Several years ago, my husband and I began the process of looking for a house to buy. We had a list of Must Haves, which included three bedrooms, a basement, an attic, more than one bathroom, and a garage.
But a list of Must Haves often clashes with the reality of the market, as well as the call of the heart. We fell in love with a little cottage in the country that was charming, nestled on a plot of land that was a little less than two acres, had wide plank pine floors and big wrap-around porch.
What it didn’t have was a usable basement. Or an attic. Or a garage. Or that third bedroom. It was built in 1891. That meant there were no walk-in closets. In fact, closets were in short supply. We settled for less square footage, less storage, and less usable space because we fell in love with the house.
If you don’t count the tiny outside-entrance basement that houses the oil burner and the hot water heater where, believe me, no one would want to spend any time, we live in less than 1000 square feet.
We ended up storing a lot of items in a shed already on the property that we painted red, along with a lawn mower, a snow blower, and other essentials. That makes for a crowded shed.
An interesting thing has come from this adventure, this living ‘smaller.’ I’ve had to be creative with storage, for sure. But, more importantly, I’ve come to realize that we need less than we thought we did. The other day, we were out in our shed and I looked at all the boxes filled with items I didn’t have room for in the house, but wasn’t willing to part with at the time we moved into the cottage. That was almost ten years ago. For the most part, whatever I had wanted to retrieve from storage had been retrieved. The rest? I hadn’t missed any of it. I don’t need those things. We’ll be clearing out those boxes in the spring. We’ll have less clutter. More space. More freedom.
Here’s what I’ve learned to do since we moved into this cottage:
1. I regularly clean out our tiny shared clothes closet and donate clothing we are no longer wearing. Someone who truly needs a coat or a sweater or some shoes that I’ve outgrown benefits. So do we.
2. I attack a room at a time and if I find we are no longer using something and it has no sentimental value, I donate it to the Salvation Army or sell it on Craig’s List.
3. If I fall in love with something for the home, there has to be a place for it. If there isn’t, it doesn’t come home with me.
4. Though I love to collect, I keep the collections small, both in size and stature. We simply don’t have the space for anything big.
Though I have a lot of little collections, my biggest collection consists of my books. I am a voracious reader. A room filled with books makes me happy. In fact, we recently built some bookshelves in our den because I was running out of space for my most beloved volumes, like the ones shown on the shelf above. I also review books. That means I accumulate a lot of books every year. At least twice a year, I go through them. Any book that I do not feel a visceral connection to, or that isn’t a reference book used in my professional work, is donated to my local library. This little library has an ongoing book sale, the proceeds of which help to defray the expense of keeping the library going. Some of the books, especially new books that have just been published and might not be included in the library’s budget, go on the library shelves. That makes me happy.
Though I would love nothing more than for every wall in my home to be lined with shelves, it simply isn’t feasible. And though I revere the three-dimensional book and think books are pretty much the best home decoration ever, I cannot keep all of them. Freeing up those books I do not need enables me to donate them and spread the joy of reading to others. It helps us to live small, with only those things we love in our home.
I’m fascinated with the Tiny House movement. It truly challenges those who choose that lifestyle to live in a smaller footprint. They live with less, but gain so much more.
We had no choice but to live with less. It has enabled us to give to others in need, and to help our local library. That’s a pretty good trade-off.
Tiny House Nation, a show that airs every Monday night on the FYI network, showcases people who have decided to downsize and join the Tiny House movement. They are faced with the same challenges we have been, purging possessions, living small, letting go of ‘things.’ The second season premieres December 22nd at 9 pm ET/10 pm PT. You can follow Tiny House Nation and the journey of “going tiny” on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
I love Tiny Texas Houses. They are built with old material. :-)
Always a sound idea, Regula!
I love this post. I went through our closet last night and pulled some shirts my husband hasn’t worn in a few years. They are perfectly good but button and he won’t wear anything but a snap shirt now so they are going to be donated.
We live in a small town of less then 1200 but we are lucky enough to have a library. I have been the lucky winner of two books you reviewed. After I read them I donated them to our library so others can enjoy them.
Our local quilting group of six just donated a hand quilted twin size quilt to our library to use as a fund raising project. We all love to read and want to keep our library going.
I love that you enjoyed those books, then passed them on so that others could enjoy them, too! Wonderful!
Wow, echoes of my life.
