Living in a Small Home - By Choice

[warramra]

I know small is relative, but I was just wondering how many people out there see living in a smaller home as a part of their frugal living. Our family of 6 + 2 retriever dogs, still live in our 'starter home.' It measures approximately 1430 sq feet in living space and has 3 bedrooms and 2 baths. We have had the opportunity to move to larger homes, but each time have chosen to stay where we are. Part of it is we bought prior to the market here going sky-high, bought when interest rates were low and then re-financed when they were even lower. Our mortgage, including insurance & taxes runs us approx $850/month. Then there is the cost of heating/cooling the larger space. The cost of moving. I had heart palpitations last year when we seriously considered moving and looked at houses & the costs.

More than that I feel that we have also chosen to be kinder to the environment by not moving into the newer, larger neighborhoods that have clear-cut lots and have houses that are built in mere days. We stay off the consumer track because we just can't fit that much stuff in the house.

On the other hand our families think we are nuts and not being 'fair' to our kids by making them share rooms and such. There are times that I feel like I can never get away from the rest of the family and we do have clutter - no matter how much I get rid of (I think it reproduces during the night). But I don't know how much this would change in a larger home.

Right now our two oldest girls share a room with bunk beds. I made the effort to give them each shelves and lamps for each bunk. We use under the bed for some toy storage. I also removed the dressers and used those cubicle systems for storing clothes and small toys. The youngest dd is in the 'nursery' in her toddler bed, she will be moved to the girls' bedroom when ds is ready to go in his crib. Right now, he is in our room in a bassinet and we moved his changing table in there also. The nursery is also the large toy storage area.

Some ideas I have had for 'space saving' include purchasing a new LCD tv to hang over the firplace so we could get rid of the huge tv cabinet in the Family Room and replacing two large chairs in the FR for a loveseat. So far these have been cost prohibitive - but as the cost comes down it is more likely. Somethings we already do include: using a bench at the dinner table so the table is closer to the wall than able with chairs, it also allows us to sit three children on that side of the table, bins, some pantry storage in the garage, rotating children's toys.

So, do you consider your housing choice as part of your frugal living? If you do live in a smaller home with a family do you have any suggestions for containing clutter, maximizing space and multiple children sharing rooms, but wanting their own personal space?

Thanks,

Amy

[Michelle68]

Good question. We, like you, live in a smaller home also. We could actually "afford' to buy a house that costs two times as much as what we paid for ours and would probably be at least 1000 sq. ft. bigger, but we like not having to put all our money each month toward a house payment, therefore freeing up money for savings and doing things we enjoy. Our house is 1230 sq.ft in size and our payment (with taxes and insurance) is $710/month. Of course, we only have two kids so they each have their own room, but our DD is now 18 and after college will be on her own. I can't see the logic of moving into a bigger house when we've got enough room for all of us now and will have extra room once she moves out.

Another advantage of living in a smaller home is that it takes so little time to clean. I told my DH on Christmas Eve, right before his family arrived, that I'm so glad that it only takes an hour or two to really clean our house top to bottom. Living in a smaller home also forces us to get rid of extra stuff on a regular basis. I hate clutter so when we start accumulating too many things something has to go. Freecycle is my best friend.

Many years ago people did just fine in what we would now call smaller homes. Kids shared rooms because people had larger families and people seemed to be able to cope quite well without large walk-in closets, giant pantries and big baths. I'll admit to experiencing a twinge of envy now and then when I go to a friend's new 3000 sq. ft. home with these features (especially the giant pantry) but then I then I think about the fact that we will hopefully have our house paid off within 6-7 years, we have an emergency fund, don't use credit and are able to put our DD through junior college and do fun things with the kids every now and without sweating it and I appreciate my little house all the more.


--Michelle

[MOMMYDEAREST]

we live in a rather large home. i hate everyone being on top of each other. our house payment is $699.00. plus i do foster care out of my home, so i have to have enough room for the extra kids. before this house, we lived in a 900 sq feet house.........very small........very uncomfortable. it all depends what you can afford!!!

