Over the last couple of years, we’ve spent a fair amount of time bemoaning the fact that the bad economy has us stuck in a one-bedroom condo with a serious lack of storage. To be sure there are some drawbacks. However, there are many reasons that this is a great place for us to settle into our lives as a family of three.
1. Family Togetherness
No matter where I am in our home, I am still only a few steps away from BabyE. We do use a baby monitor on the rare occasions that he naps in our bed without me. We don’t really need to though. I just don’t feel right if I don’t hear every little breath. In addition I am never far from DH when he’s home either. It’s more natural to start up a conversation or just say “I love you” when you’re always within earshot. Sometimes it’s annoying that our kitchen is so small, but rarely do we bump into each other without exchanging a smile.
2. Less Time to Clean
I don’t know about you, but I do not enjoy cleaning. I do love the feeling of having a clean and tidy house. I’m just not going to go around dusting, vacuuming, and scrubbing toilets for fun. Living in a small space frees up lots of time that I would otherwise have to be cleaning to enjoy spending time with Baby. One time DH said, ‘Wouldn’t it be nice to have two bathrooms?’ I just looked at him like he was crazy. To me, that would just be one more bathroom to clean!
3. Less Energy
Small spaces use less energy. There is simply less volume to heat. Multifamily buildings especially use even less. Our unit is insulated by the units above, below, and to three sides of us. Of course this is green and save us money.
4. Less Stuff
As I’ve been decluttering, I’m amazed at how much stuff we actually do fit into our small space. I can only imagine if we had more bedrooms, closets, and (gasp!) a garage! A tiny home makes it harder to accumulate unnecessary possessions. It also takes less and is cheaper to furnish.
5. No Yard Work on the Weekend
One of the draw backs of our current home is that we have zero outdoor space. Still, on sunny summer Saturdays I am thankful we can walk to the park and enjoy the “yard” maintained by someone else rather than spending time weeding and mowing. Not that I’d ever want lawn no matter where we live, but in theory it saves time.
Someday, in the hopefully not too far distant future we will move to a (slightly) bigger place. For today I’m counting my blessings to be living in a small cozy space with my two favorite people.
Update June 2, 2014: I wrote this post almost 2 1/2 years ago. Since then we have moved (to a 730 square foot home in the country) and added another child to our family. The joys of small house living ring just as true for our family today, with one big addition…
When we moved we were presented with the huge blessing of living in a small house with wonderfully low rent. We didn’t quite realize what a great opportunity it was at the time, but when we caught the get-out-of-debt bug, we were able to pay off our student loans way faster than if we were spending beyond our means on a bigger house.
Ah, thank you! I needed to read this today. I’ve been feeling dissatisfied with our small space, and this reminded me of why I like it and why we chose it in the first place! Being close to each other, having less to clean, and having less space to fill are high on our list, too. And the one time we lived in an apartment that wasn’t bounded on most sides by other units, our heating bill went through the roof. Sometimes it’s easy to forget the benefits of what you have, thinking of what you don’t have. Thanks for the reminder!
I’m so happy you were encouraged by this! That is great advice about looking for an apartment sandwiched in the middle as I hope to be apartment hunting in the not too distant future.
Fantastic points! :D We live in a two bedroom place, and we have plenty of space; not a ton, but plenty. I’m actually to the point that when we visit friends or family, I get frustrated that it’s hard to keep tabs on my son. I’m used to him never being more than a handful of steps away.
My frustration has more to do with renting — which feels like such a money pit — than the size of the space.
If it helps at all, I could give you a long list of the frustrations of owning too! :) I guess there’s no perfect situation.
Wonderful post. Minimalistic living is something that so many people think is a terrible, last resort thing, but it can be so beautiful, especially when it’s intentional!
Sometimes I forget that 99.9% of America does not agree with our minimalist lifestyle. It works so well for us that I could not imagine living any other way!
I love all of your positive points about being in a small space. Decluttering is so huge for me right now.
I’ve realized decluttering is a continual process for me. We’ve done two rounds all the way through cleaning out the house. After recently moving to an equally small house we realized we still have more we could get rid of! I think we’re kind of addicted to decluttering!
We have 7 people living in a nice size home. At times, dh will mention wanting a bigger home for more space to spread out. Nope, I don’t need more to clean. I’m just fine with what we have.
I must admit, I have a lot of trouble just keeping our small home clean, so I am sincere in saying I can’t imagine adding any extra rooms!
I have been embracing my small house lately too. It’s about as much as I can handle on a daily basis anyway. I do worry about when my kids all become teenagers though…
If they’re anything like I was, they’ll be so busy with their own activities at that age, they’ll never be at home anyway!
I am right with you! Especially on the less to clean part. Living little also keeps me disciplined about what I buy. Less clutter!
This makes me so happy. Our plan is to start our family and stay in our current, one bedroom condo until we can afford to buy a house we can stay in for the long run. A LOT of people think we’re crazy for not going to a bigger space with a family. But, it’s nice to know a lot of other people (happily) do it to :)
Although our home is bigger than that, I always say that I love our Master bath because it is so easy to clean. It is 4 feet by 3 feet (yes I have measured) I can clean it top to bottom, including scrubbing the floor on my hands and knees in about 5 minutes. I am not envious of those with huge master bath’s with double sinks, and a shower AND a tub.
I am also big on the decluttering right now. I don’t know how a family of three has accumulated so much stuff in 5 years!
we are expecting #4 and have a little less than 1400. i dont plan on moving, ever. =) what we have is more than sufficient for our needs. shoot, we barely use two rooms as it is.
I love the living in a small space. I owned a 960 sq. ft. home which was way too big for me. It was too hard to clean and keep up. The next house I buy needs to be smaller.