Being happy in the smaller house

[Maleod]

I know this is daft, but does anybody have any tips on how to be happy with staying in a smaller house?

We could afford a bigger place, but then we’d be spending another £15k that could go into savings.

Keep clutter to a minimum.
Think of all the things you can do as you haven't over stretched. Less cleaning. Less heating.

But how small is.small? Are you likely to need more space?

I'm an advocate for not having excessively massive spaces, but I also don't think you should cram yourself in somewhere too small.

Take in a hen and a cow and a goat for a week and then let them all out again.

😂

Moving to a slightly larger detached from a smaller terraced house saved my sanity after numerous neighbour, parking, noise, building issues / nonsense.

If you currently don’t dread coming home then stay put perhaps?

No longer having to hear my former NDN do one of her Debbie Does Dallas auditions with one of her latest Tinder victims gives me the greatest peace and the best night’s sleep.

It’s not an awful flat, it’s just a bit small. I think it’s about 500 sq ft.

How many people are living there?

But that 15k could be ‘invested’ in your next home which will have more value over time than the flat you are in now.

£15k what...a week, month, year, the price difference between buying your current house or a bigger one?
Depending on the affordability, I would almost always say the bigger house (unless it was in a worse location).

Is that 15k a year? 15k in total?

I'd rather have the house if it meant a better quality of life at home, but then I'm a hybrid worker and around a lot + myself and DH are massive so make big places feel small anyway 😂

I agree with this. If it is 15k in total rather than a year I would personally go for the bigger place.

I sometimes wonder about a bigger house but actually it’s more liking change for me - our current house is fine space wise with 2 children and they won’t always be here ((hopefully will grow up and be independent eventually!!) so this way we have smaller mortgage/ paid off sooner etc! Means might even be able to retire and enjoy it at some point rather than still teaching age 80..!

I prefer my current smaller house to my old bigger one. There is so much less cleaning to do and it feels cosier! Definitely warmer.

Brilliant response

I've gone from a very big house multiple bathrooms and bedrooms back to my one story home with one bathroom. I like I can hear the kids easily not have to search them out to check they are ok. I like less housework especially the bathrooms

My tips if you are desperate for space is shelving over doors. Heated clothes airer. Open windows for ventilation to avoid mould. Good under bed storage. IKEA kallax fit loads in. Take a smaller bedroom yourself do kids have space to store their toys in their room keep living areas les cluttered. Be militant with shoes jumpers and coats not left about. Extending/folding dining table. Make good use of outside space in summer it's like an extra room. if you have no loft get a decent shed. Keep pushchair in car. Kids beds with drawers even desk's and wardrobes under them. Mirrors

15k 🤔

15,000 a year

I’m currently contemplating downsizing and wondering how we would cope. Thinking of going down from our 4 bed detached with 2 bathrooms, to a 3 bed semi, 1 bathroom. Good storage I think is the answer.

That book is brilliant !! 😃😃

I'm trying to declutter and you know what - don't actually need more storage at all !

We're moving from a 4 bed, 3 bathroom town house to a small 3 bed semi.

We're downsizing to pay off the mortgage and lower costs. It's probably going to be our retirement house.

It's been a real process declutterring and getting my head around stuff we don't need.

We're going to fit PAX wardrobes in the spare/third room (fitted them in our current house) getting a small shed and going to try to keep the crap OUT!

I think the best thing we're doing is going to live with my parents for a few weeks whilst we wait for the purchase to go through.

Our new house will feel massive after living in their spare room 😂

Watch some episodes of ‘Love It or List It’ for inspiration. Think about what you really want/ need space to do and make sure you create that space for yourself in a really beautiful way. Also look out for ANY dead or underused space which you can repurpose. As others have said, have regular declutters and clear outs. Read Marie Kondo/ watch her on Netflix. Watch the Stacey Solomon show where they sort out people’s houses. Most people use the space they have very poorly and keep far too much stuff which they don’t need.