We moved 15 years ago from a “monster” house and its never-ending demands on our time to a downtown condo. Business clients are no longer entertained at home, only friends. I have time to participate in my daughter’s education and time to paint again.
We are bookoholics, I’m afraid. Whenever we travel, we make a beeline for that city’s bookstores. I collect art books and I can’t tell you how many times my luggage has been deemed “overweight”. We are constantly editing our bookshelves though – our running joke is that you can only keep what you could have on a desert island.
After my parents died a few years ago, we were left with an enormous house full of a lifetime of collecting antiques. And books. My father was a scientist and there were literally rooms full of books. Everyone chose a few volumes – I kept one of the books he’d written as my daughter was included in the dedication. The university gladly accepted most of the scientific books and we gave all the others to the second-hand bookshop that raises money for the hospital.
People thought it odd that I didn’t come home with a truckload of items from my share of the estate. I asked for a (really dreadful) painting by my father and a few other sentimental items. We all have established homes, so most of the household items and furniture went to help set up house for the next generation.
I think my daughter summed up my feelings when she suggested to my relatives that I wanted to add to our home, not recreate my parents’ home all over again.
I have to admit, I am a bookaholic, as well! And now that I’m also reviewing books, I get even more books! Oh, to have a big room lined with shelves and a couple of comfy chairs – my library!
We found a new show on HGTV, also, which is House Hunters ~ Tiny Houses! It has been on at midnight here the past few nights, so we DVR’d them and watched one last night. Interesting and fun! Don’t know if it will be on for long or was just an “experiment” of sorts.
Books!! Love them so….. but, they seem to multiply for some reason :-) For the past several years ~ esp since my retirement ~ we have become avid library users for sure. We only buy the ones we truly love and feel we just need to have in our house. When I go into someone’s house and there are no books in sight, it makes me very sad. How can that be??
I’ll have to check that show out, Chris. I use the library a lot, as well.
(I can’t imagine not reading – or not having a books around!)
I just read Chris K’s comment….I was going to tell you about that show too. I found it interesting. Decluttering, downsizing, simplifying our lives seems to be a recurrent thought lately. My son and DIL live in an apartment…about 500 sq. ft….in Japan. They’ve adjusted quite nicely. But then, they don’t own all the trappings (a nice word for crap) that we have of a life lived for 31 years in one home! I remember when they left…they had their whole life packed into two suitcases apiece, and a carry-on! (Of course…they have quite a few boxes stored at our house!). I’m not sure I could live like that…but I know I could pare things down. That is on my list for the new year…and this time I mean it! ;)
Yes, I do admire the way those who live in Japan, especially Tokyo, live with very little. Kudos to your son and daughter-in-law!
We also love books. Our local library use to sale very, very cheap books in other languages than Spanish. Usually old books that people donate that had belonged to their parents or grandparents (or great-grandparents). I love old books, and when there is something I like, I buy it. Children books, Daphne du Maurier, Somerset Maugham, Louis Bromefield, and recently found Max Pemberton. Most in English, but some in Spanish. They have very little room, and nobody in Necochea want those old books, and very few read in English.
Maybe my English is not very good. I am not used to write in this language, only to read it.
You write English very well indeed, Veronica! Thank you for sharing. I love old books, as well, and collect them whenever I can!
Claudia, Isn’t it funny how much stuff we own that we can truly do without. I know I own way too much stuff. Oh our collections.. I spent years collecting art books and now I am thinking who would love them. I am thinking of splitting them with my two young grandgirls…they both are very artistic. Blessings to you for a great weekend, xoxo,Susie
I bet your granddaughters would love those books, Susie. Knowing they were yours would make them priceless.
This polluted and stressed-out planet, where a few have way too much, and most have far too little, needs everyone to adapt to a lifestyle where they don’t use more than they truly need. I think what you do with your “surplus” things is terrific, Claudia. You & Don are putting your money where your mouth is, so to speak. I think if more people tried downsizing and simplifying their lives, they’d see how really freeing it is too. Since being retired, I’ve gone through just about everything I own and have sold, donated or in a few cases, chucked, a lot. And it’s been a relevation. I’ve learned that less stuff to maintain and fewer choices to make, means more time and resources [$$$] for other things. Plus for we booklovers, technology came to the rescue just in time. Now it’s literally possible to have 100s of books at home now, without killing trees or needing tons of space. As my 19-year old nephew says, “Sweet.”
