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  1. I love living in a smaller home, too. Less to clean and cozy. The only two things I wish is that we had a separate dining room (instead of just an eat-in kitchen) for entertaining and a bigger yard.

  2. I agree 100%…I could not imagine living in a large home. My house hugs me and I like it that way!! I also like the fact that I can clean it in an hour and move on to better (more fun) things!!

  3. I love living in a small house. We downsized last year to make retirement affordable. We now spend a fourth of what we were spending on our much bigger previous home. I have everything that I need here, and only the things I truly love. We got rid of all the excess and are enjoying the freedom of smaller living. We enjoy the coziness of our little cottage, the ease of keeping it clean, and much smaller utility and tax bills! We also enjoy having a much smaller yard to maintain. I have plenty of room to still have both a flower and veggie garden, just on a much smaller scale and I'm good with that. Frees up time for more reading and relaxing! And enjoying the grandkids and our three little dogs! 🙂

  4. I grew up in a one-bedroom house with my mother and sister. And for a time my mother's co-worker lived with us.

    So when my husband and I bought our two-bedroom house that is under 1000 sq. ft. 32 years ago, I was in heaven. And still am. We have one daughter who is grown and has her own house now.

    We never wanted to be slaves to a house, whether for the cleaning and upkeep or working to afford it so we never upgraded to a bigger place even though we could afford it.

    I love that bed that lifts up for storage. They have that sort of bed in motor homes. I didn't know they had them for homes, too.

    1. That's so true. Many people are just slaves to their homes. I can't imagine taking out a 30 year loan. You'd be paying interest for so long before you ever got to the actual mortgage!

  5. I love small, cozy places – for me, a large home doesn't feel quite right to me…probably because I grew up in NYC apartments, with 5 of us in a 2 bedroom apartment with a minuscule kitchen! I guess small spaces just feel like home to me! My home now has the extra space I need for the girls and for future grandkids in the lower level, but upstairs where I spend most of my time it feels like a small cottage, which I adore. Love your inspiration photos, Brenda!

  6. I love this topic. Next week we will be moving into an 850-square foot house. One of the first things I want to get up the gumption to do is follow your example and get rid of the big old oven in the kitchen and use only smaller appliances. I love that idea. Currently, we use a small rice cooker and a wok on top of the stove to make most of our meals. We only use the oven about twice a month to bake a frozen pizza. So it would be great to get rid of the big old oven and use that space for some sort of storage set-up.

    Thanks for these ideas.

    1. My Smart Breville heats up pizza better than any oven I've owned. It comes with a pizza pan and heats up SO fast, and it is nice and crunchy.

  7. Such a good post. As you know we cut our living space in half. We really didn't use it all as we once did with four children. Our bills are cut in half. Taxes and utilities more than half. We had our home for sale off and on for a few years. We got rid of so much stuff, mostly furniture. I still have too many craft supplies and my collections. Now I have actually turned those two things into a business. I have a retail space the size of a tiny closet in a consignment mall. I just opened up an etsy shop. I had already donated, a truck full seriously, of pre school toys. In my shops I sell bears and dolls. I add more to those collections by going to doll auctions. My motto is that I have to try to sell them first before they stay here. And I have to sell what I spend before I keep anything. I also sneak other items in my retail space that I want to leave the house. Small spaces are fun. Make your living areas cozy. Repurpose and reuse.

    1. Great idea! I remember when you were so frustrated trying to sell the house. But now all of that is behind you!

  8. These are all valid points. Sometimes I look at cluttered homes filled with useless stuff and wonder 'why'? There's usually an underlying psychological issue that goes beyond the desire to collect things, but different strokes for different folks I guess.

    1. Yes, definitely different strokes. Some just can't stand the thought of a small space. But I personally love it.

  9. I love this post, Brenda. It really inspires me to get rid of more "stuff" and lead a simpler life. You have done a fabulous job with your small space and making it work for you.

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