Extreme Downsizing

How moving from a 6,000-square-foot custom home to a 370-square-foot recreational vehicle helped quell one family's 'House Lust.'

By Daniel McGinn | Newsweek Web Exclusive
Feb 12, 2008 | Updated: 12:35  p.m. ET Feb 12, 2008

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  • Posted By: MISNMY4KIDS @ 02/12/2008 3:57:01 PM

    Well, how nice that this family of 4 could afford to build a multi-million dollar home. I am a mom of 4 kids, and currently the sole breadwinner for my family (because my husband is an unrealistic dreamer who doesn't truly love me...because if he did, he would have come through on his promises to support us so I could be a "stay-at-home-mom" for a while. Now, my youngest is 4 years and 4 months old, and the other 3 are all in school. SO MUCH FOR MY DREAMS COMING TRUE... I am finally making a decent income for just the second year of my working life (I used to make half as much, and we just got by but never ahead). We live in a condo I purchased before I married and had kids, and it probably has all of 1,200 square feet of living space...and 1 full bath (with 2 half baths...). I'm hoping that, within the next 6 months, I will get my family into a single-family home with at least 4 bedrooms and at least TWO full baths AND a backyard. I'd be happy with a quarter of an acre...but a half would be even better. I DO think 6,000 square feet for a family of 4 is a BIT MUCH...but if I could afford that for my family, I would undoubtedly love it and feel AMPLY BLESSED. However, I'd be satisfied with something in the neighborhood of 3,000-3,500 sq ft. After all, I am 45, and as my husband doesn't do much in the cleaning department (though he cooks and does the majority of the dishes and most of the laundry...because he's ALWAYS home, while I am commuting 3 hours round trip every day...), I do what little cleaning I can manage in my very limited "free" time, so cleaning a 6,000 sq ft home without hired help might be a bit difficult for me... I am also the one who ALWAYS goes to the parent-teacher conferences and the majority of the other school functions (and I handle the bulk of school situations), so that cuts even more into my little free time... In the end, as one can see by this family's story, however, the living out of an RV "thing" was a temporary "whim" on the part of this family, since they ARE shopping for a fixed abode once more... Once can't deny the appeal of a decent home and suitable space for one's family. The main "plus" that resulted from their "experiment" was that they realized that they can live in far less than 6,000 sq ft. (pretty much anybody CAN...).

    • Posted By: MTR1973 @ 02/12/2008 4:27:06 PM

      I say this in the gentlest possible way, but you should really read what you wrote here several times over. Do you realize how whiny and victim-y this sounds? You really sound like you've got the victim role in life nailed, and while you might think that it's only apparent when you put it in writing, I guarantee it's having an effect on your family and probably your work life as well. Happiness isn't a destination you arrive at when you have a big house and a short commute - it's the ability to decide every day that what you have at the time is good, and that anything better would be a bonus. But seriously, stop suffering already.

      • Posted By: Ms_Chrys @ 08/12/2008 9:15:12 PM

        MTR...perhaps she is burnt da heck out because deadbeat hubby isnt pullng his weight yet expects her to function as mom to him and all their children as well. I feel for her, as she feels trapped by this bozo. Easy for all of us to judge, but not many of us have walked in those shoes of just barely keeping one's head above water and living to serve others without time or money (and feeling guilty or in her case, now resentful) re having no "Me time". I am a caregiver (began at age 35 when my spouse was disabled), and can understand this woman's angst. At least, however, my spouse isnt purposefully doing nothing to help the family stay afloat/get ahead.

      • Posted By: Taut @ 02/12/2008 4:47:16 PM

        Darling it seems to me you need a new husband not anew house

  • Posted By: buckley39 @ 03/22/2008 2:04:19 PM

    In December of 2007 we sold our house and all of its contence. Packed up our personal belonging and moved into a 35 foot Motor Home. We have been planing this dream for over 10 years. Our Goal is to stay at least a month in each state. We plan to make it to Hawaii also. There is no better way to experience what this country has to offer than driving the open road . You meet wonderful people and see all the things this country has to offer.

