Our Downsizing Story
Rethinking Normal
Five years ago, we lived the “normal middle class” suburban lifestyle. We were newlyweds with flashy rings, living in a two-bedroom apartment, driving two cars, commuting long distances to work and living well beyond our means.
At this time, we were living in Davis, Calif., which is notorious for expensive real estate and a negative vacancy rating (more people than rooms) near the local university. In reflection, we had a life with too much stuff and stress.
Initially, we resisted the idea of moving into a smaller one-bedroom apartment because we were more concerned about appearances and space for guests than for our financial well-being. Once we realized the source of our stress was our financial situation, we decided something needed to change. This “change” began by defining our values and prioritizing our needs over those of potential future guests.
The Downsizing Process
After creating many long pro/con lists, the downscaling process began. We sold one car and moved into a one-bedroom apartment near the train station, the local co-op and downtown amenities. Our lives changed for the better! Although we still drove everywhere, with lower rent and only one car we began chipping away at our debt.
It wasn’t until last year that we stumbled across Dee Williams’s tiny house, the Small House Movement, and the concept of simple living. After doing a lot of research and making many to-do lists, we decided to move from Davis to mid-town Sacramento. We scaled down even further, to a 400-square-foot, one-bedroom apartment within walking distance to my work. Dee inspired me to go small and start thinking big.
Thinking big required setting goals and decluttering. Slowly we began focusing on the quantity and quality of our belongings. We donated our TV, most of our furniture and many of the items filing up our closets to friends, thrift stores and Freecycle.
The Benefits of Going Small
Downsizing can be stressful, but the benefits are tremendous. Moving to a smaller apartment in the city opened up amazing possibilities. Once we sold our one remaining car, life became even better because we saved money, worked less. It sounds like a cliche, but without the car and the TV we had the time, money and energy to prioritize our health, happiness and life goals.
Purging our lives of clutter and debt has not only made us happier, but we have purchased less stuff. Since we started the downsizing process, we feel psychologically “lighter.” Since we eliminated our debt, I know I have options to engage in activities that make me happy. For instance, I’m a lucky person and enjoy my job. But if I didn’t like it, I wouldn’t have to be tied to the position. That is a huge bonus of being debt-free and actually having money in savings.
Downsizing is a process, and it doesn’t happen overnight. I hope our personal story will help you remove clutter from your life, one step at a time.
Good luck in your own simple living quest. Above all, pursue happiness and not more stuff.
Contact Me
If you have any questions, feel free to contact me.
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Tammy,
I LOVE this story in so many ways! My husband and I live in a 2 year old 2400 sq. ft. home outside Seattle bought at the height of the market. Dumb. It’s taken 50 years to figure out that clutter and stuff just brings… more clutter and stuff. Especially to the non-tangible parts of our lives. Simplicity – especially quality simplicity – brings freedom and serenity. Good for you and thanks for the example.
Pam Hirsch
Pam – thanks for leaving a comment.
Our downsizing journey has been a long process, but well worth the time and effort. Now that we have downsized, we actually have time to spend with friend, family and each other. It’s a great feeling! Living a simple life is the key to happiness. 
Lovely story! I enjoyed your story and look forward to looking around your site more. Very nice pictures too, good stuff! : )
Hey Michael – thanks so much for reading the blog!
I appreciate it.
It has taken us 20 years of marriage to finally start rethinking normal. We have too much house and too much stuff. A planned overseas move in 18 months has really gotten me thinking of how much “stuff” I’ll have to deal with to get us started on our adventure. I’m cowed by the job, but am chipping away at it, day by day.
@Erin – Good luck with your downsizing process. Keep me posted on how it goes.
Hugs to ya.
I’ve been working again this weekend on “rethinking normal” Lots of inventory went to the booth which really frees up the house. Today we began discussing in earnest moving down to make our lives more manageable. For instance we have a big yard and it is hard for us to keep it up and important to me to have it look nice.
If we could rent the house, we could move to something smaller with no yard upkeep, a little less money, and fewer utilities hopefully. We would be hard pressed to sell now if we want to retrieve our investment. We paid a large chunk down, but now we have lost the equity with the economy. It is hard to think that the house lost that much value!
In the meantime, I am looking around at pieces of furniture I could get rid of to help financially. It accumulates with the business. Though I have downsized my life considerably, there is more I could do. Your article was wonderful to reread on a day like this. Hugs
Tammy -
Thanks for sharing your inspiring story! The concept of enough and living with “less” is baffling to most, so it’s heartwarming to know there are others locally that feel the same way we do.
