7 Benefits to Downsizing and Living in a Smaller Home

My husband and I recently bought our forever home on 2 acres. We moved out of a house we built that was 3,500 square feet, into an older home just a little over 2,000 square feet. I shared a new home tour in my last blog post HERE, if you want to check it out! I’m not going to lie it was a little scary losing that much space. We are a family of five and we all value our own personal spaces, but I’m here to tell you it’s not that scary once you just do it! In fact, I’m 110% happier in a smaller home. Let me share with you why. Here are 7 benefits to downsizing and living in a smaller home.

1. Cuts Down on Cleaning Time

This is a huge plus! When I lived in our 3,500 square foot home with two floors and 4 bathrooms, just thinking about doing a whole house clean was exhausting. It would take me a couple of days to really clean everything. Not to mention the effort and time it took to keep that much space tidy on the daily. I often found myself overwhelmed and not fully enjoying my home like I should. Now it takes me less than a day to clean! Plus with everything on one floor, it’s super easy to run through and straighten up. Honestly, just eliminating the 2 bathrooms was a game changer! I don’t know about you, but bathrooms are my least favorite cleaning chore. I was not even a little sad to see those go.

2. Gives More Time for Other Things

This goes hand in hand with cutting down on cleaning time. If you spend less time cleaning, you have more time for other things! I have noticed that I enjoy my home so much more when I actually have the time to enjoy it. I also really struggled with balancing my time. Being a Mom, a wife, a blogger, a YouTuber, on social media, etc. it was hard to truly balance and be good at all of those things, which a lot of the time made me feel like I was failing. Downsizing to a smaller home has allowed me more freedom with my time and that, to me, is invaluable.

3. Forces Organization

We are all about organization here! I love when everything has a place and is beautifully organized, however I do struggle with keeping things organized. That is part of the reason I created this blog, to help motivate and inspire not only myself, but others as well. It’s easier to keep a smaller home organized because it’s necessary. There is not a single cabinet or closet I’m embarrassed by here in our new home! I am being very intentional with what I’m keeping and how I’m organizing because I need to be. If you don’t have the extra spaces, such as big closets or extra cabinets, you don’t feel the need to just randomly shove things away to forget about. This is what I did with certain spaces in my last home and I would tell myself I’d organize them later. With less space to work with everything needs to serve a purpose and needs to have a specific place within your home or it just becomes clutter.

4. Eliminates Clutter

This brings me to my next point. Clutter! When you have a bigger space, you tend to hold onto things that you don’t really need. When we were packing, I found so many things that I didn’t even remember I had. Such an unnecessary waste of space. If you have less storage spaces, you will look at every thing you have and determine if it’s something you truly want or need. Also, when you have more counter space things tend to pile up and that’s easy to ignore when you have the extra room. When you have less, it’s necessary to keep clean and clear so you can actually use it.

5. Creates More Family Time

I love this one! Now with everyone being on the same floor, we see each other so much more. In our old house, the kids would disappear upstairs in their rooms and I never went up there during the day. They each still have their own rooms, but I’ve noticed in this house they come out much more often than before. Not only that, but I can easily check in on them which also helps with keeping their rooms clean! Another thing that has helped create more family time is living on 2 acres. We traded in our big home for land and that was the best decision we ever made. Now we have a pool and are working on a garden, so we have a lot of space to spend outside together!

6. Makes It Easier to Furnish and Decorate

We lived in our old house for 2 years and I never finished decorating it. To be honest, it wasn’t even close. There were just so many spaces that needed attention, and it can get expensive! If you have a smaller home, it’s easier to actually finish. I’ve never had a fully decorated home, so I am super excited for the day when that becomes a reality. In that same respect, it can be less expensive to renovate as well. If you have a smaller kitchen for example, it’ll be less to re-do or update. Gotta love those perks!

7. Simplifies Life and Reduces Anxiety

This is big for me, personally. If you’ve been around reading my blog, you know I struggle with anxiety. Simplifying my life by creating a space that I could manage has been life changing. I used to think that we needed a big, fancy home and that when you accomplished this goal, you’ve really made it in life. Right? I was so wrong! Sure, that can work for some people, don’t get me wrong. These are just my thoughts and maybe you can relate to them.

I loved my 3,500 square foot home. It was beautiful. It had a space for everyone and more, but if I’m truly being honest with myself I wasn’t happy there. My anxiety was high, I got super overwhelmed, and I wasn’t living my best, authentic life. I had succumbed to keeping up with the Jones’, trying to always have the best things. None of that made me happy. Being in this older, smaller home, with all of its little flaws gives me such a sense of peace.

“A home with fewer possessions is more spacious, more calming, and more focused on the people who live inside it.”

Joshua becker

I love this quote and will forever live by it!

If you’ve ever thought about downsizing but are scared it’ll feel like you are on top of each other and you don’t have enough space for things. That’s absolutely right. You will probably feel all of that at one point or another, but you get used to it. You learn to live with less stuff, you learn to enjoy spending more time together, you learn to see the positives of a smaller space instead of the negatives. It’s not for everyone, but if you feel the pull to simplify your life and downsize – do it. I promise you will feel so free when you do!

Which of the 7 benefits to downsizing and living in a smaller home do you like the idea of the most!? Let me know in the comments!