The Upside To Downsizing: 18 Benefits Of Living In A Smaller Space
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There comes a time in many people’s lives (Some sooner than others!) that the draw of having a larger home starts to lose its appeal. Big homes have more space, but with that extra space comes extra responsibilities that aren’t quite so attractive. More rooms and more space in a home mean more chores and upkeep that needs to be done.
Even with the many upsides to downsizing, downsizing isn’t always an easy process. When you downsize you not only have to reduce the items that you own, you also have to transform the way that you think when making future purchases. With that new way of thinking though, comes the ability to make much more informed and well thought out decisions when spending money and choosing to take up space in your smaller living quarters.
Take a look below at the myriad of benefits, ranging from monetary to mindset, that come along with downsizing.
- Reduced Cleaning – Who wants to spend more time cleaning? No one! One of the many great things about living in a smaller space is that there are less rooms, spaces and square footage to clean. Just think of everything you could do with all of that saved time!
- Less Upkeep – Having a big house means that there are more areas that you need to keep up with and more places that will eventually need maintenance. The backyard, the basement, the attic, the extra bedrooms, etc.
- More Freedom – When you have less responsibilities, and having a house is a large responsibility and a large possession that keeps you tethered to it, you have more freedom to go where you want to go and do what you please when you want to.
- Better Buyer – When you downsize and transition to a smaller space you have to change your spending habits and become a more conscientious shopper. This is a good thing though! Most people when making purchases don’t put enough thought into whether or not they really need, or have the space for, what it is that they’re about to buy.
- Smaller Mortgage – A downsize can equal savings on monthly mortgage payments, or no mortgage payment at all!
- Less Junk – A lot of times when we have a large space, we have this need to fill it up and usually what that space gets filled up with is junk. Tchotchkes, decorative items, pieces of furniture that aren’t functional, etc. When you have a smaller space you become much more specific about what you use to fill that space up with.
- More Flexibility – Reduced responsibility, less cleaning and upkeep mean more flexibility for you to do the things that you enjoy. Like to travel? Go on vacation! Want to go out to dinner at that new restaurant? Do it!
- Reduced Stress – Clutter has been proven to have many negatives effects, and one of these effects are increasing our stress levels, and ultimately spiking our anxiety. We could all do with less stress in our lives, why add onto it when we don’t have to?
- A Shifted Focus – Now, just because you have downsized doesn’t mean that you need to all of a sudden become a minimalist but living smaller certainly does get you closer to that sort of lifestyle. You begin to see what things you really need, what you don’t need and you make more educated decisions about what you bring into your life.
- Save On Energy Costs – Less rooms and space mean less energy going towards heating and cooling your home so you’ll be using less energy and saving on your utility costs. Not to mention less rooms to leave lights, electronics and appliances on in without your knowledge!
- Smaller Carbon Footprint – Downsizing usually means you’ll be using less resources and, as mentioned above, smaller homes use less energy thus decreasing your carbon footprint.
- More Time For Traveling – All of that time that you’re not spending cleaning, maintaining and worrying about your big home can lead to more time spent traveling! The money you save from decreased energy costs, less frivolous spending and lower living expenses can go towards airfare, hotel stays, food budget and foreign activities.
- Decreased Property Insurance – A smaller home has the advantage of lower property insurance rates.
- Not As Much Wasted Space – Forget about having useless space that you’re paying for when it comes to utility costs and filling up with pointless stuff, when you live in a smaller place, there is basically no such thing as wasted space. Instead you make sure that all of your space is being used optimally.
- Opportunity To Turn Over A New Leaf – There is something very freeing about starting over in a new place. It gives you the opportunity to not only create a brand new living space, but to reflect on yourself and find out what’s truly important to you, in your new home and outside of it.
- New Space To Decorate – If you’re someone who enjoys decorating, design and organizing things, you’re going to love having a new place to get creative with. Try out new things, move furniture around, paint the walls, invest in smart storage solutions and make your new place feel like home.
- Increased Cash Flow For Other Things – In addition to traveling, the money that you save living in a smaller space can go towards other things like taking up a new hobby, eating out more, going on day trips, seeing movies, and other personal/family interests.
- You Don’t Have To Get Rid Of Everything – For some reason when people hear the word downsizing they automatically think that they have to get rid of everything that they own, but that’s not the case at all! When downsizing you’re getting rid of the things that you no longer need, or that you really never even needed in the first place. Have you found that you have some things that you need, but don’t have space for them? Then store those things with a storage facility and treat that facility as an extension of your home! Storing things like holiday decorations and out of season clothing with a full service storage company like Zippboxx is perfect because not only does it clear up space seasonally, you never even need to drive to and from the storage facility since pickups and deliveries are one of the many things that on demand storage offers!
Rob Marchese
Rob Marchese is one of the founders of Zippboxx Moving and Storage. Since the start of the company it's been Rob's mission to change the way the moving industry is perceived. The number one goal is to make the moving and storage process as stress free as possible for each and every customer. "The way we do this is by honesty, transparency, and providing a high quality of service."