{"id":5599,"date":"2013-12-23T05:46:53","date_gmt":"2013-12-23T13:46:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/couponshoebox.com\/tips\/?p=5599"},"modified":"2013-12-18T08:49:57","modified_gmt":"2013-12-18T16:49:57","slug":"the-simplest-life-is-paring-down-to-the-minimum-for-you","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/couponshoebox.com\/tips\/the-simplest-life-is-paring-down-to-the-minimum-for-you\/","title":{"rendered":"The Simplest Life: Is Paring Down to the Minimum for You?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Do you ever feel burdened by your possessions and the home you need to maintain in order to store them all? While there\u2019s a lot we can do to declutter and simplify in our current homes, an even more hard-core and permanent solution to the \u201ctoo-much-stuff\u201d problem is to radically downsize to an extra-small space, like a <a href=\"http:\/\/www.tumbleweedhouses.com\/\" target=\"_blank\">Tiny House<\/a> or a <a href=\"http:\/\/www.cheaprvliving.com\/\" target=\"_blank\">recreational vehicle<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h3>Why downsize?<\/h3>\n<p><strong>Potential reasons for wanting to downsize include:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Financial &#8211;<\/strong> Your present digs may cost you more than the value and appreciation you receive in return.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Eliminate unnecessary space &#8211;<\/strong> Your house may simply be too big for your needs.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Maintenance \u00a0&#8211;<\/strong> There may more work or expense involved in maintaining your home than you\u2019re able or willing to expend.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Uncomplicate life &#8211;<\/strong> Fewer material possessions can mean less stress and a more streamlined existence.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Lessen environmental impact &#8211;<\/strong> You may want to live more naturally, creating a smaller environmental footprint.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Advantages of downsizing<\/h3>\n<p><strong>Downsizing may be attractive to you for reasons like these:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Save money &#8211;<\/strong> Living in a smaller space will save you money on living expenses, including mortgage\/rent, utilities, insurance and maintenance.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Enjoy mobility &#8211;<\/strong> Many small living solutions are actually mobile, so instead of being tied to a permanent address, you can park your home wherever you desire.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Lessen burdens of accumulated \u201cstuff\u201d &#8211;<\/strong> It\u2019s easy to become inundated with material possessions, which tend to drag us down, rather than add value to life. Fewer possessions can mean greater life satisfaction.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Disadvantages of downsizing<\/h3>\n<p><strong>Some elements to downsizing may not appeal to you, including:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Liquidating possessions &#8211;<\/strong> You must be willing to part with much what you\u2019ve accumulated throughout the years. Some of those decisions will be easy and obvious; others heart-wrenching. That process will be time- and energy-consuming as well as emotionally draining.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Potential for being &#8211; or feeling &#8211; cramped for space &#8211;<\/strong>\u00a0Living area will be at a premium which will make having room to move about freely or accommodate guests challenging.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Lack of storage &#8211;<\/strong> Like your day-to-day living area, storage space will be extremely limited. This is a far more disposable lifestyle than most people are accustomed to living &#8211; and is decidedly <em>not<\/em> for collectors or accumulators.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Lack of privacy &#8211;<\/strong> These living arrangements make privacy nearly impossible as there is no substantial distance you can put between yourself and anyone else in the residence.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Considerations<\/h3>\n<p>It may sound like <a href=\"https:\/\/couponshoebox.com\/tips\/what-can-you-live-without-in-order-to-increase-your-frugality\/\">an ideal way to simplify your life<\/a> &#8211; even a bit romantic to \u201cchuck it all\u201d and get down to the basics. Consider your personality and the personality of others concerned, however, before becoming carried away by a fanciful notion. Will you ultimately be happy without much of what you now own? Don\u2019t sacrifice a sense of self that your personal treasures and well-earned possessions may represent merely for a chance to live this lifestyle.<\/p>\n<h3>How to downsize<\/h3>\n<p>It\u2019s a tremendous undertaking to pare down your possessions to the absolute minimum you\u2019ll be satisfied living with. In general, it\u2019s going to take these steps:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Take a complete, current household inventory.<\/li>\n<li>Assign the items in your inventory to one of three lists:\n<ol>\n<li><em>Must Keep<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>May Keep<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>Will Dispose Of<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n<li>Decide where in your smaller household the items you keep will go well before moving day.<\/li>\n<li>Work on adjusting your mindset to fully embrace the concept that living with <em>less<\/em> is still living with <em>enough.<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>It\u2019s challenging to think of being satisfied with less, rather than acquiring more. Living with fewer possessions can be a valid, frugal and rewarding lifestyle for some, however. Downsizing: it\u2019s not just for empty nesters anymore.<\/p>\n<p><em>Could you downsize and live with substantially less than you currently do?<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Do you ever feel burdened by your possessions and the home you need to maintain in order to store them all? While there\u2019s a lot we can do to declutter and simplify in our current homes, an even more hard-core and permanent solution to the \u201ctoo-much-stuff\u201d problem is to radically downsize to an extra-small space, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[8],"tags":[510,302,39],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/couponshoebox.com\/tips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5599"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/couponshoebox.com\/tips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/couponshoebox.com\/tips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/couponshoebox.com\/tips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/couponshoebox.com\/tips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5599"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/couponshoebox.com\/tips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5599\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/couponshoebox.com\/tips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5599"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/couponshoebox.com\/tips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5599"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/couponshoebox.com\/tips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5599"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}