Downsizing my lifestyle.

[Cripplecreek]

Just kinda thinking out loud.

With the death of my mother I realize how big and empty her house seems now. Hopefully we'll be filling it with my cousin, his wife and 2 teen and one college age daughters.

It got me to thinking about how much I rattle around in my approximately 1500 square feet. It doesn't sound like that much but that's considerable space for a single middle aged man. My unattached polebarn/garage is 650 square feet and I could live comfortably in that amount of space. The house I own now is fine but nothing special. Its just a typical boring house built in the mid 70s.

I'm not thinking of going hogwild with a 160 square foot "tiny house" but a 650 to 850 square foot modular might really fit the bill for what I want and need. I'm 52 years old and won't be raising a houseful of kids and if I get remarried it will be to a woman with grown independent kids.

Something like this would be ideal for me.



or this

[Victoria33]

Only put a wife in a 850 sq.ft. house if you want a divorce. 

[Cripplecreek]

Only put a wife in a 850 sq.ft. house if you want a divorce. 

A middle aged woman can handle it as long as I spend plenty of time in the yard.

[roamer_1]

I'm not thinking of going hogwild with a 160 square foot "tiny house" but a 650 to 850 square foot modular might really fit the bill for what I want and need. I'm 52 years old and won't be raising a houseful of kids and if I get remarried it will be to a woman with grown independent kids.

I'm 54 and divorced... Wound up downsized into a 1150 ft2 cabin - nice common area: Really decent living room/office/dining, great sized kitchen and master bedroom... Great little utility/laundry right off the kitchen... Pretty small bathroom, a mud room and a fair sized guest bedroom. 7 ft lids so it is easy to heat.

Been here 4+ years now, and it is still a mansion to me.

All things being equal though, what you are talking about is something close to my place w/o the guest bedroom.... While I don't use it much, there has been occasion for it to be useful - Folks have had to come by and crash for a day or two.

The point being that downsizing the rest to allow for 2 bedrooms (if my current guest bedroom ft2 was eliminated) seems a pinch to me. Could be done, but the rooms would be much smaller. I'm pretty happy with what I have.
Roomy, but still easy to heat in the winter...

Only thing I'm really missing is a good root cellar (make sure that's on your list - I didn't think of it).

[Cripplecreek]

I'm 54 and divorced... Wound up downsized into a 1150 ft2 cabin - nice common area: Really decent living room/office/dining, great sized kitchen and master bedroom... Great little utility/laundry right off the kitchen... Pretty small bathroom, a mud room and a fair sized guest bedroom. 7 ft lids so it is easy to heat.

Been here 4+ years now, and it is still a mansion to me.

All things being equal though, what you are talking about is something close to my place w/o the guest bedroom.... While I don't use it much, there has been occasion for it to be useful - Folks have had to come by and crash for a day or two.

The point being that downsizing the rest to allow for 2 bedrooms (if my current guest bedroom ft2 was eliminated) seems a pinch to me. Could be done, but the rooms would be much smaller. I'm pretty happy with what I have.
Roomy, but still easy to heat in the winter...

Only thing I'm really missing is a good root cellar (make sure that's on your list - I didn't think of it).

My uncle suggested that I put the house close to the garage with the sidewalk between them and build an "airlock". As long as it isn't nailed or firmly attached to both house and garage I should be fine. I can turn half the garage into a den. I already have a wood stove out there.

[roamer_1]

My uncle suggested that I put the house close to the garage with the sidewalk between them and build an "airlock". As long as it isn't nailed or firmly attached to both house and garage I should be fine. I can turn half the garage into a den. I already have a wood stove out there.

That's fine - Just make sure you can maintain natural drainage both directions from the walk - Seen it way too many times where a breezeway blocked the only way for water to run off... Simple thing...

[roamer_1]

@Cripplecreek

BTW, you are lucky to have a garage - I didn't get that far yet (ran out of fun tickets).

Were it me, the garage would not be for a den - it would be for a shop. Right now I'm working repairs out of a 12x18 shed, with expectations of putting up a 30x30 shop w/ 14' lids someday. Been my whole life working on rigs outside and have always wanted the shop... Gotta do a body swap on my pickup (hopefully before the snow), and it's getting to where I don't look forward to crawling around in the gravel...

[Idiot]

Just kinda thinking out loud.

With the death of my mother I realize how big and empty her house seems now. Hopefully we'll be filling it with my cousin, his wife and 2 teen and one college age daughters.

It got me to thinking about how much I rattle around in my approximately 1500 square feet. It doesn't sound like that much but that's considerable space for a single middle aged man. My unattached polebarn/garage is 650 square feet and I could live comfortably in that amount of space. The house I own now is fine but nothing special. Its just a typical boring house built in the mid 70s.

I'm not thinking of going hogwild with a 160 square foot "tiny house" but a 650 to 850 square foot modular might really fit the bill for what I want and need. I'm 52 years old and won't be raising a houseful of kids and if I get remarried it will be to a woman with grown independent kids.

Something like this would be ideal for me.



or this

Just make sure and get something that doesn't require a lot of maintenance, like painting every 5 years or so. 

[ConstitutionRose]

Bump  to join the discussion later.

[Idiot]

It's interesting to watch HGTV "Tiny Houses" episodes.  Even some couples with children are opting for the tiny house life.  I can't imagine being cooped up with 2 or 3 other individuals in that small space.  There would likely be a killing...lol. 