[JustJoy]

I definitely do! DH and I own a 2 bedroom, 2 bath condo which is fairly good size...can't remember the exact square footage. We are on the ground floor of a 4 unit building. We have a garage and a large 3/4 fenced in patio. It's the perfect size for the two of us and our 2 dogs. This is the second marriage for both of us and we've both had single family homes in the past. We were sick and tired of lawn maintence, snow shoveling, etc... We do live in a fairly expensive neighborhood though and our taxes are quite high. We also have to pay $255/mo for association fees, but that covers lawn maintenance, snow shoveling, water, sewer and garbage pickup among other things.

Having a smaller place definitely cuts down on the heating bills during the winter and cooling bills in the summer.

[sunshine]

We raised 3 kids in a small home--- 3 bedrooms and *gasp* ONE bath! ( the kids rooms are 8x10 and 10x 12) We also did the bunk bed thing for the boys. . .

Thankfully I have a large kitchen and living room (1950's era farm house) So the kids basically were only in their rooms to sleep. We encouraged them to stay in the main rooms of the house by buying board games, etc.

As for the clutter--- I don't have any magic answers for that, sure wish I did! We do have a rule that anything new comes in the house-- something old ,MUST go out. So if they get a new T-shirt for Christmas, they have to get rid of a T-shirt, before they put it away.

I don't know where our society got the idea that sharing a room is "depriving" our kids. . . nearly all my friends shared rooms as we were growing up, and my mom's generation shared beds!

[thrifty gal]

We live in a 1900 sq ft home. We have 3 bedrooms, and only 1 bath. Our mortgage payment is $580 a month. We have looked into moving, but it would be much more expensive for us, and plus we do really like it here.

[JEM]

We are just short of 1000 sq feet I beleive. For the longest time I really wanted to move. But the housing market here is crazy! We could get a lot for our house but would have to move way out and we would have a larger mortgage. Mortgage now is 750.00 and I don't want to pay more than that! Our dd's (2) are both in HS so I just don't think it would be worth it anymore and really I don't want to commute to my jobs! Right now I only have a 10 minute drive to either.
I just don't think anybody has the right to tell you that your children are deprived?!
What a load of you know what! My kids rooms are tiny and I don't think that it is a problem. Since they are teenagers if their rooms were bigger I would probablly never see them!

[NCGirl]

My grandparents grew up in 5 or 6 room farmhouses, the girls all shared a room and the boys all shared a room. And came from families with 8+ children. I grew up in a 3 bedroom 1 1/2 bath house that was probably 1300sf. We were fine.

Making your poor kids share a bedroom, the shame!!! LOL Of course it is fine. It has only been in the last 20 years or so that people would even consider that abnormal. And I have to say that the average family today is perhaps NOT heading in the right direction.

I think teaching your childeren the value of a dollar is more important to their future than each child having their own room.

[Bethany]

Great thread! We actually live in a house that is quite large to us (2200 square feet about). We live in a four bedroom, three bath home with a dining room, large kitchen, laundry room, sun room, living room and family room. It sits on an acre. It is an old old house and we love it dearly. HOWEVER, our home is very time consuming in terms of maintenance. We try to keep costs down by primarily heating with burning wood. My husband spends about 6 full weekends a year maintaining yard and lawn (and it's not a well-manicured landscape.) I spend a good deal of time cleaning. We do keep clutter to non-existence, I don't allow any clutter, knick knacks, etc. Our home decor is minimal. We bought this house before I began living in a more purposeful frugal manner, but my husband and I truly enjoy this home so much, that we take all the work it needs in stride. I would be able to be happy in a much smaller space, but I think my husband would go stir crazy.

