There are many reasons people choose to downsize, but did you ever think of it as self-care? Probably not because we often think self-care means a day of pampering, browsing a home search website to pass the time, or they’ll go on a well-deserved getaway. The thing people may not realize is that downsizing your home can change your life – sometimes for the better.
Here are a few ways downsizing your home is self-care and as you read, perhaps you’ll consider downsizing yourself.
Saving money on multiple fronts
Being a homeowner is expensive, that we already know. You have your mortgage, property tax, insurance, utilities and maintenance costs. We won’t even touch on the costs you may incur due to where you live such as the cost of owning a car, the time it takes to travel to and from work.
When you decide to sell your home and buy a smaller one, you can save a lot of money on all of those things. You can move to a cheaper neighborhood that’s closer to work, or you could rent an apartment in the city and rely on public transport. Also, when you have a smaller home, you don’t have to spend so much to heat and cool your home, you won’t use as much electricity, and your mortgage payments will be much smaller.
Less space = less mess
If you’re tired spending an entire weekend cleaning rooms that barely get used, downsizing means you’re going to have a smaller space to clean. You won’t need to waste your days off cleaning because you have a lot less space to get messy. In a smaller home, your cleaning routine will be much simpler and you’ll finally get to enjoy your free time.
Reducing your impact on the world
People are taking the threat of climate change seriously and they’re doing what they can to live a more eco-friendly lifestyle and for some, that means downsizing. Living in a smaller home means you’re using less electricity. You may have sold your car because you have access to public transportation or things are within walking distance. Your new home may have energy-efficient appliances. Along with your impact on the world, living in a smaller home means you’re less inclined to spend lots of money on cheap imports that you don’t need because you don’t have the space.
Bye-bye stress
They say that bigger is better, but when it comes to stress… Living in a large house can cause you a lot of stress for a multitude of reasons. Financial stress is probably one of the largest, but homeowners can get stressed out by how much work it takes to keep the home clean and well maintained. Homeowners can get stressed out because they feel trapped in an empty house that’s way too big for just them. It’s true that living in a smaller house doesn’t mean your life will be stress-free, but you may find that you’ll be a little happier since you have less to worry about.
Sometimes live gets to be a little bit too much and we need to take time out for self-care. On a larger scale, that can mean downsizing your home is self-care, too!
