Living Small – Part II
Both my parents died pretty young, so we got a lot of their stuff. Steve’s mom died about 10 years ago and we got a lot of her stuff. My Aunt died and left everything in her condo to us, so I went to NY and got her china and linens and old photos and Hermes scarves. This is the part where you should envision piles of china and crystal and silver that is too fancy to ever use or touch or look at because it’s in a cabinet.
Kind of a BONANZA! But every material thing on the planet carries a story/hope/idea/longing, so if dead people leave you a pile of things and you take them in, you take in their stories about their life and make them your stories about your life. Coupled with my incessant desire for MORE, our Big House became a jail of ideas and stories. Management of the stuff pressed in every day + cost a ton of cash. Mowing, cleaning, insuring, taxing, paying, organizing, washing, planting, digging, losing, finding. Once kids + Steve left for school I was plagued by questions (and dusting): “Why am I doing this? Who am I without all this stuff? How does this idea of ‘having it all’ play out?”
So when we finally decided to move into a Small House, it was game on. We sifted through our lovely belongings, selected which ones brought joy in any measure. These we’d take to the Small House. Most everything was in multiples that we never used – stemware, silverware, tableware, seasonal decorative stuff, books books books, wooden spoons, spatulas, plastic containers, spices, COOK books, linens, batteries in all sizes, 10,000 pens, medical supplies, special cleaning supplies for specific surfaces, games in packaging, photos in boxes – a bottomless pit. So I went through a cupboard or room one at a time. I chose the ONE pitcher that held meaning or joy; maybe TWO of ten vases; ONE pot in each size; ONE set of plates, silverware, glasses, and so on. Once it was “keep” or “go”, we sorted. If a “go” had value it went to the guest room-now-staging-morgue for stuff we didn’t want. Valuable stuff went to Funk n’ Junk for sale, the rest I advertised on Buy/Sell/Trade as a “Progressive Moving Sale”. The morgue had a separate entrance so I locked the door into the main part of the house and put out a jar with a sign: “PAY HERE”. People came, stuff went. They put money in the jar or didn’t’, I didn’t care, we were completely over it. It “cost” more to keep stuff than to let a bargain hunter steal it. (The only thing that got away that I wish didn’t was a black lace pencil skirt with contrast purple zipper by PinPin Apparel, so if you’re reading this and it’s languishing in your closet, can I please buy it back?)
This is when the Hoarder from Part I showed up. The house sold and we swept our way out the door.
Today, I rent instead of purchase. We kept the most sentimental Christmas stuff, of course, but not very much, so every season I buy some trendy decor and then give it to the thrift store or away instead of storing it for 50 weeks. This is a super helpful concept which we also use, for example, in autumn. We buy an apple peeler for $18 on Amazon, use it, then give it away rather than store it for 50 weeks. You get the idea. The point is, now we have time to goof around with apples.
I forgot to tell you in Part I how we decided it would probably work out to go SMALL! Because in our Big House, after about 7pm we all ended up in a pile on the commensurately-sized sofa, bickering about what to watch. So, as long as we had a sofa we figured we’d be good to go. Which brings me to the bones of Part II, which I’ll use to herein describe the day-to-day differences of living Small compared to Not Small so that if it appeals to you, you can make an informed decision.
Here is a list and a few gallery pics of negative things that happen in a Small House:
- Shoes: An unwieldy number pile up by the door;
- Dishes and Laundry: Piles and piles! Can’t start load because someone didn’t finish theirs;
- Cars: All stacked up and someone might get blocked in;
- Messy house in the morning and everyone leaves and it magically gets cleaned up while they’re gone;
- Pile of bill-type papers and a “monster drawer”;
- Storage problems;
- Complaints about no TV;
- Bickering (but the shout-factor is way down because everyone’s close by);
- People leave their stuff everywhere all the time and don’t care and then ask where it is and blame someone for taking it;
- People take each other’s stuff without asking because it was just sitting there;
- They put toilet paper on backwards, leave toothpaste out and messy, toilet seat up/down/pee pee/don’t flush;
- Oh, it appears the negative aspects of living in a Small House are exactly the same as living in a Not Small House, hmmm.
…except that the positives far outweigh them! Easy math!
- We have everything we need, and it’s nice, or we enjoy everything we have or toss it;
- We share meals;
- We watch stuff together and laugh;
- We have friends over;
- We enjoy the view;
- We don’t pay huge bills (heat/electric $100 in February, not bad considering that we literally heat the house with the oven, not kidding. No propane bill, lower taxes, insurance, no landline except internet $35);
- We clean up after dinner and wash dishes while chatting (OR NOT, DISHES CAN WAIT);
- It’s quick to mow the lawn and to weed the bitty garden beds, x 2, so gardening is a sporadic pleasure;
- We have bonfires and sit around to ceremoniously eat sugar and drink beer;
- It’s easy to clean the entire house super FAST;
- It’s easy to clean the entire house super FAST;
- It’s easy;
- …which far outweigh the negatives which are the same as in a Not Small House.
…as always, your comments below greatly appreciated…
Love ya,
Win
This post has 14 comments
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Carrie Gendron
14 Apr 2019And, yes, you are once again leaving me wanting more of the small and less of the not so small!
Winnie
14 Apr 2019❤️
Roger
14 Apr 2019Great thoughts, Winnie! We had the same experience moving from a 2300 square-foot home to a 700 square-foot beach cottage. The only thing we got cramped in was the loss of storage space which we quickly remedied. I think I read that we all live in 600 – 700 ft., no matter how large the house is. I wonder if that is true?
Winnie
14 Apr 2019Oh good point, yes. There are apps, I think, that map and show a graphic of exactly which portion of the house actually gets used. Hi Roger!
Tom
14 Apr 2019Is one of the secrets to give it away, rather than throw it away ? I put a large trash can in the middle of my man cave, determined to fill it up with excess junk, tools, supplies ,etc. After six months there were 2 little items in the bottom of the can.
Somebody (I think my mother) said if you haven’t used it or worn it in the last 6 months, then toss it.
Our kids don’t want any of this stuff, even Mother’s paintings.
Still trying to figure out how to downsize. Thanks for your example, Winnie.
Tom
Winnie
14 Apr 2019It’s a mental commitment to new stories and ideas. My old ideas resulted in an oppressive life. So, it’s more of a breakup, I guess.
meghan hoffman
15 Apr 2019its a daunting job but incredible feeling when you clean out and go small. Love this
Pamela Williams
15 Apr 2019HI Winnie,
I have truly enjoyed reading both of your blogs on your simpler life and tiny house. Thoughtful, light, and funny too.
Thank you and hugs!
Pamela
Winnie
15 Apr 2019You’re a gem, Pam, and so so grateful for the books and bottles, a treasure trove!
Claudia
15 Apr 2019Thanks, Win. I’m enjoying your journey as always.
Winnie
15 Apr 2019CLOUD! Love ya!
Lori
15 Apr 2019Oh my gosh, the idea of buying something that’s only used occasionally each year (apple peeler, trendy Christmas decor) and donating / giving it away when the seasons is over is brilliant! I think you’re onto something here, Winnie!
Winnie
16 Apr 2019Hi Lori! Thank you, it also works with paint projects. We toss the brush rather than wash because the paint goes right into the earth. Six of one half dozen another I guess, but we don’t paint that often anymore either. 😉
Susie
29 Apr 2019Winnie……I love you!!! Suz