7 Reasons To Love Downsizing

Moving to a much smaller home has been a rewarding experience that has resulted in a more peaceful life. It really is a journey or a process to begin downsizing. For me, it took time, even with careful planning.

We now live in a home that is almost half of the size as our previous homes. Now that two of our children are adults, we only have one college-aged child living with us. We feel like empty-nesters, because this child is pretty much independent.

Living in a smaller home means that a great percentage of our furniture wasn’t needed. Much of the extra furniture was offered to our children. Whatever furniture they didn’t need was donated to someone else who could use it. This made our moving to a new state so much easier.

Downsizing is a sure way to lower your utility bills, too. With less rooms to heat and cool the electric and gas bills are lower. We downsized our wardrobes, and that makes less clothes to store. I like the way the closet isn’t so crammed, and I don’t keep clothes that I will not wear. Donating the extra clothes gives someone else the chance to use.

Having less clutter in the cabinets and drawers makes me feel more peaceful. Cabinets crammed with items that I might use once or twice is wasteful and frustrating. It makes me unhappy to need to unstack and move everything to get an item from the back corner. Again, we donated unwanted items.

I’m less likely to buy more stuff, when there is no place to put it. That not only keeps clutter away, but saves the bank account. Being retired, there isn’t an ever-growing bank account. It has been much easier to get and stay organized when I have less stuff.

Downsizing has helped me to be more creative. As I decided what furnishings to keep, I re-examined my personal style. Selecting furnishings that made me truly comfortable and cozy has created a look that I love.

Downsizing and simplifying our home has made me feel like my mind is more clear. When I look around, there is less of a mess. I’ve only kept things that are beautiful to me. Quickly putting excess paper into the recycling box means that it’s out of sight.

Time is so valuable, and downsizing means less time spent on things I don’t love. I don’t like to do housework (who does?) and now there is less house to clean. There is less flooring to vacuum or mop. There is less furniture to dust. You get the picture. There’s also less grass to mow. (we’re renting temporarily, so there’s no grass to mow).

Have you downsized or are you thinking about downsizing? In 2019, many baby boomers are choosing not to downsize. There are pros and cons to everything, but I am very happy with the choice we’ve made. The benefits have been perfect for me and my family.

@2019, copyright Lisa Ehrman

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Lisa Ehrman

Lisa has been blogging since 2013, and loves sharing resources and ideas for living a simple life. To get free printables, bonus words, and more - sign up for the newsletter.

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