Living in a large space can be overwhelming. It is more expensive and time-consuming to maintain. This is why you may start thinking about downsizing. But did you know that you don’t have to move houses to downsize? In this article, we guide you on how to downsize without moving. Let’s start by looking at your choice of colors.
Change the Paint Color
The larger the house, the more variety of paint colors it has. Every time you want to add new paint, you have to budget for multiple colors, which comes with additional costs. One of the effective ways of how to downsize without moving is to have the same color in all your rooms.
Some colors can make your rooms look bigger than they are. While others make them look smaller. Others do not affect the real size. Your painting contractor will advise you on the colors you should choose based on your preferences.
If your house allows a lot of natural light in, go with dark colors like deep purple. The dark colors absorb light and make the rooms look smaller.
Refine the Bathroom
While downsizing, there are some rooms that you’ll never want to be small. One of these rooms is your bathroom. Everyone likes a large or at least a medium-sized bathroom. You don’t want to have a small room where you and your family members have to squeeze yourself in to fit in. However, if you think your bathroom is too large even for normal standards, then you can call a bathroom remodeler to downsize it to your preferred size.
Downsizing might be the easy part, but the difficult part would be what to convert the extra space into. Maybe you can create a corner where you store your shoes. If you have a large bathroom with a toilet and shower in the same room, you might consider partitioning the two sections, even if they will have one entry. This is how to downsize without moving the shower to another room or area.
Just because you prefer smaller spaces doesn’t mean you’re not big on great finishings. As you remodel the bathroom to your preferred size, you can also have the bathtub refinishing. Refinishing your bathtub is a more cost-effective way of renovating your space than doing a whole bathroom remodeling project. Look for a good bathtub refinisher to get the best results out of the project.
You can do the bathtub refinishing by yourself if you’re reasonably handy. A standard-sized bathtub would take you 3 to 5 hours to refinish. All you have to do is follow the instructions on the refinishing kit, and the bathtub should be ready for use 24 hours after completing the refinishing. Since you’ll be using some strong chemicals, take the necessary precautions while doing the project. However, if you feel like you don’t have what it takes to complete the project, you should hire a professional for the project.
Cut Back on Your Septic Use
A septic tank is one of the most essential systems in your home. You don’t want to imagine your septic system failing when you need it the most. One of the reasons why it may fail gradually or abruptly is placing too much demand on it, or overworking it. Cutting back on your septic use is one of the sure ways of maintaining the system.
Taking good care of your local septic system will not only ensure that the system works properly but also give it a longer lifespan. Have a competent plumber that comes to inspect and do maintenance on the system on a schedule. Whichever type of repairs are needed, the plumbing professional should be able to fix the problem before it’s too late.
Cutting back on your septic use means only allowing it to do the work it was designed to do, and nothing more. This is one of the measures on how to downsize without moving because the tank will take longer to fill up. This also means if you’ve been emptying the tank every 2 years, you can now take 4 years or longer before pumping.
Some of the actions that can minimize the use of septic include disposing of food waste in the trash and avoiding pouring it into the drain. In addition, you should reduce the amount of wastewater that is going into your septic tank. This means taking shorter showers, repairing leaks, and running full loads of laundry. You should space out your laundry loads into several days of the week or month. If you have multiple loads on a single day, it can overload the septic system.
Never flush condoms, diapers, cigarette buts, and feminine hygiene products down the toilet. These types of items will not break down in the tank and are likely to clog the system. You should only flush human waste and toilet paper down the toilet.
Reduce Energy Use
One of the reasons why you prefer a smaller house is the huge energy bills you incur every month. This is because the size of a house has a huge impact on energy consumption. You can save as much as 8% of your energy consumption if you downsize from a house with more than two bedrooms to a one-bedroomed house. Maybe you have an extra room that needs lighting, heating, and cooling, yet it is rarely used. If you’re stuck with the house and can’t move to a smaller one, you can still downsize to cut down on these energy bills. This is why we are giving you these tips on how to downsize without moving.
Insulating your house can help you cut down on energy consumption. Ensure your ceiling and roof are properly installed. Your roof can waste around 25% of heat in winter if it’s not installed properly. Shut down your doors and windows during cold seasons. The same applies to your curtains and blinds, which can help you control inside temperatures.
