Hi All! One of my best friends (both online and in real life) Alexandra from My Urban Family has an awesome guest post for us today that I know you will all find fascinating. As someone who has moments where I want to downsize from our current home to live more simply with kids, this post really struck home for me. Enjoy! XO Christina
5 Reasons to Downsize Before Having Kids:
Every time I mention that I’m in the process of downsizing before starting a family, I get looks like I am nuts.
But my husband and I have never really been ones to follow the rules. Except for that one time we got married and bought a fixer-upper in the suburbs that was way too big for us. We figured we were supposed to get married and buy the big family home with a yard before we had kids. Two years later and we’ve realized that there are so many good reasons to downsize before having kids that we’re going to go for it!
Here are my top 5 reasons why:
1. Less time cleaning means more time having fun
Right now we spend way too much time cleaning our home. And trust me, it’s not because we’re neat freaks. But we have a home that consists of a living room and a family room; an eat in kitchen and a dining room. We also have a guest room when our pull out couch could suffice for overnight guests – not to mention all of our family lives within 20 minutes of us. With all of these areas overlapping purposes, we’re cleaning double the rooms we need to be. That time could be spent doing things we enjoy or going on adventures. And while it is just an annoyance now, I see it being a much bigger problem when we have kids that I want to explore the world with.
2. Less rooms means more intimate family time
Depending on your family this could go either way, but my husband and I tend to always be in the same area of the house together. And while space and needs may change in the future when we have older kids, when we have little ones they won’t need as much space or alone time. So while having a living room that doubles as a play area may be a challenge for toy storage, it makes for more quality family time.
3. Less house generally means less mortgage
And less taxes. And less spent on heating and cooling. And less upkeep expenses. And lower insurance. No one ever complained about having more money in their pocket. If you think you can live in a bit of a smaller home, you can have extra money, less cleaning and more time. Sounds like a win-win-win to me.
4. It is mentally freeing
We already decluttered a good portion of our belongings and it felt wonderful. Getting rid of this large house will only feel even more freeing. My favorite saying is, “the more you own, the more your things own you”. You spend mental energy being surrounded by things all the time. This includes your largest possession of all – your home. And I believe this energy, both good and bad, is transferred onto children as well.
5. Less room to accumulate things
This can be good for adults, but I think it will be wonderful for when we have children. My children won’t be able to be spoiled by endless toys because there simply won’t be room for them. Picking and choosing what is important and what doesn’t need to be kept just because we have the option to have it is a good lesson for all, and if learned at a younger age, even better. This also saves money. If we’re not buying toys, we will likely be using our extra money and time going on adventures with our kids.
Those reasons may not work for everyone, but they are the motivation behind my current move. Our house is on the market and we’re currently playing the waiting game – but hopefully soon we will be able to officially downsize.
What are your thoughts on downsizing before kids?
Alexandra is a writer, graphic designer and photographer currently living in the suburbs of Chicago. Along with her husband, she is embarking on a journey of downsizing, moving into the heart of the city, and starting a family. Her blog, My Urban Family is a mix of her adventures, experiences and reviews of Chicago, and family friendly posts. You can also follow along on her Facebook page!
Yes!! We are currently expecting our second child and are in the process of downsizing our home. We have a lot of people questioning our decision, and I want to send them all this article. I only wish we knew what we know now before we even started our family.
I’m glad to know I’m not the only one with this mindset! And feel free to share! I wrote this with all of my own doubters in mind 🙂
I completely agree with all of these reasons. After moving into a larger home, I miss my small home terribly. We are currently in a rental, but as soon as we are able to, we want to build a 1000 square foot home.
Building a home sounds so exciting! Depending on how it is utilized, 1000 sqft can be so much space – and if you can design it exactly how you want it, that sounds perfect!
I never really thought about this before, but you have some really great points! My husband and I need to keep these in mind! Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for stopping by! I know it’s not for everyone, but I wish someone had told me these things before we bought our current home!
I love the idea of downsizing, or just generally simplifying life, before having kids. For me, I’d love to move to an area with a slower pace of life and a lower cost of living so that I could have more time to spend with my family.
We definitely aren’t heading towards a slower pace of life in Chicago, but I’m hoping with the small home, and less time in a car, that we can really enjoy all the things living in a city has to offer! Do you have a dream area you would love to move to?
I think whatever you guys want is perfectly fine! I admire your thoughts for such a young couple to have experiences instead of material possessions. I have owned 2 houses in my life and both were around 1500 sf. They are small to some but I find them cozy and I use all the space. We were a family of 4 and it worked for us. If I do buy another house, I will be heading to about 1000 sf….I love the tiny homes but I don’t think I could do 456 sf!