[mirraflake]

Dumbest thing we ever did...built a McMansion in 2006.... 7 bedrooms, 6 bath house, full completed basement House has 2 complete kitchens.


I only go upstairs-2nd floor maybe 1-2 times per year just to check things out.

My wife and I must have been on crack. At least it's paid for 100%

My wife spends 90% of her time in the tack room in the  horse barn and I'm  building a garage so I will be in there most of the time.

The happiest I ever  was in in our first home about a 1000 square feet. 

[dfwgator]

When the kids move out, I'm thinking of just selling the house and travel the world and rent places via AirBnb, with little more than my Computer and some clothes.

[Cripplecreek]

I'm looking at a lot of wasted heating and air conditioning.

In the center of the house I have an open 20 x 30 space from 1 living room wall all the way to the far kitchen/diningroom wall. Beyond that is a small laundry room that I do use but then there's another 30x20 space consisting of a master bedroom and bathroom that I don't use.

I sleep at the opposite end of the house in one of the smaller bedrooms and I use the smaller bathroom with the shower in it. In the smallest bedroom I keep books, files in file cabinets etc. I effectively live in a 15x 20 section of the house. I go to the kitchen to cook my meals but don't spend any time there.

[Weird Tolkienish Figure]

Big houses = more house to clean and heat.


However, I like having a separate den for myself in my current house. Makes a big difference.

[roamer_1]

Dumbest thing we ever did...built a McMansion in 2006.... 7 bedrooms, 6 bath house, full completed basement

I was east of the hump one year... once we're done branding here, there's generally some left to do over there...
The guy I was working for was 3rd or fourth generation on that land... Their original homestead was still there, and he took me over to see it...

10 or 11 kids were raised out of that little cabin... little more than my living room and kitchen. It was a caution to me, and an amazement that 'necessity' was so very sparse in comparison to what I considered to be true.

House has 2 complete kitchens.

That ain't so dumb... I'm trying to get my back porch done, and it includes a fully functional wood-fired kitchen... part of that is preference, I reckon, as I prefer my food cooked over wood... but it's also for canning season, where all that food can be processed easily out on the porch instead of heating my house to insufferable levels...

What really got me going there is bread - I'm going old-school as much as I can, and part of that is making my own fully organic bread - best thing I ever did... But in summertime, baking bread in the morning puts a fair start to heating the house up. Doing that out on the porch solves that problem entirely, with a secondary benefit of the taste imparted by a wood-fired stone oven... And think pizza... Just sayin'

[Frank Cannon]

Go big or go home. I have a little over 4500 square feet and and a couple big out buildings and I still don't have enough room. As long as there are estate auction where they are giving cool vintage stuff away for nothing, I will need the space.

[AllThatJazzZ]

@Cripplecreek

You have no idea how much I identify with what you wrote. I live alone with 2 little dogs, and I have waaaaaay too much house for our needs. Got the big living room like you described and the master suite, and yet I live in about 1/3 to 1/4 of the house. Like you, I use the secondary bathroom (it has the larger shower), although I do use the en suite bath for doing my hair and makeup.

I liked the houses you posted, although it's the actual floor plan that would determine if I really liked a house. If I were going to build my dream house, I'd start with the kitchen and work my way out from there. I love to cook, and my kitchen isn't a comfortable one for cooking. I'd also want a screened-in porch or even a 3-season porch. Those would be the two must-haves for my little dream house.

My mortgage is so low, I couldn't even get a decent one bedroom apartment for what I pay now. I love having a backyard where it's safe and private and I don't have to feel afraid to take my dogs outside in my nightgown at 2 in the morning. My vet is about a mile away. Kroger, H-E-B, Walgreen's and CVS are all within a 2- to 3-mile radius. The park where I walk the dogs is half a mile away. All things considered, I'll likely stay where I am. You know how old folks get set in their ways.  ;)

[Frank Cannon]

Uh oh....Frank has hoarding tendencies....lol.  I was the lucky person who ended up getting to clean out a hoarder relatives house after his death.  Every room was at least 3' deep in "stuff".  He had guns under the beds, closets, bathroom closets....swords and knives everywhere....it was simply amazing.  He even had a live hand grenade in the attic.....plus pickled rattlesnakes in bottles under the house.  It was quite the adventure.  Please think of your poor family when you are hauling stuff back from an auction.   
@Frank Cannon

@mrpotatohead

Did he have any cars? I have cash!

[DB]

Go big or go home. I have a little over 4500 square feet and and a couple big out buildings and I still don't have enough room. As long as there are estate auction where they are giving cool vintage stuff away for nothing, I will need the space.

I plead the 5th...

[Frank Cannon]

Nope no cars to speak of...just a junker old Toyota that we sold for scrap.  He did have this in one of the bedrooms though....it had oil cans on the bed....you could barely make out that there was a bed in the room there was so much stuff.  This is at my mom's house now and it is quite spectacular. 

He had a suit of arms that he got in Germany when he served there, plus a French sword.  All very impressive pieces.  Plus he had a square piano....like this one....

Not really into old junk like that. More into avocado appliances and shag carpeting.

[Gefn]

Oops... forgot the colt single action army .38 special under the bed.....I've had fun with that one.

Shag carpeting is coming back. I was getting my oil changed about three weeks ago and people in the waiting room were watching the flipping house show. They were putting in brand new shag carpets