8 Reasons to Downsize Your Life

A bigger home with more stuff does not automatically lead to happiness. Happiness in life comes from being satisfied and grateful for what you do have and living in a way that is consistent with your principles and ideals. While we don’t all have to become minimalists to achieve happiness in a smaller home or even an RV or trailer, there are some major benefits to finding and living in a tiny house. Here are eight great reasons for downsizing your life and enjoying happiness in a smaller home.

1. Your Mortgage Will Be Lower

The more house you buy, the higher the price tag, usually. When you choose to buy a tiny house, you get the benefit of a tiny mortgage. The ratio of income to housing costs is on average recommended to be around 28%. But, if you reduced that to 15% of your income, you could really save some money.

It would be nice to have significantly more of your income to use for costs other than rent or a mortgage. A smaller mortgage means you have more money to put toward getting out of debt or building a good savings or whatever other financial goal you may be working towards.

2. You Will Have Less to Maintain

A homeowner with less square footage to maintain has got more freedom than someone with a great deal of house to take care of.

The smaller the home, the less vacuuming, mopping, dusting, painting and repairing that are needed. Small homes may also come with small lawns that need less mowing.

Along with the money you free up by having smaller monthly payments, a tiny house frees your time. You will get to pursue other hobbies and opportunities in your life once you are free of the time-intensive home maintenance jobs that inevitably accompany a large home.

3. You Are Forced to De-Clutter

With a smaller home, your options for hoarding large amounts of excess belongings are cut down. Most people do not enjoy the feeling of being cramped in their space. In fact, owning more than you actually need can increase your feelings of anxiety and stress. If you are serious about downsizing your life and living space, you will have to be serious about eliminating a significant portion of your stuff.

A small home will look cluttered more quickly than a larger home. Take advantage of the benefits of moving to a small home by decluttering your clothes, papers, decorations, kitchen items, books, toys, and anything else. Try out the KonMari Method with these tips and watch your stress dissolve as you disown everything that does not bring joy to your life.

To help you with this, we would suggest reading The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering & Organizing.

4. You Can Become More Efficient

So after you have decided what you really can live without in your smaller home, you have the unique opportunity of practicing greater efficiency. Think of the folks who live and work on a submarine or astronauts in space travel: everything has a place and all of one’s actions and motions are made to maximize efficiency and simplicity.

If you only have a week’s worth of kitchen and bath towels, you will have to become organized in your laundry routine or you’ll run out of fresh linens. If you only have the bare minimum number of dishes, you will have to be efficient at washing and drying your plates and utensils.

If you only have books on your shelves that you use frequently, you may find yourself enjoying your personal classics more often or even using the local library more to add variety to your reading and media without permanently adding items to your home shelves. You are able to find out how efficient and organized you can be when you live with less.

5. You Will Have Greater Flexibility

If you downsize to an RV, you can have the added benefits of complete mobility. You can even bring your pets along with you, so whenever your fancy strikes, you can travel to new destinations, visit family, or simply go on adventures without worrying about leaving your home behind.

One of the tedious tasks of travel when you have a large, permanent home is worrying about how your home will be maintained while you are away. Let go of the worry and start living your travel dreams with the flexibility of RV living. You won’t have to find a pet sitter or a house sitter or someone to water your plants while you’re away.

A tiny mobile house is key to a life full of adventure.

6. Enjoy More Bonding Time With Your Family

In a smaller home, you will find your family congregating together more frequently. When there are fewer places to hide, the kids and grownups can spend more time together in a cozy home.

Families who live in close quarters learn important lessons about how the actions of the individual affect the rest of the family. Your family can practice courteous and respectful habits as part of your daily living and enjoy being all together in your limited space.

7. Pay Off Your Home

A mortgage that you can afford is better than a mortgage you cannot afford, but do you know what is even better than a mortgage you can afford?

No mortgage at all! Imagine saving yourself the money you would have spent in interest over the lifetime of your loan if you pay off your entire mortgage more quickly. Apply the funds you’re saving by having a smaller mortgage to getting your entire mortgage paid-off.

The money you save with a smaller home payment can lead to no home payment and greater financial freedom.

8. Spend Less on Utilities

Smaller homes take less energy to heat and cool. Smaller yards require less water. As you consider the benefits of downsizing to a smaller home, remember that the money you spend on electricity, water and gas each month will be reduced with the size of the home. It is much easier to keep a small home warm in the winter and cool in the summer than a spacious house with lots of heat lost to the tall ceilings.

Enjoy increased freedom and flexibility that come with downsizing to a smaller home or even an RV. Spend less time and energy on maintaining and paying for your home and more on living your life.