January 21, 2020 —A lot of us are drawn to photographs of tiny houses, which are often pictured nestled in a bucolic backyard or tooling down a highway backdropped by a mountain range. But those houses are small – typically 100 to 400 square feet – and that “less is more” lifestyle is hard to imagine actually living.
But living in less space, well a lot of us are interested in doing that.
Younger adults, especially those in high-rent locales like New York and LA, need to spend less on housing. Many older adults want their retirement years to focus less on possessions and more on experiences and are attracted to small homes, condos, apartments and retirement communities.
Kendal at Oberlin Offers a Variety of Options
For instance, Kendal at Oberlin offers lots of housing options, including apartments and cottages. The smallest cottage, a 643-square foot studio, is a small-space option for single occupancy. With a wide range of shared community spaces for recreation, art, socializing and more, you’ll still have lots of space for the activities that matter most to you. Add to that a lifecare agreement that includes future long-term care needs, then you have an excellent value.
Living in a smaller space means rethinking how we fill our space, and the internet is full of ideas: futons (beds at night) and tables (desks during the day) and other double-duty pieces of furniture; creative storage containers and nooks (think vertical); and, of course, getting rid of excess stuff.
Considering Downsizing?
Downsizing, or rightsizing as some like to call it, is a big piece of making the smaller living space puzzle work. That means recycling excess furniture, household items (how many sets of dishes do you really use?), clothing, paper products, linens and other stuff.
The Tiny Life published an article about “the purpose of stuff” and divided it into four purposes with questions to ask about each.
- Functional: What if you didn’t have this thing, what would the impact be? (Think kitchen gadgets.)
- Aesthetics: How do you want your space to feel, and how will this item help you achieve this goal?
- Nostalgic: Is it possible to keep this memory alive in another way, such as a photograph? (Beware of quicksand.)
- Dream Placeholders: Should I lay this dream to rest and move on?