Once upon a time, a woman of “a certain age” discovered minimalism. She had always leaned towards simple living, but after reading blogs and books and listening to podcasts by a new generation of minimalists, her love for simplicity was re-energized. She decluttered and decluttered and decluttered. She worked hard to simplify and streamline her life. She moved to a smaller, less expensive house. She quit the job she disliked and began a new job that was more meaningful to her. Then she lived a minimalist life happily ever after.
OK, back to reality! In truth, change is often hard and transitions rarely occur seamlessly. It takes time, sometimes a lot of time, to implement the changes we hope to see in our lives. Life often does not progress in a linear fashion. This is hard to accept if you have an impatient nature (guilty). I’ve made some significant changes in the last year. Some have gone quite well; some have not.
To start on a positive note, I’m quite happy in my new (old) smaller home. Yes, the house needs some work, but most of the changes can be made over time. Walls were painted. Tiles replaced the ugliest vinyl flooring I’ve ever seen (all 3 layers). This was good.
Then came Hurricane Irma, which wreaked havoc in my yard and caused a huge tree to fall onto my patio roof. One step backward. Eventually, I was able to get the yard debris and uprooted tree removed. Now I can focus on getting my yard (a weedy mess) ready for landscaping and a spring garden. The was not so good but later became good.
Living in a smaller house (ca. 1000 sq. ft.) has its benefits. My mortgage is lower as is the utility bill. Sometimes I wish the kitchen were a bit bigger, but it has forced me to prioritize my needs carefully, and when it’s just me at home, it functions well. When family and friends visit, it’s a bit of a tight squeeze, but they deal with it fairly well. Tidying and cleaning up is quick and easy in a smaller place. I purchased a Roomba, which has made floor maintenance a breeze, especially cleaning under beds where the cat hair likes to collect in spots that are just out of reach. This has been good, even great.
The new job has not gone so well. I had decided to return to teaching after a decade away. However, the profession, as least in my area, has changed significantly and not, in my opinion, in a good way. I first thought my frustration was due to re-entry. I told myself that I just needed to give it some time, but the experienced teachers were just as dissatisfied and overworked. Sadly, the new job has not been the change I sought. I still believe that teaching can be a meaningful profession, but the situation here did not add to my quality of life. Just the opposite. This is not so good.
Now I face another transition. Looking back over the years, I am able to get a better perspective of both my personal and professional journey. For the most part, I’ve had jobs I enjoyed, so I’m confident that I can eventually find another one. At the peak of house ownership, I had a 2500+ sq. ft. house with a huge yard. Once my kids started heading out the door, I began to downsize dramatically (the house fire “helped” – see below). I’ve come along way since then, so I try not to get too discouraged when I hit some bumps as I continue long the minimalist path. In the meantime, I’ll focus on the positive transitions. Did I mention that I really like my little house?
RESOURCES
After the Fire: Rebuilding House and Life after a Fire
For resources, go to this page: Resources
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Single for Life: A Very Minimalist Household
Mid-life Blues, or Shouldn’t I Know What I Want To Do By Now?
An Unemployed Minimalist: How I’m Spending My Unpaid Vacation
My largest house
My smallest house (so far)!
I really liked your story. I can identify with you on many levels. Work life and home life. After over year in construction we are still trying to complete our new smaller home(1200 sq feet) in the country. We are anxious in 2018 to do more with less and live more simply and meaningfully. If only we could get new home builders to create smaller home communities with shared gardens. Would love to meet up for coffee or tea with the group sometime:)
Thanks, Caren! It’s hard to get builders and realtors to understand that bigger isn’t necessarily better! As for our FB group, we’re all over the world (though I’m based in the Orlando area).
Enjoyed this post. I moved into a 1200SF house when my youngest graduated from high school a few years ago. Then remarried and now have some days with four of us living here. More when mine visit – and all with just one bathroom. I call it cozy. 😜 But I like the lower costs and I continue to work on minimizing. Someday I hope to downsize even more.
Thanks! My house seems a bit crowded when my 2 adult kids visit (only 1 small bathroom), but since I’m here on my own 90% of the year, they just have to deal with it!
It’s great to hear others living smaller and are happy over the long term. My biggest challenge now is downsizing my wardrobe. I have watch several videos but I am still not there mentally. I have cut back from buying clothes over the past couple years. I ask all the question before buying anything these days. What was your process like? I am thinking of taking a weekend and trying everything on. If something does not look good, I will set it aside. I still believe in being prepared for things like weddings, funerals, etc. I can never find something last minute if I needed too.
Wonderful story…love the way it flows. I myself am going through a huge life change. 2165 sq ft to 200+. We purchased a travel trailer and are cleaning out our big house. We have an offer 🙂 We will see…
Wow – that’s a huge change! Good luck on your next adventure!
Wow, 200 square feet. That is amazing:) You can do it!
I’m enjoying going back through your blog posts as a fairly recent subscriber. We live in a 1,000 sq ft home with our two dogs (one rather large!) and four cats. I’d never want to live in anything bigger as I feel we are in the perfect sized home for our needs. I think the only thing I will change when I retire is that we will move somewhere with a slightly bigger yard – maybe a 1/4 acre, just enough to grow more of my own food without sacrificing room for the dogs to run 🙂
Thanks for reading, Lynne! I think my “small” house (by average American standards) is just perfect. Like you, I want to grow food, which is one of the main reasons I chose not to go the condo/townhouse route.
That’s what we are doing. Small house with a large yard. I am looking forward to learning how to grow a garden. I think we are going to start with some fruit trees. If you can move a bit out of Orlando, there is a place called Howey in the hills. Prices for land and homes are still reasonable.
I like being closer in to the city, especially as I’m single. I live in Winter Park, which has the benefits of a smaller town plus being right next to Orlando (ca. 15 to downtown. My house was build in 1953, so it’s pretty typical for houses of the time: 1 bathroom (gasp), small closets, and a big yard!
ha ha one bathroom is pretty standard here in NZ, as are 1,000 sq ft homes. The bigger home mentality is gathering traction though, which is a shame. My preferred location is on the fringe of town. I don’t like being too isolated either.