Living Smaller

A year ago last month I bought my house, it has since become a home for me and the fuzzy roommates.  I made the conscious decision after almost a year of looking at homes to “live small.”  My goal was to reduce and simplify.  My house isn’t tiny, but is small by today’s standards.  At approximately 1,000 square feet it’s cozy, full of character and charm.

I‘ve been thinking a lot more lately about what it means to simplify and it is a regular topic of discussion with my Mom and I.  After our lunch today we drove by the “living small“ house we’d read about in this month’s At Home in Arkansas at the corner of Lee and Van Buren in Hillcrest.  It’s an adorable 900 square foot abode thoughtfully planned and well-executed.  It has everything it needs and only what it needs.  Word of warning:  don’t drive by too slowly or an angry driver in a white suburban behind you will lose his patience and shake his fist and honk his horn.

I follow my Mom’s wise advice to only bring into your home what you find useful or beautiful and nothing more.  If you bring something into your home, you need to also remove something.  It’s not always easy to do but to keep things simple and tidy, especially in a smaller home, it’s a must.

When you live small, furniture pieces should be thoughtfully considered and each needs a specific purpose or rather, many purposes.  My desk works triple-duty:  workspace, bookcase and clothes-folding station.  My recliner side table is just that, a side table.  However, it’s also a useful stool when an extra seat is needed when company comes and it is especially handy to stand on when I have to kill a random flying nuisance or a hard-to-reach-8-legged-creepy-crawly.

Living smaller seems to be catching on lately, not simply because it’s trendy but spot-on-common-sense.