We live in a society where people frequently purchase huge lavish houses in an effort to flaunt their social status and fit in within a certain “lifestyle” they deem superior. For many the cost of these homes digs a huge hole in their pockets and they ultimately have to forgo their other desires and expenses. Or they may work extra jobs or hours to keep this lifestyle afloat at the expense of their families and their health.
If you take a quick look back in time, you’ll see that smaller homes historically were the norm for most of us. In 1950, the average home size was roughly around 900 square feet but home size made a significant jumped up to 2350 square feet by 2004. That is a huge leap for just a few decades. Lately the trend has reversed a bit, with the increasing price of real estate and the cost of maintenance going up. People are again shifting towards the purchase of much smaller and compact houses rather than purchasing a huge house which is not in their budget. The tiny house movement is gaining some traction as more folks realize that bigger is not better. Here are some of the reasons why small houses are an investment in a happier, richer life:
Small homes costs less
Homebuyers tend to forget the fact that the expense of buying a huge house does not end with the initial purchase. The cost of maintaining it and decorating it also tends to get steep. A big house means a big roof. A big house means a large furnace, perhaps two. The bigger the house the more square footage needs to be maintained. It also costs more to heat and cool large houses, LOTS more. On the other hand, small homes costs less in all these areas and your money can go to more important things and you can usually pay off your home faster, because it was more affordable to begin with.
Small houses save time
It takes a significant amount of time to clean a big house and maintain the yard, unless you hire a cleaning crew and a landscaping company to come in every week. In that case see the point I made above about money. Living in a small house means you spend less time cleaning and maintaining.
Small houses help you live with simplicity and intention
When you live in small house you have to think carefully about what you buy and what you keep. A small house can get cluttered because space is an issue. Thus you are forced to make purchases carefully and mindfully. You are also much more likely to attack clutter and to simplify. A lifestyle that requires you to “think” rather than exist on autopilot is much preferred.
Smaller homes mean more quality
It costs a small fortune to upgrade countertops, hard wood floors, cabinets and appliances in a restaurant sized kitchen. You have to buy so much more that you may have to make sacrifices in terms of quality. You can renovate or improve a small home using your first choice materials because you don’t need much. You may also be able to buy better furniture, art, or tech because you have more wiggle room in the budget thanks to your humble abode. Your money goes further and buys more.
Small homes may be easier to sell
Energy costs and housing costs continue to rise. The economy is unreliable at best. That means energy efficient homes, especially small affordable homes, will be always be high in demand in the future, which makes them easier to sell off if one needs to.
Smaller homes mean more togetherness
A happy benefit of having less room to spread out is that families spend more time together. You spend more time together at home because you have less room to sprawl out and it may also mean that you opt to get out together more often.
The advantages of living in a smaller home are pretty clear and hopefully this is a trend that will gain some steam in the future as more people realize they are overworked, in debt, and losing out on meaningful family time. The new America dream should be about seeing past the consumerist bull-crap being sold to us and saying “no thanks, I don’t need it.”
Great tips, often times people buy things they don’t need. Smaller house smaller bills!
We need to think more like the Swedes and many other Euopeans..their goal is not to impress anyone. In fact, people with very large homes are usually looked at in a negative way. (Why are they being so foolish? or They must be Americans..who thing big is better.) That’s why Europeans vacation more and spend more time with family. They are more concerned about quality than quantity. Americans are much more worried about “looking rich”… How about being rich in family time and togetherness and more time for vacations (and more money to do it).
Those are things I had not thought about! So many positives!
WOW! You make it sounds like living in a small house is a good thing!! lol! DH and I always argue. I think our 3 bedroom, 5 person house is perfect. He says everyone needs their own space.
Love this post. If you build smaller you can afford many sustainable options that will be out of your reach normally.
we have a small house. we’re crowded. but it also makes us work to get along, and be really organized. and i’d rather be in a small house we can afford comfortably than a larger home we can’t!
We moved from a tiny house to a house double the size a few years ago. I thought I would love having the space. I now realize how much more I have to vacuum and I don’t really use the downstairs at all.
Thanks for the post Tiffany. Thought provoking. We live in a 1000 sqf house in Clintonville & I’m always tryin to find ways to keep clutter down……my biggest gripe! All in all, I don’t think Id opt for a bigger place just cause a bank said we could afford it.
I live in the UK my tiny house is 609 sft, a little too small!
We are a family of 5 and live in a 1000 sq ft home. When looking for a home we debated building a new house and decided thgete ate so many vacant homes already let’s go that route. We constantly get the “you need to move to a bigger house” from family and friends, but our home is paid off, its just how we want it. We have a large yard and are across the street from a lake. Its perfect for us. Cash we afford bigger, yes, but we chose not to. For reasons you stated more house work for me, the excuse to buy more BC we have more room, more maintenance. I love our house we made a home. We prefer to by used in most situations, cars, clothes, anything we can. So much wasted natural resources and money in production for unnessecary items. Thanks for sharing this. Live Simply! ;)
We live in a small town home, 1,000 sf, 2 bedrooms and 1 bath. With 4 people and possibly a 5th on the way, we feel cramped. Just one more bedroom and an extra bath room would help.
I think my biggest problem is organization. I can not get all of our things put away where they are easily accessible. I have been giving away and removing things from our house for years, but it does not seem to help.