Downsizing

There is a lot of buzz these days about "downsizing" and small homes.  HGTV even has a series about it.  Unfortunately I don't believe many people think through all that the concept implies.  True, moving from a 6,000 square foot home to a 5,000 square foot home is technically "downsizing", but it's hardly a sacrifice.  But what about cutting your space in half, or less?

For decades I've made a living by building BIG homes for others.  If you have a family of 4 or 5 or more, downsizing is hard to do.  For them, bigger is always better.  If you have a home stuffed with fine furniture you've bought or inherited over a lifetime, and if you're unwilling to part with any of it, downsizing is virtually impossible.  But if the kids are grown and out of your space, if you don't have a lot of overnight company, if you don't throw big parties, and if you aren't married to your "stuff", downsizing is a great way to de-clutter and live simply.

I can, and did, many years ago, and here's how it all started:  One evening (back when I was single) I noticed my closet shelves were dusty.  I took everything out, cleaned every surface, then started to put things back in.  That's when it dawned on me I had tons of stuff I never, and I mean NEVER, used or wore.  Like jeans that *ahem* must have shrunk in the dryer, and shirts that went out of style back during the Clinton administration.  And empty boxes that I kept in case the contents turned out to be defective and I had to send back, but of course never did.  When I put back in only those things I used, I realized my closet was waaaaaay bigger than I needed.

That got me to thinking about what else I might be holding on to that was just taking up space.  Soon I was like a commando on a mission.  Every closet, the linen cabinets, every chest and drawer, underneath every lavatory, everything got inspected and culled.  Then I began thinking about furniture.  Why do I need a sofa and 3 big chairs in a den when I only have one butt?  And what's the point of having bedrooms that never were used?  (I finally gave up on the Swedish Bikini Team ever paying me a surprise visit.)  Or a dining table with 2 leaves and 6 chairs...or was it 8 chairs?...and a hutch?

Then I put a pencil to what all this was costing me.  The payments for a large house that I didn't need, plus the taxes, utilities, insurance, maintenance and upkeep, that @%&# yard....it was depressing!  Eventually I met and married K and we decided (me enthusiastically, her grudgingly at first) that we could do just fine with half the space.  The "For Sale" sign went up, a deal was struck, and then it was time to put my money where my mouth was. 

By the time the movers arrived we had given some stuff away to friends and family, put some in storage (it's still there), took some with us, and sold some on Craig's List.  My moment of truth was when I was packing up my 450 +/- books.  K asked me if I ever re-read any of them, and I said no.  Then she pointed out that all I really had were 450 hardcover dust catchers.  *Hmmm, good point*  I kept a few volumes that were special to me and gave away/sold the rest.  Today I pretty much read only kindle books.

We moved into temporary quarters in a 2 bed, 2 bath apartment, but found it such easy living we decided to just stay put and let maintenance handle all those pesky old chores I so hated.  We have since downsized from even that as we still had more space than we needed.  I'm now thinking about 1000-1200 square feet, or about the size of the den and kitchen shown in the photo at the top of this post, would be perfect.

My friend who lives full-time on a 35' boat in St Pete, FL would be proud of me.  He taught me to keep only what I needed and nothing else.  That's only a slight exaggeration.  We do have to stay vigilant as it's easy to backslide and buy things that wind up stuffed in the back of the closet a few weeks later.

I would consider building a home again if I could ever find the right site to put it on.  Not to sound picky or anything, but I could probably be happy in a small, cozy little place like this, complete with a similar view, of course. 

S

The end of the McMansion?

I read an interesting story today that said in many parts of the country "McMansions", those 3,000-5,000+/- square foot homes that have been all the rage for the past several decades, are losing their appeal.

The report went on to say that many buyers in their prime home-buying years are opting for new, smaller homes or older homes with "character".  It said that today McMansions are often looked at as large-but-poorly-built examples of excess consumption, paid for with debt that owners can't afford.  (This in contrast to those families of actual means who can afford nice quality large homes.)  They say in many locations (but not here in Dallas) McMansion prices are stagnant or even falling vs year ago values, while less expensive homes are seeing nice appreciation.

What they're finding is that many of those large, relatively inexpensive homes (based on the price-per-square-foot) will begin falling apart long before they should.  Yes, eventually all homes need maintenance, but it shouldn't be as soon as the warranty expires.  Does anyone ever stop and wonder how they can sell those large homes for that cheap of a price?  Do people actually think they're getting a Bentley for the price of a Chevy? 

Here's a dirty little homebuilder secret for you:   Building codes generally aren't that tough.  In fact, the purpose of building codes is to set a baseline "minimum property standard", key word there being MINIMUM. 

At the exact opposite end of the housing spectrum from McMansions are these "tiny houses".  They're becoming so popular they now even have their own tiny house show on HGTV.  They're usually about 150 square feet and built on a trailer "foundation", which explains the wheels.  

They're meant to be somewhat mobile, which I guess has appeal to some people, and because of their mobility they are not subject to even the minimum building codes mentioned above.  There is usually only one door, and the windows don't meet the minimum size required for exit in case of fire.  The bed is usually in a low loft over the kitchen and requires a vertical ladder to get up to it.  

If you have a habit of getting up in the night to visit the loo, you'd better make damn sure you're awake before you try and navigate that ladder!  The bathroom usually consists of a toilet seat on top of a glorified bucket, and to shower you stand in a slightly bigger bucket with a shower spray overhead.  The kitchen can accommodate a microwave and a plate, glass, knife, fork, and spoon (one each) and not much else, and the closet is usually about the size of a gym locker.  While I was an early proponent of downsizing, this is even too extreme for me.

Not too big...not too small...but juuuust right!  And the view isn't too shabby, either. 

My personal preference would be to live in a small house....not too much to keep up or clean, just perfect for my lazy side.  But unfortunately most towns (around here anyway) have zoned out building small houses.   They only want those big 'ol McMansions.  Why?  Tax revenue for them, screw what we want.  Yet another example of the tail wagging the dog.

Maybe in another few years when some of those early McMansions have completely disintegrated they'll let me bulldoze one and build what I want.  I just wish they'd hurry up and see things my way.  I'm not getting any younger, you know.  :)

S