Thanks too for sharing the Small House Movement information. Good stuff!
I look forward to reading more about your downsizing.
Enjoyed watching your interview on Peak Moment. I agree Portland is a great place to live. We’ve been here since 1997. In the Post Peak Oil world it promises to be a better place than most.
But bigger than that, I applaud your thinking, and would be delighted if many more young people follow your path.
Thank you John! I really appreciate your kind words.
We’re excited about moving to Portland. It’s a beautiful city and there are so many like minded people there. I’m looking forward to connecting with others and building community.
Hello, Greetings from poland. I just watched your interview on peak moment and loved it. We are on a similar road to doing what you did. Your website has given me valueable information about how to do this more quickly. However I am not as brave as you for get rid of house hold stuff. I just find it hard to give away things that were presents or just in general house hold things I really like. Have you any tips on how I could get more brutal about decluttering.
@keeping up with the kozlowskis – Thanks for reading RowdyKittens. I’m glad you enjoyed the peak moment interview. A great starting point for downsizing is: The Simple Guide to a Minimalist Life. The eBook is fantastic and full of useful information. If you can’t afford the ebook, I’d recommend reading Zen Habits, Far Beyond the Stars and Simpler Living. I have a number of resources listed on my Blogroll.
Also you might find these posts helpful: Living with 72 Things and Less Really is More. Let me know if you have any other questions. I’m happy to help.
This is my idea of the small house movement.
I have lived in one of these 5 times in my life with and with out my 5 children, a cat and a hamster… ( well you know how that turned out with the hamster) We were in Alaska in the winter when we lost the hamster.
Anyway,we are in the process of downsizing again to a 8 x 36 foot long fifth wheel. 288 sq. ft. Its a fancy camper, complete with fireplace, surround sound, built in vac, computer desk and stack washer dryer, even a King sized bed and cedar lined closets.
I admit it has more than we need, the fireplace and the surround sound are a bit over the top, but it came with the unit.
what I love best about it.. is if you get bored with the scenery, the weather or the neighbors or your job changes it is easy to move! No realtor. just hook up and go!
This “home” has plenty of room to store everything we actually need. I wish they built storage in homes the way they do thse things. I think that may be why I keep going back to them is the wonderful unique storage.
Oh yes then there is the : No lawn care, no electric, sewer, water, garbage bills. That is all in the cost of the “recreational vehicle” RV camping Park lot rent. The only bill is propane for cooking and when it is cold for heating. Of course the cost of the unit, Plates and insurance.
You can rent aRV camping lot by the night, week or month. This works for familys as well. There are 2 bedroom camping trailers with built in bunks for the kids.. no need to buy furniture, it is all built in or with the unit when you purchase.
We have a pickup truck to move ours and go wherever we wish. You can also hire someone to move it for you across town or the country.
There are all kinds of price ranges and sizes and options.
It has taken me a year to declutter, donate, give away and sell things we have accumulated the last 8 years, since we last lived in a RV and moved into a way to big house. I Hate living in a house that doesnt move and has to much area to keep clean, heat and cool. I THINK IT IS BECAUSE i LIKE THINGS CLEAN AND NEAT IS ONE OF THE REASONS BIG PLACES STRESS ME OUT….Space that is never used only to put unused stuff in.
Everything we are putting into our RV we will actually need and use. and I dont have to walk 120 and back again to find it!!! Everything has its place. We have lots of time to read, hobbys, walk the dogs, visit with friends, family and the new neighbors That just pulled in next to us.
It has been a long process getting the decluttering and downsizing done.
I have NEVER missed anything I have ever gotten rid of over the years of moving into campers and back into house other than the “CAMPER:!!!! I cried when we sold our last one. The freedom was always a joy. Not having useless baggage and clutter. Time to relax and actually enjoy the view without thinking about cleaning the rest of the big “land locked” house, yard to mow again etc. By early spring we will be on the road and I am done decluttering and were not going back ………Ahh…. Life is light and good..
Tammy,
Thank you for sharing your story. I’m curious to know, as you and your husband started the decluttering process, was one of you more enthusiastic than the other? Was the mental/ emotional shift more difficult for one of you more so than the other? If so how did you two go about the process of getting mutual clarity?
Thanks again for your story. It is an inspiration.
Cheers,
Josh
@John – that is such a great question! I think I’ll write a blog post in response.
In the meantime check out these posts. They give more background on our downsizing process.
A Young Couple Find Freedom in Simple Living
How Small Can You Go – If you flip through the magazine, you’ll find our story.
Let me know if you have more questions and stay tuned for a more detailed blog post on this topic.