Proper ac installation and maintenance are also key to minimizing energy consumption. A faulty ac will have to work extra hard to heat or cool rooms, and this means more energy than it should use. In addition, adjust your thermostat depending on the weather.
Many modern electrical appliances have the eco mode or setting. Make good use of these settings to minimize the amount of electricity consumed. You should also consider investing in domestic solar panels. Although it might be a heavy investment initially for the installation, you’ll enjoy the benefits of free solar power after that. You no longer have to worry about the amount of power a specific machine or appliance in your kitchen is going to consume.
Change to a More Sustainable Driveway
Creating an environmentally-friendly driveway is also a great way of downsizing. This is because it will be easier and cheaper to maintain this type of driveway. You don’t have to move to a new house with the type of driveway you prefer, you can create the driveway in your current home. This is one way how to downsize without moving.
Going green means choosing eco-friendly materials. One of the materials you should prioritize is asphalt. This material is great for the environment, and also convenient. This is a naturally porous material that allows rainwater to soak through and flow back into the natural environment. Search for asphalt companies in your city or town to do the installation on your driveway.
Additional materials to consider for an eco-friendly driveway include crushed concrete, gravel, natural stone, hempcrete bricks, and grass. A green driveway helps you avoid many problems. You’ll be avoiding floods, ruts, erosion, and washouts. You will also be preventing damage to the driveway. A sustainable driveway allows storm or rainwater and other liquids to pass right through it into the soil. A sustainable driveway works harmoniously with mother nature.
Get Rid of Features You Don’t Use
Downsizing also means decluttering and getting rid of what you don’t use. Instead of moving to a smaller house, do an audit of what you don’t use in your home and get rid of it. This is one of the most effective tips you can pick from this guide on how to downsize without moving.
Do you have furniture that you no longer use? Think of disposing of it or giving it away. Maybe you have a big family but some of them have moved out, you don’t need couches or seats for 8 people when it’s only the two of you all year round. Do you find the dining area and its furniture as unnecessary now that you’re living alone? Remove it.
You can also downsize by removing certain areas or features of your house. Some people have gone the extra mile to sublet their extra rooms. For younger people, this may involve having roommates. For older adults, this means subletting your basement or garage that you never use. Before subletting the basement, you may need to do some renovations to make it a comfortable living space. You may also hire a floor installation company to repair or install a new floor in the basement.
You may hold sentimental attachments to some items or areas of your home, and you may spare these few items from decluttering. However, some features that you no longer use should be removed. When was the last time you used the fireplace? You may not even have realized that you need fireplace repair, yet this feature occupies a significant space in your home. It’s time you got a remodeler to redesign your home and make good use of the space you have.
Rent Out a Spare Bedroom
We have already mentioned that letting out a spare bedroom is one way of downsizing without moving. In this guide on how to downsize without moving, we are letting you know that before renting the spare bedroom out, you should ensure it is ready for occupation.
Maybe it’s been years since the room was last used, and you may not know what works and what doesn’t. You don’t want to have a new tenant who is always complaining about this and that after moving in. If the room needs repairs or renovations, check out your local home builders to see who can complete the project before you rent it out.
It’s not just the spare bedroom that can be rented out. As we have already mentioned, if you don’t use your basement or garage, you can also rent them out. If these rooms lack some essential amenities like bathrooms, you’ll again have to look for a builder to add these essential areas.
Focus On One Room at a Time
Dowsing your house may mean undertaking various projects in various rooms of your home. We have already talked about some projects you might undertake in your bathroom. You also need to prepare the spare bedroom or basement you want to rent out. When you have all these rooms to deal with, it can be overwhelming. The best approach is to focus on one room at a time. For example, you can start remodeling your bathroom before starting renovations on the bedroom. You don’t want to downsize or renovate all the rooms at the same time.
Break down the projects into specific schedules that you can follow through. Get contractors or professionals who have experience on how to downsize without moving and they’ll give you suggestions on what should go first and what should be last. As one project continues in one room, you can continue preparing the next for renovations and downsizing.
This guide on how to downsize without moving has only covered a few essentials. These tips will help you make your home smaller. You don’t have to move to a different, smaller house. You have to be creative in how you convert your space to your ideal size and make good use of it. Follow these recommendations and implement them based on your specific needs.
