Living in Abundance with Less

 The Brownstone

Vertical Living:  Small Square Footage per Floor

  Multiple Stories

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Decades ago, I read a pocket-sized book on living a simplistic life.

It was extreme. I just couldn’t reduce my wardrobe to white, black, navy and beige. Cannot and will not live without color.

The book encouraged readers to ride a bike to the grocery store. I wasn’t about to give up my beloved car (which I named the day it was gifted to me by my husband). No thanks.

I don’t remember the title of the book or every written principle of pure living, but it made such an indelible impression.

Why write about this to you?

Perhaps, you may be facing a transitional period in your life. You could be wondering…To Downsize? Or Not? (Or just maybe, you know someone who is seeking a new start in a smaller space.)

Hope this post helps in some way.

Here’s a recount of how we ended up re-sizing our home not once, but twice!

 

Ever since I was a little girl, I loved homes that were cozy and quaint. So when in college, I loved apartment dwelling as a coed. And as a newlywed, I adored city condominium living.

But as a young mom, I decided to build a home from the ground up – for our growing family of two boys and two dogs and several hamsters and a gerbil.

It was a place to make memories. It was just perfect for that purpose. Situated at the end of a cul-de-sac adjacent to a greenbelt with a big yard…lots of safe areas for my sons to run and rip and ride bikes. A large driveway with a breakaway rim for friends to come over and shoot hoops. My boys’ home.

But our boys grew up. No more laughter emanated from the game room. And our house grew quiet. The quieter our home became, the larger and bulkier it seemed.

So in 2009 – after much discussion with my husband, I finally convinced him to commit to a trial run at downsizing our home and ditching the pool and yard. It was a leap of faith that this generous man was willing to take on my behalf. After all, it was my dream. Not his.

When we sold our home, there was no regret – whatsoever.

So when the moving van arrived, I felt an indescribable liberation.

With far fewer possessions, we began the adventure of not only moving to a new house, but toward a new lifestyle.

Downsizing is considered to be a drastic measure by some. Decreasing living space is not the right choice for everyone. It is a most difficult decision. A most personal one at that.

Our move toward SMALL was heavily questioned and scrutinized. But that was just fine by me. Everyone’s needs and circumstances are very different.

When we selected our new domicile, we purposefully shrunk our square footage by 25%. The boys loved the new house. It goes without saying – I loved it, too.

My husband did not love the new house. But admittedly, he loved the freedom from hours and hours of weekend labor – without a yard and pool. He especially liked the next-to-nothing utility bills each month.

In 2012, we downsized once again.

I built my second home with the full intention of creating a cozy and quaint empty nest… But large enough to entertain future daughters-in-law and hopefully, our future grandchildren.

Guess what? My husband loves this house. It is his favorite home. In retrospect, it was a good move for us all.

This is it. Hopefully, no more building. Hopefully, no more moving.

 

Sidebar 1

I just remembered something about the first downsize.

It has been my lifelong dream to live in a brownstone. Have you seen the movie, “You’ve Got Mail” with Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan? Do you remember Kathleen Kelly’s (Meg’s character) brownstone? That was our first downsized home. Our first experience in vertical living (small square footage per floor with multiple stories). And yes, it was so cozy and quaint.

 

Sidebar 2

I just loathe the phrase, ‘aging in place’.

You can even hire an ‘a-i-p’ Certified Specialist.

It is a dismal cliché that has taken root in the interior design and building industry. It is used to describe middle-aged adults who move to smaller spaces…designed with specifications to address unforeseen future issues. That’s all good. But the actual phrase gives off a really bad vibe for me.

No, my husband and I are not ‘aging in place’ here – we are actively ‘living in place’. Just saying.

 

I thought this topic would serve as a good segue for my Clearing the Clutter series. And as I was typing away this morning, I definitely want to write a future post on building a home – Talk about watching sausage being made!

Let’s visit tomorrow. You bring the coffee. I’ll supply the words.