Five reasons why living in a small space is easy
We spent Christmas in my parents’ house with the big crew of my siblings, nieces and nephew. The house—nestled in the snowy foothills of the Front Range—is large and newly remodeled. It’s absolutely beautiful. We has a great time with my family but Caveman and I, being eternal introverts, were bouncing-happy to get home to our tiny Shoebox. After a few days of staying in a sprawling home, you might think that we’d feel cramped and dissatisfied in our little 450 sq. ft., but quite the opposite is true. I breathed a sigh of relief. Here are five facts about why living in a small space is easy and why we love the Shoebox.
1. No stairs. I suppose this fact is a downside for my backside, (which could use several stair hikes a day!), but it sure makes for easy livin’. In a large home with more than one level, you’re constantly carrying heavy loads of laundry and babies up and down steps. Or worse, waiting for a strong-willed toddler to make his way dooowwwwnnnnn to the potty of his choice. Stairs seems to give everything, well, one more step. (BAH! Pun absolutely intended.) In the Shoebox, we’re all on one level. It’s one love. The most going up and down I have to do is during ring-around-the-rosie.
2. No losing. People, that is. Over the holiday I don’t know how many times someone asked the phrase, “Do you know where ____ is?” Trying to keep track of family members with so many rooms is exhausting. The Shoebox solves that problem for us—there are truly not that many places the kids (or Caveman!) can go.
3. No yelling. Wait. I take that back. With a two-year-old in the house, there is always yelling. What I mean is that I don’t need to scream up the stairs or across an expansive floor to see if the diapers are ready to go into the dryer or if Red has been given a snack yet. Most of the time, here, we can speak at normal adult-level volumes.
4. No sprawling. It seems that in a large space stuff just naturally seems to sprawl. Or is it just me? By the end of the few days at my parents’ we had to comb the place FBI-style for our belongings. We had deposits of stuff in no less than five separate rooms. The Shoebox can’t afford sprawl. Stuff goes in its place or we find an alternative for it. Not that our apartment is always clean—it’s not. But when thing do get a little misplaces and out of hand, usually a 15 min blitz clean will have the Shoebox shining again.
5. It’s cozy. When we first got our dog (which we don’t have anymore, for you new readers), she spent all her time in the dark underneath the low coffee or under the bed. Animals like tight, enclosed spaces where they feel safe. It’s kind of the same with us. (And yes, I do realize that I just compared my family to canines.) Here we feel tucked in, at peace. No matter where you live, it’s your place. And most of the time, your space can’t be beat.
What about you? Do you have other reasons why living in a small space is easy? What do you love the most about YOUR home?
Brilliant!! The shoebox does fit you so well and each point you have here is SO TRUE!!
Thanks, Val.
Have you read _Quiet_? It’s about introverts.
I haven’t read it yet, but my mom has (and recommended it to me). She LOVED it!
We find that the three of us are a lot closer (not just physically!) when we’re living in a small space. On the boat, and in our basement this winter, we’ve been interacting more and having to get along better, because there is nowhere else to go.
I agree, Beth. I like to think that, in the future, it will train us all (and the boys!) to interact with other with more humility and grace.
love it! I just love being around my family all the time. Even when we are doing different things we are together
I found your blog today from Miss Minimalist, I love that you gave up your home to live in a smaller apartment to be able to stay home with your baby. It is wonderful having a small home, everyone is closer, and finds more things to do with each other or to go outdoors (where we have plenty of open land available for exploring). I like to say my home is my cocoon, it feels safe and just the right size for what my life needs. It also takes a lot less time to clean.
Hi Lois! I love connecting with other small-space dwellers.
The cocoon idea sounds just right! We do spend a lot of time outside and I LOVE that I can vacuum the entire Shoebox without switching outlets! 
Glad to have you here.
Just found you on Miss Minimalist. I enjoyed this post! It’s inspiring to read of more minimalists out there.
Hi Eva, glad you found us!
I found you on Miss Minimalist too, and I’m enjoying your blog.
We downsized from 1300 sq ft to 485 sq ft. We live in a little seaside cottage (literally overlooking the sea)! It’s a *dream* in a 1,000 ways!
One way is how easy it is to care for our place. We keep it spare in furnishings, and everything has a place. Cleaning up is a breeze — and the house feels comfortable and spacious.
People think we are nuts, but we love it!
Hi Jenifer,
I’m sorry I didn’t get the chance to reply to your comments before things went haywire. So glad you’re here! Your new place sounds amazing.