I love the small space that I call home these days. I have steadily decreased my living space from a high of 2550 sq. ft. back when I had two teens, two dogs, and two cats, to my current 1000 sq. ft. empty-nester home. It took several moves and houses to get where I am today, and I sincerely hope I won’t be moving again or at least any time soon.
I also love having my own space just for me. For most of my adult life, I shared my space with a man and/or children. Not that I minded, most of the time, but I’m the kind of person who needs a lot of time and space alone, which is challenging when you’re a partner or parent. Sure, you can tell your loved ones that you need some alone time (and hope they don’t take it personally). When you do get that “me time,” it’s usually just an hour or two. Once the kids became teenagers, they were the ones wanting alone time (and didn’t care if I took it personally). The men and I have gone our separate ways, and even my kids have moved out to begin their independent lives. I no longer have to share my space or ask for alone time. I like it that way.
As I have settled into my smaller home, I’ve needed to adjust my ideas about what a minimalist home should look like. Honestly, the last home seemed more minimalist even though it was 60% larger because my possessions were spread out. There was white space. It was a bit of a shock to unpack my stuff and struggle to find places to put it all in the new house. Didn’t I go through major decluttering before moving to Florida a few years ago? Didn’t I go through another major decluttering in the last year or so after being inspired by minimalists like Joshua Becker, The Minimalists, Courtney Carver, and more? Why do all my rooms look so crowded? Why are my closets so tightly packed? I felt like a minimalist fraud. I had to keep reminding myself—this house is 60% smaller.
Unpacking one’s possessions is yet another opportunity to reflect and evaluate what is truly important to keep. My closets are small and the kitchen cabinets are few. Over the last half year, I have continued to re-evaluate what’s meaningful or useful to keep and what needs to go. Slowly but surely, I’ve adjusted myself and my belongings to the smaller space. Then something odd happened. I found that some shelves were only half full. For several days I pondered what I should put there to use the space. It finally sunk in. There was actual white space! It feels almost luxurious to have those half-empty shelves. Someday I may need that space back, but for now, it feels good to have that feeling of minimalist space again.
RESOURCES
Fortin, Cary Telander and Kyle Louise Quilici New Minimalism: Decluttering and Design for Sustainable, Intentional Living
Ware, Ciji Rightsizing Your Life: Simplifying Your Surroundings While Keeping What Matters Most
For more resources, go to this page: Resources
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My Minimalist Home: Neither Here Nor There
My Minimalist Home: Hurry Up and Wait!
My Minimalist Home: A Few Steps Backwards, A Few Steps Forwards
I love whitespace in my small house too! Gretchen Rubin talks about leaving a shelf empty, and that was the beginning of my not needing to display something on every surface. I am refreshed by the intentional empty space – it brings a restful feeling to me. Thank you for your blog. I’m enjoying hearing about your journey.
I’m also a Gretchen Rubin fan and have heard her comment on that. I don’t know if I’ll ever be to the point of an entirely empty shelf, but I like the potential that the space creates. There’s room for growth-physical, emotional, educational, and more!
I love that your closet is painted a clean white and that you outfitted it with wood hangers. I am in the process of doing the same. Great job on keeping is clutter free!
I love the look of wood hangers. I started buying 5 at a time years ago. Then I had too many once my kids moved out! They don’t seem to be “in” as much nowadays, but I still like the look.
All my walls are painted (gray is my neutral, blue is the accent, and 2 rooms have a lot of turquoise), but closets stay white! The clothes and other objects provide enough color.
I like the empty spaces. I downsized to 1200 SF and plan to make one last move after we retire to something smaller.
It took awhile to get to this point as this house is so much smaller than the last one, but I like having the white space now (even if it’s not much yet)!