list. We moved from 1700 square feet to 975 square feet. Our kids are grown and gone and it's perfect for the two of us. It's big enough that the kids can come visit but they can't live with us.
What great insight! I do know your feelings! We just moved from almost 1800 sq ft into almost 3000 sq ft with our family of 6 ... and WOW ... the difference!
Our house is about the same size. It's a 4 bedroom (but the fourth bedroom was a DIY garage conversion, and not really fit to be a bedroom!). So we have a boy's room and a girl's room and everyone shares. The 4th bedroom is our library/playroom/storage space.
We have school at the kitchen table, and even though I would LOVE to have a seperate school room, the kitchen table is really the best place. We have to clean it off and put our things away everyday (or not eat dinner)- I'm naturally a messy piler, so if we weren't FORCED to do this everyday, we'd have piles of papers and projects and books and wouldn't be able to find anything! Plus I can do house stuff and keep an eye on school - like wash dishes, make lunch, etc.
Something else I really like is that we are one level, no stairs. It makes a big difference!
We live is 1400 sq feet as well. There's only 2 of us, but our friends live in much bigger space. I really like it. Mostly because there's less to clean or worry about.
Good for you for doing what you are passionate about - that's what's important!
Happy TT!
No matter how much space I have I seem to manage to fill it and then some. I am such a pack rat though!
my 13
My husband and I are starting a house hunt soon, and we want to keep it small for all of those reasons. Great post. I'm going to have to link to it from my finance blog.
Happy TT!
If a big house is important to you (and you can afford it) go for it! I'm not saying everyone should live in a small house, but for us is seems to be the best choice!
I raised 4 big kids in a home of 1565 sq feet not ideal but we survived and spent a lot of time out doors
We live in a very small house and I'm perfectly ok with that. I suppose there are people with big gorgeous homes they show off - but my kids are happy, warm, well-fed, safe, and we're all together under one roof. That will always be enough for me.
I'm sure you've read this poem before, but it bears worth repeating after your lovely post:
A Prayer for a Little Home
God send us a little home
To come back to when we roam -
Low walls and fluted tiles,
Wide windows, a view for miles;
Red firelight and deep chairs;
Small white beds upstairs;
Great talk in little nooks;
Dim colors, rows of books;
One picture on each wall;
Not many things at all.
....
God send us a little ground-
Tall trees standing round,
Homely flowers in brown sod,
Overhead, the stars, O God!
God bless, when winds blow;
Our home and all we know.
.......
wishing you
many more beautiful memories
in the patchwork quilt...
...a peaceful, blessed easter for all.
Be sure to check out Susan Branch's website for a different version that I love.
I can identify. Our house is about that size, and we have six people living in it, just like you. You are so right about learning to get along, keeping a short leash on the clutter, and spending time outside. Right now, we have been in a cold snap for a few weeks, and I can feel and see the cabin fever setting in!
Fortunately, we have a building we call our "Barn," which is a shop/garage. It has a small bedroom and a woodstove, so if we are on each other's toes too much, someone can spend time out there.
You have some very valid points here. We actually live in a decent sized apartment, but the clutter here is amazing. No matter how much stuff I get rid of, there is always more.
At least we finally got rid of the huge monitor in the corner.
Sounds like you have it all thought out!
Our house isn't very spacious, but it's plenty adequate for our needs. And there's that much less of it for me to clean!
Whenever I see a big house I automatically think :Sheesh! I wouldn't want to heat that!" I live in northwest Alaska and heating fuel is $4.20 a gallon.
Our house is small upstairs (about 1200 sq feet). We do have a full basement, but I would trade it anyday for some good storage upstairs. I get really tired, really quickly of lugging stuff down to the basement to find a place for it. I usually have a pile laying by the basement door of stuff that needs to go downstairs. For a while, putting the stuff away was impossible because of my two little ones screaming at the gate. It just wasn't worth it. My 2 year old is finally old enough that I can tell him I'll be back in a minute, but still, not old enough to leave him alone for any period of time. Storage space is very frustrating.
When we bought our first house, it was just the two of us and we wanted something small. Well, ok, we ended up with 1500 sq ft, but you wouldn't believe the mortgage brokers that kept trying to convince us that we could afford MORE, BIGGER, BETTER. We didn't want to heat, cool, clean and furnish anything any bigger. It was great then, but by the time we had 2 kids, there was a problem with lack of storage space - 1920's era houses didn't much believe in closets!
You are dead on! I wish our house was smaller when the propane bill or PG&E bill comes in the mail. Bigger is not always better.
I come from a small city in Michigan but now am living in New York City the one thing I have learned here is that more sq. ft. does not mean a bigger house. I live in a 624 sq. ft. 2 bedroom apartment that was built in the 1950's. I was home in Michigan last year and went to a "upscale" new condo and saw an 800 sq.ft. 1 bedroom, it seamed much smaller than my place in New York. It was not nearly as efficantly put together. My current place now only has two "dead" spaces, the area above the stairs (I'm a second floor walk up) and an 8 ft. by 2 ft hallway. I will admit I did kind of lust for the seperate shower and garden tub in that new condo but I'd rather have my 2nd bedroom.
With 7 people in a 1200 sq ft house, I totally can relate! It's not always perfect, but I like how close we all are. :0) We are blessed with both a garage and a storage shed, though, which really, really helps!
The deciding factor in a small house is how it is designed!
Our two-bedroom ranch was built by the same company that built some two-story condos nearby. Square footage is about the same. But I've been in those condo units, and my home is much more functional.
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