Thank you, Lisa! I know I couldn’t do 456 sqft either, especially not with kids – but I love hearing about people who do! And I don’t think 1500 sqft for a family of four is small at all! It seems big enough to have your own space and not be cramped, but small enough to still hit my points above 🙂
I totally agree! The more space you have usually means the more crap you have. We have a tiny house in an expensive area in the north shore & I love it. It really helps me limit the things we buy because we just don’t have the space.
I totally agree about the shopping thing! Even once we decided to declutter and try to move I’ve noticed my spending habits have went down!
I personally would worry that I will not or do not have enough space for the children I plan to have. I would also worry that upsizing may be a result.
We purchased our house when we already had 4 of our 5 children so a bigger house was desired. I think I’m more comfortable purchasing more and then downsizing as they leave the nest than having it the other way around.
I know this mindset definitely won’t work for all families! And I’m sure having 5 kids comes with a whole new thought process and goals 🙂
Interesting perspective and some good tips. I actually don’t think I would even want kids in the home I have now. It’s a small rambler and works well for my wife and me, but if we had 1 or 2 kids in it I think it would get a bit crowded. Granted we rent out half our basement so we lose some space there.
I actually have to google what a rambler is… not sure if I just missed the boat on that term or if we only call them a ranch around here! haha But I know everyone feels differently about space – and when we lived in our last place I never would have thought we’d want to go back to something near that size until we bought this house!
I agree with each of these tips. People have become to needy to having the best and most of everything, that they have to work more which means they are not home anyway to enjoy those things. I am all about living the simple life. My memories are free!!! Time cannot be bought. Thanks for sharing
bakingrunner.blogspot.com
It is very true that time cannot be bought! Right now I’m working for myself, so if we can cut down on bills a bit, it means a few less late nights working and a few more nights of adventures and laughing with loved ones!
We have friends who bought a 3-bedroom, 1 1/2 bath ranch house in the 1960s and raised six kids in it. One bedroom for the parents and one each for the boys and the girls. Sofa bed in the living room for the rare guest. Playroom in the basement when the kids got big enough to need more space. Keeping that house all their lives let her be a SAHM and him take early retirement, too. I just wish we’d been that smart.
That sounds like the exact American dream years back and we’ve kind of forgotten how great that could be. Don’t get me wrong, I wouldn’t want to live in the “Leave it to Beaver” days, but there are some things we could learn from that – and things we could learn from your friends family!
Lots of helpful tips here! I can even use them as I am quickly approaching being an empty nester.
Thanks!
~Liz@HoosierHomemade
Thanks, Liz! You’re right, they can be used for after kids leave the house as well!
This was a great post!! I love your reasons and totally agree, though we found ourselves in the opposite situation. We moved from AZ to NC last year with the intent of downsizing and living simply. We ended up falling in love with all the brick homes out here and purchasing one just a few weeks ago! It’s definitely bigger than we planned, but I’ll admit we do love it. As long as I have my family, I’m a happy camper!! 🙂
Thanks, Sarah! Sometimes plans don’t always go the way we think they will – and if you fall in love with something like that, then it’s totally worth a change of plans! We’ve lived in our current home for over two years and it still doesn’t feel like home as much as our last place did – something feels off – so we’re ready for a change!
Great thoughts on this! I think a lot of people fall into the trap of “bigger is better” (or they at least look better) with houses. It’s just what most people do, so they follow trend.While I do love to look at beautiful mansions, I don’t think I’d want to spend all that time cleaning!
The cleaning for rooms we rarely use is the worst, too! We have a living room and a family room, but we really only use one. The other has a piano… and then the Christmas tree in Dec. And that’s it. But it still needs to be dusted and vacuumed!
It’s such a great article! People don’t often think how many sacrifices they have to make once having kids till they have kids! You have to think of your kids first! And of course you want a place that is suitable for a family, but when it’s just you two, big place is just an expensive luxury! I like that you bring out that having a smaller place means less cleaning as well– I couldn’t agree more! And of course less maintenance! It’s always wiser to be comfortable than always stretch your dollars.
Thanks Reelika! We know it’s going to be an adventure, but at least this way we’ll have experienced both sides a bit 🙂 And I really do think it’s going to be the right move for us.
What you said about picking what is important and worth keeping really opened my eyes to the benefits of living in a smaller home. Single-family homes are beneficial because they are more cost-effective and they allow less room for needless storage. When my wife and I begin to have kids, we’ll be sure to find a home that suits our needs with the help of a reliable real estate agent.