What’s the Big Deal? Downsizing Your Life.

This is definately larger than my childhood home

I read an article a few months ago about a woman who was renting a one room cottage on the property of an estate. Set back by a late life divorce, she had to learn to budget which made her realize she really didn’t need to live as large as she had been living. The cottage became her paradise. She only had space for her favorite things. Everything was amazingly organized (by necessity) and ultimately, it was the place she loved to be.

Downsizing for her actually turned out to be a wonderful thing. But…wait,  isn’t it all about the big house, the expensive car, the designer bag? Maybe, but I’m thinking… that was then and this is now (didn’t you just love that book?) After all, Obama is calling for change, Maddoff is losing his penthous and the lady standing next to you in the elevator has the same Prada bag on her shoulder as you . Of course you know hers is a knock-off, but does anyone else?

I saw a page from  January’s “O” Magazine that talked about how everything from houses to dishes have gotten larger since the 1950’s and 60’s. I remember thinking when I was growing up that our home was pretty nice. I had my own room, we watched Charlie’s Angel’s as a family, dinners were always around 6:00 pm or when dad got home from work; life was pretty good.

I’m not sure at what point we began to “Live large”. Did you really want to increase your plate size from 9” to 12” and ultimately eat more? Well, maybe we really did need our chair sizes to grow from 20” deep to 25” deep to fit our increasing backsides. I guess that’s also why our average bath towel size has increased from 24” x 42” in 1956 to 34″ x 56″ today. I don’t remember thinking that 19” was small for a TV. In fact when I was newly married, I thought we were really fortunate to have a 22” in my bedroom. Now my 42” flat screen looks tiny compared to other models that I see.  

Dancing the night away in the 50's

I am sure my mother and father were perfectly happy at this dance (above) in the late 50’s with a 5 oz glass of wine. Today, a wine goblet will hold an average of 12 ounces.  I’m pretty sure that for most people, five would be a much better choice.

The bottom line here is that although downsizing may not be for everyone, if you are willing to change your “Image is everything” mentality to “less is more”, you might find that you’ll save money, lose weight and quite possibly live a more joyful life. It’s definitely something to think about! In fact, I’m seeing that downsizing is the new craze.

Ask Amy: Combination Guest Bedroom and Nursery

A Nursery that Doubles Perfectly as a Guest Room

 

Photo from OhDeeDoh 

Chrissy lives in a 2 bedroom house and is expecting their first child – congratulations Chrissy! She’s wondering if they can keep the queen bed in the nursery for guests! I say absolutely! Especially when the baby is young. As he or she grows, you may want to change the queen size for a small sleeper sofa or futon, but for now, I think it can work perfectly for guests coming to see the new baby and to help you out! 

So what do you have to have in the room? My three essentials are a crib, rocking chair and storage. A small chest of drawers would be nice for storage of clothing, diapers, etc., but the closet will suffice if you can’t fit it into the space. You want to avoid being cramped. Less is definately more! A changing table can be overated – you can use a foldout padded vinyl mat on top of the bed or crib.  If you have space for a small chest of drawers it may possibly double as a changing table if you think it’s necessary, but always put safety first. 

If you don’t  have space for a chest of drawers, try a small end table next to the bed or rocker with drawers to store diapers and changing products. The thing is to look for items  that are multi purpose. Shelving can hold photo frames and treasured items, but can also hold adorable storage boxes with items that you need to access. 

Don’t forget under the bed. You can get inexpensive storage boxes for clothing that the baby needs to grow into. In fact, you might even want to raise the bed with bed raisers which will give you more under the bed storage. A bonus is you’ll give your back a break if it’s doing double duty as a changing area. One word of advice…pay the extra $10.00 for wood one’s. I bought my daughter the plastic variety for the queen bed in her new apartment and they lasted until her 6′ 6  boyfriend sat on the corner. The bed busted right through them, haha!  Welcome to the new apartment Mike! Luckily, no one was hurt, but it’s not worth the risk. 

Here’s a few photo’s for inspiration that I found around the web. I didn’t find many with a guest bed, suprisingly just the one above and the one below, but I’ve included a few storage ideas I thought could work for you as well… 

Probably bigger than Chrissy's but another multi purpose room

 

All Photos below from HGTV 

Store Items in stacking baskets that are seasonal or for the future

 

www.bhg.com 

Look for unique pieces that are taller rather than widewww.bhg.comBaskets on wall book shelves can store items you need quick access to such as diapers & wipes

 

  

Baskets can provide storage on wall or bookcase shelving

 

 www.bhg.com 

Pottery Barn has a ton of storage ideas

Potterybarn.com 

Good Luck Chrissy and let us know how it turns out 🙂