My apartment journey so far has been a history of 9’s — 9 months here, 9 months there. Well, this interval is almost at a close and little to my surprise I have decided to move yet again. However, this isn’t just any move. My boyfriend and I are packing up, moving in with his mom to save a little extra cash, and man, oh man, are we downsizing. I’ll admit, when I looked around the upstairs floor of her house (our soon to be living quarters), I felt this impending doom of losing all my space and having to either sell or store all of my beloved things. Lots of thinking, aimlessly walking around my seemingly spacious apartment, and a few mini panic attacks later, I realized that downsizing can actually have some surprising benefits. Before you find yourself caught up in the same ridiculous whirlwind of downsizing despair, bear with me and try altering your perspective by focusing on what’s good about moving to your new, smaller space.
1. Sizing down introduces you to many ways to save money —
Most of the time when you decide to downsize, that space reduction comes with a cost reduction as well. Depending on your particular situation, your rent could go down, your utility bills should decrease tremendously (a smaller space uses less energy, which is good for your wallet and the environment too), and your desire to fill every empty corner of your apartment is eliminated with the need to conserve space and live practically.
2. More money means more opportunities for doing more fun things —
Been dying to take that dream vacation? Maybe you’ve needed a new car for ages? Downsizing isn’t awesome only because it saves you money, but because it opens many financial doors for you that were closed when you had bigger bills to deal with each month. For me, this opportunity means not blogging all weekend just to get an extra few dollars to put toward rent and more time focusing on my health and doing things I’ve always wanted to do. The best bonus of all? I can now put more of my income toward paying off those pesky and ever-looming student loans. I’m sure you can think of a few things to do with your extra cash as well.
3. Cut your chore list in half —
With a bigger apartment comes the awful downside of having more areas to clean. By downsizing your living space, you can literally cut your chore list in half. I don’t know about you, but I don’t love chores, so this pro is high on my list of downsizing benefits. Plus, fewer chores means more time enjoying your life!
4. You are forced to decorate with creativity and organization in mind —
When moving to a smaller space, you get that much needed push to decorate with space-saving creativity and organization in mind. If you resist, clutter and lots of hurt toes might be in your future. Nobody likes tripping on furniture is an over-crowded room.
5. It’s a chance to embrace the minimalist lifestyle and get rid of junk —
Personally, I’m can err on the side of being a pack rat, especially when it comes to apartment decorations I’ve collected. By moving to a smaller apartment, you give yourself that necessary push to let go of frivolous things you’ve acquired over the years and donate/throw out junk that’s accumulated in your living space.
6. Less space means fewer unnecessary purchases —
Being limited in terms of space can seem like a gigantic con, but when it comes to your shopping habits, it becomes a priceless benefit. For example, you can’t buy that giant home entertainment center when you don’t have the space. Each and every purchase has to be thought through and space-approved and that, my friends, is actually a really good thing.
