Living in a Small Home: Advantages and Disadvantages

Advantages

1. The most obvious advantage is saving money. Living in a small home means lower power bills, lower tax bills, and lower insurance premiums.
2. There is less maintenance involved in a small home.
3. A small home is easier and quicker to clean. That allows more free time for you to pursue hobbies and interests. It allows for more time to socialize if you choose to do so.
4. A small home is environmentally advantageous. A small home encourages simplified living which means less waste, less clutter, less use of power, and less water consumption.
5. When living in a small home all of the space is utilized. Power isn’t wasted heating and cooling unused rooms.

Challenges

1. Moving into a small home requires some planning. It requires simplification of lifestyle. Many unused items need to be donated to charity or discarded. There’s no room for clutter or unused items in a small home.
2. Creative decorating is necessary when living in a small home.
3. Storage issues must be addressed but can be easily conquered.
4. Maintaining privacy for those living in a small home is essential but certainly not an impossibility.

Helpful suggestions

1. Utilize every bit of space available. When searching for storage space use what may often be overlooked spaces such as over the cabinets, under the bed, corners, over the door, and inside closet walls. There is a huge supply of baskets, bins, boxes, hooks, and shelving systems available to assist you in maintaining order in a small home.
2. Some people have the misconception that a small house must be furnished with small pieces of furniture. That isn’t necessarily so. A large computer cabinet can serve as a storage area for your computer and also as a home office area for monthly bookkeeping, a place to store office supplies, and a place to file mail. This one large piece of furniture can make a room look less crowded than several pieces of furniture such as a desk, a file cabinet, and storage bins scattered throughout the room.
3. A baker’s rack in the kitchen or dining area and a wardrobe in the bedroom also work well.
4. Respecting the privacy of others is important no matter what size house you live in. In a small home decorative screens or bookcases can provide a useful means of dividing personal space.
5. If possible, utilize outdoor space. Create an outdoor living area on a porch, patio, or deck. Consider this an extension of your home.

Living in a small home saves you money, is good for the environment, requires less physical work, simplifies your life, and allows you more free time for pursuing other interests. Small home living is becoming a popular trend. An internet search of this concept provides you with many suggestions and ideas for pursuing this trend.