How and Why to Downsize
My third podcast episode is now out!
It’s about all things DOWNSIZING. And I mean that in a home sense moving to a smaller home, and also as a way of thinking too- downsizing your possessions. First I’m going to share out story about how we radically downsized as a family of 4, then I’m going to talk about downsizing as a way of thinking. You can listen below, key notes underneath.
Podcast key notes:
Our story
In 2021 , we were given notice on our rental and despite a lot of searching we couldn’t find anywhere as nice as what we had, that worked for us as a family and was in our budget.
We were stuck and it felt like we weren’t going to be able to find anywhere that suited us. Our plans were (are) to become homeowners and it felt like we weren’t going to get to do that anytime soon.
Then, as we were talking to our friends about our situation they offered us the opportunity to stay with them. We thought at first that we might camp out there for the summer and then we could save up a bit of money… but then we thought about something a bit more permanent. And lo, the idea of the static caravan was born! We decided to share the costs of an old static, do it up, and live with our friends as we did so. This would enable us to live in the most beautiful location (like Disney levels of beautiful, in a nature reserve) with friends we absolutely love, and also flex our renovation muscle. As renters, this was SO exciting. I have dreamed of having carte blanche to do as I wish to a space since I was a kid.
Once the excitement of the adventure had settled in, it was quickly followed up with a dose of reality. We would be moving from a large 3 bed semi-detached home into a really small space. What will we do with all this stuff?!
…however.
Because I had been steadily decluttering over the previous 8 years, I actually knew I could do it. And even when my husband was too busy renovating the van and working to help, I still didn’t feel overwhelmed.
Here’s how I did it.
Important note: I am speaking as someone with a lot of privilege here and I know that for some folks it would be inconceivable to do this- because of finances, trauma or societal/cultural expectations etc. I wanted to acknowledge that.
How we radically downsized.
I started early.
As soon as I knew we’d be moving, I started sorting through our things and packing boxes. We didn’t hire a removals company, it was just us.
I spent a day or 2 a week packing, donating and selling for 3 months leading up to the move day. A privilege in itself that my self-employed life enabled.
I followed my own teaching!
I worked through my home by category- all books, all clothes, all toys- which means gathering it all together in one space.
CCSA= Clear clean sort arrange
Once I was left with only items I loved or used (we were already in a good place with this), this time I went one step further. I rated everything we had left out of 10. If it wasn’t a 9 or a 10 IT WENT. It was BRUTAL.
The categories I was able to discard from the most were:
Books and magazines
Kids toys
Kids craft and art stuff
All Clothes
Kitchenware
Occasion ware
Crockery, pots and pans
My craft stuff
Home decor- OH MAN. I sold or gave away a lot of plants, artwork, lamps and other decor nicknacks.
Some of the precious stuff is stored in a family members loft- vintage art for example. We know the static is temporary and we’ll want our art when we move house. I was also able to temporarily re-home my large houseplants too. They will join us again when we move out.
I weighed it up.
When I was really struggling to let something go, I simply asked myself if keeping this item was more important than the adventure ahead of us. It never was.
Is this item multifunction?
I was always thinking about MULTI FUNCTION- does this item have multiple uses? Could I sell this and replace it with something multi-function? From bathroom potions to crockery and bakeware, I got rid of single-use items and replaced them with multi-purpose items.
I got it OUT of the house
Getting the stuff out of your house takes time that isn’t always accounted for! So don’t forget to make time to list, post, drop off, and deliver items.
I gave away bundles of stuff on my local Facebook sharing community (highly recommend joining yours to give things away and get new things)
I put boxes outside the house with a “free” sign above- this got rid of tons.
I also sold a lot of stuff too- our old sofas plus plants and lights and nicer kids toys and homewares. We made around £2000 doing this!
The benefits of downsizing
Once we had moved in with our friends and got settled I found there were a lot of benefits to living a smaller, slower, clutter-free life:
Less expensive
We currently pay about a third of the amount that we used to, so we can put that extra money towards saving up for our house deposit and we can do some extra things as a family that weren’t possible before.
Closer together as a family
I absolutely love how much time we get to spend together. We are physically more squished together. But it’s actually been good for us as a family. We talk more, share more.Sometimes it’s too much for the adults and we take a lot of walks to get some space! But mostly, the togetherness has been really important. Hard sometimes, but good.
Quick to clean and tidy
This is a simple one really, we of course still have mess and bits of clutter but since there is less space to keep stuff, it is super quick to clean and tidy the static. It can be absolutely trashed with a whole days of washing up and be cleared up in an hour or less.
More time
Having a smaller place to live means we spend less time on household jobs (see above!) and It means we have more time for the things we enjoy as a family. It’s also meant I’ve had time to do the renovation, and also undertake a diploma. At the moment we’re walking every day down to the water to collect seaglass for our collection. I honestly pinch myself multiple times a day that we get to live this life.
Less stuff
We have less space for everything so we have fewer clothes, toiletries, food so we do our food shopping in a very organised way and buy what we need, rather than what we want. It’s been really good discipline for us.
Ultimately, life is simpler for us because we have less to worry about. Everything has its place. It has done wonders for my mental health and has allowed us to spend more time doing the things we love.
What about the Kids?
The kids mostly love it. They love spending more time together and like the sense of closeness. They LOVE the field and the splash pool, having friends so close by that they can drop in and play with whenever they want (apart from early mornings- we had to put a stop to that!) and they love having the sea nearby. But Frankie is starting to really want her own room. I hope we’ll be able to provide that for her in our next move but who knows! We’ll cross that bridge when we get there!
Bigger is not always better!
There’s a general societal pressure for MORE and BIGGER but I think a lot of folk would feel a whole lot freer in a downsized space.
In our capitalist society, we are exposed to THOUSANDS of advertising messages a day- via traditional methods like commercials and billboards but also via social media.
It’s so so so easy to fall in the trap of buying more and more stuff to feel BETTER about life. More cosmetics and skincare, more storage solutions, more home decor, more clothes etc etc. I believe all of those things can bring deep joy when bought from a place of joy and delight. but not if they are smothered by all the other stuff in our lives.
But if you love the size of your current space- or even if you want MORE space, there are still some key downsizing lessons you can take from this.
Downsizing as a mindset
You don’t have to physically downsize your home to feel the benefits of downsizing.
You can feel the freedom of more space, less tidying and easier cleaning by simply downsizing the amount of stuff you have.
Look around and really consider what you actually use. How much are you keeping “just in case”? How much of it is useful? How much of it do you actually really like?
Work through your home by category, working LITTLE AND OFTEN.
Don’t wait for the perfect time to declutter- JUST START. Today. With one small job. Then KEEP GOING. In 15 minute intervals. It will make a difference.
As you are decluttering, have a moratorium on more stuff coming IN to the house too. That is JUST as important as getting stuff out.
You CAN take control of your stuff. You CAN decide what’s enough for you, and what’s most important.
I have a free decluttering guide which has a checklist, you can download it on my website at hannahbullivant.com/freeguide
Conclusion
We all feel a sense of dread when the feeling of knowing you need to declutter hits. And if you’re downsizing too, there’s twice the overwhelm. I totally get it, I felt the same when we moved from our rented house into the static. It is a formidable task but such a joyful, rewarding and satisfying one, once you find your groove.
With a few tips and know-how, you can find the joy in downsizing too.
