- My household moved from Greenville, South Carolina, to Madrid.
- We went from dwelling in a 3,600-square-foot house to a 1,100-square-foot condominium.
- We moved with 4 duffel luggage and 4 backpacks, and all the things else was left behind.
Within the US, my household of 4 had achieved the American dream.
We owned a three-acre farm in the suburbs of Greenville, South Carolina, in a terrific faculty system surrounded by a beautiful group. We loved our 3,600-square-foot house, which had an connected in-law suite for my dad and mom to go to.
Our elementary-aged boys had an ATV monitor within the yard, together with all the toys that they had wished from previous holidays. We had snug linens on our beds and copper cookware within the kitchen. We had been giving off main Joanna Gaines farmhouse vibes. We even had an outside hen coop that we known as “The Chick Inn” with 12 egg-laying chickens, all with endearing names that we selected.
On paper, we had all of it. However we determined to maneuver to Spain for a cultural expertise and stay outdoors the US for a bit.
After dwelling in a high-rise apartment in Madrid for one year, we now know that we did not want all of that to be content material.
We downsized once we moved
Our each day life now consists of dwelling in an condominium with about 1,100 sq. toes of area. After we moved from the US to Spain, we solely introduced with us 4 duffel luggage and 4 backpacks. We determined that if our belongings did not slot in these luggage, we would not want it. And that reasoning, no doubt, has confirmed to be solely true.
We stay in an condominium with easy decor and sufficient dishes and utensils for our household of 4. Right here in Spain, we personal garments that may slot in a small wardrobe closet, and we share one automobile to assist us get to occasions which can be onerous to access on public transportation.
Our boys traded their ATVs for electric scooters, which helps them get to native parks quicker. All of their possessions, together with balls and sports activities gear, stuffed animals, and toys, match of their closets alongside their sneakers, faculty uniforms, and garments.
My husband and I share a small wardrobe area. To make extra room, we modify out our garments seasonally, inserting the opposite season’s garments on prime of the closet.
There hasn’t been a day that I take into consideration or miss sweaters, house decor, photograph albums, or wall artwork that we both donated earlier than shifting to Spain or saved away in a closet in our furnished (and rented out) home within the US.
Within the US, we had been at all times evaluating what we had with others
Residing within the US, we discovered it onerous to not need the higher or greater model of an merchandise. After we lived in a Florida golf cart community and owned a golf cart, our neighbor bought a stereo system put in of their golf cart, and it made us surprise if we wanted one, too. The “Maintaining with the Joneses” mentality within the US is actual, and we now have discovered freedom going from possessing issues to possessing experiences as a substitute.
For our household, we now have realized that whenever you quit area to retailer these things, you are compelled to decide on their significance to you. As I purged and donated private gadgets from our house, I wanted to take a look at every merchandise and acknowledge that whereas I wished it in some unspecified time in the future, I did not really want it. Whenever you depart behind a life filled with issues, you notice the liberty that comes together with it.
Downsizing has additionally taught us a factor or two about requests for vacation presents from household and mates. How fantastic it feels to provide somebody one thing you care about, but extra usually, merely spending time with that particular person holds a a lot better worth.
Regardless of the place my American household and I could stay sooner or later, shifting right into a smaller condominium in Spain taught us that all the necessary issues we’d like in life aren’t issues. It is my household that I can not exchange.