And you are also doing the same thing, Janet, and that’s great! It IS freeing, isn’t it? I agree about technology. There are books I want to have on my shelves, but there are many more books I want to read but not necessarily have in three-dimensional form. The Kindle and other eReaders make that a reality! Yay!
We are looking to downsize with our move. The main goal is debt reduction– but living small also is something I’m looking forward to doing. Right now were living in a large 1300 + sq ft house. We moved from a 1000 sq ft house with five children —the 4 acres was a big plus! My kids weren’t under foot when they were exploring. It is time for smaller. We want cozy- less cost for heating and cooling – hoping to simplify.
Loved this post Claudia!
Simplifying is something a lot of people seem to be doing and I say, more power to them! We don’t need all that stuff.
Wait til I clean out that darned shed this spring!!
Smaller is better in my opinion. We raised two daughters in a 950 square foot house and it was quite doable as long as we kept the clutter under control. Now as empty nesters we are living in an even smaller home. I love it. It’s so cozy, with only the things we need and love. Plus so easy to keep clean, and much cheaper to heat and cool.
Claudia, I love your little cottage. It’s a lovely home, inside and out. And I so enjoy reading your blog daily!
Thank you so much, Lily! I like cozy an awful lot and clearly you do , too.
Beautiful post Claudia. We’re in a similar situation. Small place on an acre. No storage space and more books than just about anything else. So culling and donating every so often is a wonderful way of ensuring, like you say, that you only have those things around you that you truly love. And your community benefits as well. The other wonderful thing about having a tinier living space is that the area outside can almost become like another room in the house. Bird song, native animals, decor by Mother Nature. Paradise!!!!!
I totally agree! The porch and the property are the rooms I spend the most time in when spring and summer arrive.
Girl of the Limberlost is one of my all time favorites. We were traveling in Indiana a few years ago and happened across Gene Stratton Porter’s home. What a treat.
My hubby and I retired to Tennessee this year, the hardest part was “cleaning out the excess” so as not to spend money on moving things I/we don’t really use. I must admit I very seldom meet a book I don’t love so books were/are my biggest challenge. That said I have gifted plenty of books, but still have plenty. I find I do it in stages. Every time I move things around I donate more (books and stuff). Books are the hardest for me to part with, I get lost in books and have since I was young. Besides being entertaining they open the world, answer questions, solve problems, teach new skills …..oh man I have a problem!! Lol Merry Christmas to you and Don.
I have the same problem, Susan!
By the way, I have two copies of Girl of the LImberlost. The first is the same edition I had as a child and somehow lost along the way. The other is the one you see in the photo, a more vintage edition. I couldn’t resist! See? It’s that problem again.
We have moved a few times in recent years and every time we move we get rid of more and more stuff we just don’t need. It’s really interesting the amount of things you discover you can do without when you put them in storage. You discover you don’t really miss them at all, so it is indeed liberating to free yourself of unnecessary items and donate them to a worthy cause. I agree that it is more important to enjoy your living space, whatever the size and everything else will take care of itself. I would love an older small home with some acreage for privacy and a garden like yours, Claudia. We have a newer home with a small lot and I can’t wait to move one more time and enjoy some country living.
I have to say that having the gardens makes a hugs difference. The gardens and the porch and the trees up in the woods are also rooms and we love them. I guess that including those spaces greatly increases our square footage!
I have a shed full that needs purged too Claudia..Spring sounds like a good time to me!
Me too, Nancy!
I have spent the better part of a year downsizing and I’m still working on it. The more I let go of the better I feel. Less stress is what I need in my life. Surround yourself with things you love is my motto. I do love books but find I don’t reread most books so I either donate or only use the library to read books to start with. This Christmas I let go go more decorations and I plan to sell some things next year. Feels good.
hugs,
Linda
It feels very good, Linda!
I absolutely loved this post and will be following you and revisiting this post for inspiration. I was feeling sorry for myself because my husband and I live in a 1700 sq ft town home without a garage. But I am an organizer from my soul and you have just given me a shot of organizer adrenalin. See you again soon!
So glad to have been a wee source of inspiration, Clearissa!
Claudia, I so loved this post — my introduction to your blog, which I’ll be perusing at length later today when I get a break. Your cottage is charming enough to inspire *any*one to downsize! Our cottage, of a much later vintage, is not too much larger and is perfect for two. The earth would be helped greatly if everyone tried to live in the minimum amount of space that works for them, their family and their lives.