Tips for Downsizing - Pain Free!

Downsizing is so popular right now it's about to hit the tipping point. Not really - let's hope that never happens. Environmentally conscious folks, architects, editors at Dwell magazine and people who live in expensive places like Manhattan have been honing their small-space living skills for quite some time now. They have a lot to teach the masses who are now seeking to live a bit smaller.

Well, we can give the current economy a lot of credit for the current downsizing trend, but it's not a bad thing, I promise. Our culture was celebrating huge plasma screens in every room, homes where you never had to pass by another family member for an entire week, huge closets for a gazillion pairs of shoes we couldn't afford, and garages large enough for a plethora of gas guzzlers a bit too much. Now even the Real Tacky Housewives of Bravo are downsizing.

Small space living allows you to clear the clutter, decide what's really important, save money for more important things, save energy, spend more time with your family and even allows you to gather a captive audience, if that's what you desire. Who knows? You may save so much money living smaller that you'll be able to take more trips, hit the day spa and be able to enjoy more of life outside of your house. Start to retrain your thinking. Instead of thinking "cramped" think "charming." Instead of thinking "one room studio" think "pied-à-terre." Instead of thinking "rinky dink house" think "cottage" or "bungalow." You get the picture. Still not convinced? Go watch a marathon of "Hoarders" on A&E. This will jump-start the clearing of the clutter part of this exercise. You can do it. Here are some simple instructions for living smaller: