It listed 12 reasons why people might be happier in a smaller home and she listed reason #8 as one that was important to her. I love it when people don't spell things out because it forces me to read the entire article.
I grew up in a small town in Nebraska in a small house. Many of my friends lived in much larger homes and it never crossed my mind why my family did not.
Our house had a living room that was a decent size, a small-ish kitchen that, looking back, I think my mother despised. We barely had room for a table in there! There was just one long countertop that went across one wall and had the sink in the middle.
There were 2 small bedrooms and 1 tiny full bathroom on the main level.
From the kitchen, there were stairs that led to the big unfinished basement.
My baby brother and I shared a bedroom on the main level until I was in junior high and then my parents created a room for me in the basement. I loved that room! Dad made a folding pegboard wall to section off space for me and it was awesome!
The house was on a huge corner lot and had a driveway in the front yard and a detached garage in the back on the alley (remember alleys?!?)
The driveway had peonies on 2 sides. If I close my eyes, I can see them and smell them like I'm 8 years old sitting next to them on a sunny spring day.
My parents moved out of that house when I was in my early 20s. It was a bigger and newer house, but it was never my home. They later moved to a bigger city in Nebraska and built a beautiful home that they love.
But for me, home will always be that little house on the corner. It might have been barely 1,000 square feet. Can you imagine raising 2 kids in that house with only 1 bathroom? And parking your car in a driveway in a harsh snowy Nebraska winter?
That house was full of life and love. It's the house where my parents brought home my little brother. It's the house where we all sat around a little round kitchen table to eat the meals that my mother cooked with love. We had family holiday celebrations with the whole extended family in that little space. My neighborhood friends would come over to play baseball and kickball in our big yard that had perfect landmarks for the bases...driveway for home base, front porch for first base, and trees for second and third.
Remember that kitchen that I'm sure my mother hated? One of my favorite childhood memories is of her having me lay down on the kitchen counter so she could wash my hair in the sink. I remember looking up at her while she was gently rubbing shampoo into my hair and thinking she was so pretty.
Those moments are what I think made our home. My memories aren't about how big my bedroom was or the finishes in the bathroom. They are about spending time as a family inside that house.
So when you're thinking about buying a home; don't feel obligated to purchase a large home that may not be what you really need. Don't be afraid to look at smaller houses!
Consider these 12 reasons why you’ll actually be happier in a smaller house:
- Easier to maintain. Anyone who has owned a house knows the amount of time, energy, and effort to maintain it. All things being equal, a smaller home requires less of your time, energy, and effort to accomplish that task.
- Less time spent cleaning. And that should be reason enough…
- Less expensive. Smaller homes are less expensive to purchase and less expensive to keep (insurance, taxes, heating, cooling, electricity, etc.).
- Less debt and less risk. Dozens of on-line calculators will help you determine “how much house you can afford.” These formulas are based on net income, savings, current debt, and monthly mortgage payments. They are also based on the premise that we should spend “28% of our net income on our monthly mortgage payments.” But if we can be more financially stable and happier by only spending 15%… then why would we ever choose to spend 28?
- Mentally Freeing. As is the case with all of our possessions, the more we own, the more they own us. And the more stuff we own, the more mental energy is held hostage by them. The same is absolutely true with our largest, most valuable asset. Buy small and free your mind.
- Less environmental impact. A smaller home requires less resources to build and less resources to maintain. And that benefits all of us.
- More time. Many of the benefits above (less cleaning, less maintaining, mental freedom) result in the freeing up of our schedule to pursue the things in life that really matter – whatever you want that to be.
- Encourages family bonding. A smaller home results in more social interaction among the members of the family. And while this may be the reason that some people purchase bigger homes, I think just the opposite should be true.
- Forces you to remove baggage. Moving into a smaller home forces you to intentionally pare down your belongings.
- Less temptation to accumulate. If you don’t have any room in your house for that new treadmill, you’ll be less tempted to buy it in the first place (no offense to those of you who own a treadmill… and actually use it).
- Less decorating. While some people love the idea of choosing wall color, carpet color, furniture, window treatments, decorations, and light fixtures for dozens of rooms, I don’t.
- Wider market to sell. By its very definition, a smaller, more affordable house is affordable to a larger percentage of the population than a more expensive, less affordable one.
Some interesting reads:
And one to for listening:
If you'd like to talk about starting your search for a new home, contact me anytime. There are houses of all shapes, sizes and prices listed right now in Lawrence, KS! Let's look at them together!
Heather Hasler Homes For Sale
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