While I do love where I’m at now (and plan on being here forever) I still reminisce from time to time over our last house that was quite a bit smaller.
Here are four big benefits of living in a small house.
Less Upkeep
This is one is huge for me. Especially since I like to renovate and redecorate houses to be exactly what I want. With a smaller home I felt more than capable of doing almost everything by myself.
I would plan out how I wanted a room to look and then dive right in. I could get most rooms completely finished within a couple of weeks. Now that we’re in a newer house with rooms that are 2-3 times the size, this just isn’t so.
I spent almost 20 hours painting a living room and have just as much time stripping wallpaper out of an office. (And I’ve still got 4 more wall papered rooms to go!)
The upkeep on a smaller house whether that be redecorating, cleaning or just general maintenance is much easier.
Higher Energy Efficiency
The smaller the home the easier it is to heat and cool. We’ve seen our electric bill triple in the winter at the new house and we even supplement with wood heat! It takes a lot more energy to keep a bigger house warm, there’s really no way around it. (Trust me, I’ve been looking for that magic solution.)
Less Money Spent on Furniture
As your space expands with a larger house so will your furniture. (Unless you’re into unfurnished rooms, which is cool too…)
While I gladly accept hand me downs you might find yourself spending a whole lot more money on furniture the bigger you go in house size.
Cheaper Property Tax and Homeowner’s Insurance
Another pro to living in a smaller house in that you’ll (generally speaking) have a lower property tax and insurance which will help keep that mortgage payment down.
Sure, there are also some cons to living in a smaller house but there are a lot of pros as well. If you’re currently in a small house dreaming of finding something bigger just remember, the grass isn’t always greener on the other side.