[nuisance26]

~My house is TINY!750 sq ft. But it was what we could afford to buy in a safe neighborhood when we got married. I've never regretted the decision because now we have $30K in equity and appreciation in this house. We wouldn't be able to say that if we'd rented. I'm not against kids sharing rooms or bathrooms if they're the same gender. My kids share a room but that can't last forever. Since size and space is relative, my personal preference is for a small house; somewhere between 1000-1600 square feet with a basement. Small keeps the costs down and the family close but not on top of each other. I need my space. I grew up in a house less than 1000 sq ft with 4 other siblings and my parents. Only one bathroom. I didn't like that and when we trade up I want 2 bathrooms! DH grew up in a family of 5 in a 900 sq ft house. It's what we're used to I guess. DH and I look at house plans online and wonder what we'd ever do with a 3000 sq ft house. I can't imagine cleaning 4X what I do now. No way!~

[my4littlebuffaloes]

We used to live in a house that size, until I got pregnant with #4, then we moved. That house was 1900 sq feet. Then we moved to OH and in order to get a kitchen large enough for our table and the 6 of us to eat in, we ended up with a 2300 sq ft house. It is bigger than we need, dh and I both felt that the 1900 sq ft house was the right size for us.

All of that to say, my boys have always shared a room. when we moved into this house, it has 4 bedrooms, we put the boys again in the 1 room and the girls in the 1 room. So now we actually have a guest room. I see no problem with having kids share. I do not know how it will be when they are older though. My 8 year old needs a space of his own, but there isn't much I can do about it. I just try to keep the 4 year old out of his room if he is working on something special, or little pieces, etc. Good luck!

Jennifer

[redhead68]

Great thread!

We are currently renting a pretty large home by some of your standards: 2200 sq. ft. We recently relocated to a new state and didn't know where we wanted to live; thus, the rental. It's more space when we need, but at least my son has enough room to set up the entire "Island of Sodor" with his Thomas the Tank Engine set! And, my husband has an office in our fourth bedroom, which allows him to work at home a couple of days a week.

That said, this house takes more time to clean than our previous house, which was 1440 sq. ft., and it has a big lawn, which takes a lot of time to maintain and money to keep watered. We are currently looking for a slightly smaller house, but they are difficult to find in our area, believe it or not. Most houses are newer and in the 2000 sq. ft. range, plus they're oddly designed.

It's been a frustrating search, but I'm not giving up yet.

Oh, and I see no problem with kids sharing a room. My son and daughter shared a room with bunkbeds until the oldest turned eight. It worked great, because it allowed for our third bedroom to become a playroom.

[danni]

Our family of 7, plus cats and dog live in a 1100sq ft mobile, and it will be paid off by June 2008. In 4 yrs at the earliest we want to buy a house(hate the pad rent), but it will be about the same size as our trailer.

We have 4 bedrooms and the 2 teenage girls share, the twin boys have the 2 smaller rooms right now, but when the 3yr old is ready to sleep in her own bed she will get one of the rooms and the twins will share a room.

I hated living in bigger places it was just so much more work. As for the clutter I can relate to that, I'm sure it breeds in dark closets. I have the same rule as sunshine, "if something new comes in, then something old must go out."
It drives my kids and dh crazy because they are all packrats.

[Neeley]

We have approx 2700 sq ft of living space (3 br/2 bath) and the payment is only $1000 a month. I am different from most everyone else in that I want a bigger house than I have now - but I love my yard/pool (lots of outdoor play space for kids and pets).

[Telephus44]

I do think that living in a smaller house is more frugal and better for the environment (smaller footprint). That said, everyone also has their own preferences and needs. Right now DH and I are in a 900 sq foot apartment with a small baby, and it is working out for us. When we buy a house (hopefully next year!) we'd like two additional rooms plus a basement for DH's computers - we're hoping to find something around 1400 sq. feet. We'd like to leave room for having either a guest room or one more child. Right now we have a nursery/living room, so it would be nice to have at least one room that can be just for kids!