  • Posted By: infopubs @ 02/23/2008 2:11:32 PM

    We downsized from two full households to one when we married, and then again from a sticks-and-brick home to our 300 square foot bus. The process of getting rid of most of our stuff was very liberating, and allowed us to live our dream. We now live full-time in our bus with our dog, 2 cats, and 4 fish. We've been traveling the US and Mexico for almost 4 years, seeing and documenting so many amazing new things. And yet, every night, we sleep in our own bed in the comfort of our own home..

    It is a fantastic life, free of stuff and competition.
    OurOdyssey.blogspot.com

  • Posted By: malkoffgrandadventure.blogspot.com @ 02/15/2008 12:28:53 PM

    My teenagers and I live on the road full-time in an RV and are seeing all the United States and Canada learning history, biology, geology, climatology, geography and photography from our experiences on the road. They read voraciously, listen to audio books when we drive, and do advanced mathematics, website design, photo editing and graphics, vocabulary and research online with their laptops instead of traditional high school. To support us, my husband travels back and forth from our family business. We spend 60% of the money (including the airline tickets) that we used to when we lived a ???traditional life.???

    You simply don???t buy things if you aren???t willing to get rid of what you already have, because there isn???t the room. We each get a drawer, and ¼ of a closet ??? it???s a great way to control your clothing purchases. Even with the fuel used for driving the RV, we use a fraction of the utilities we did in our stick-house.
    Every family does it differently ??? our group Families On the Road http://www.familiesontheroad.com/fotr.html is filled with information about the most humble of travel to the luxurious. There is also a section on budgets http://www.familiesontheroad.com/life.html .

    I hear all the time about people wanting to live this dream ??? the hardest thing giving up all the possessions gathering dust in your closets, storage and garage. On the road, you get to experience and grow with your most valuable possession -- your family.
    Mary Ann http://malkoffgrandadventure.blogspot.com/

  • Posted By: livingthegoodlifehere @ 02/15/2008 9:36:08 AM

    Okay, I just dont understand people..i like the ones who are pointing their fingers at how huge rvs are and how much fuel they use as they drive their big suvs that get the same fuel mileage yes reality waking they do. Oh give me a break carbon footprint are these the people with boats and toys they use on the weekend and big houses. When we stayed in our rv we used about 40 gallons of water for 3 days for 5 people yes you read that right we ran off battery also which we can recharge off our vechile. We are able to be fully self contained and indepdent. My hope is to get solar panels on top for less then $2,000 for full hook up and totally be self contained. I know americans not worrried about energy concerns or fuel cost till they stop driving those huge SUV's and trucks to work every day when they could be driving a rice burner. Yes rvs have a full kitchen bathroom and bedroom for all those who think they know what a rv is. We are currently living in a 960 sq ft house with 6 people. I would love to have an rv any old day, full timing with my family to see history so my kids can learn both sides of the story and not sit in some 4 wall room and listen to a teacher talk for hours on ends and only read about. Life is school we as parents are still learning in life. Hands on, learning life. Life is too short to not enjoy it. Think about when you have a disaster what the one thing you make sure you have...your family....everything esle can be replaced. go clean your house and find how much stuff you never knew you had or use. And for the record a lot of people in (big ) motorhomes usually have a little rice burner that they pull behind that they do errands in after they park for the month or the week...that better then those who use their huge fuel hogs everyday.

  • Posted By: livingthegoodlife @ 02/15/2008 9:33:03 AM

    Okay, I just dont understand people..i like the ones who are pointing their fingers at how huge rvs are and how much fuel they use as they drive their big suvs that get the same fuel mileage yes reality waking they do. Oh give me a break carbon footprint are these the people with boats and toys they use on the weekend and big houses. When we stayed in our rv we used about 40 gallons of water for 3 days for 5 people yes you read that right we ran off battery also which we can recharge off our vechile. We are able to be fully self contained and indepdent. My hope is to get solar panels on top for less then $2,000 for full hook up and totally be self contained. I know americans not worrried about energy concerns or fuel cost till they stop driving those huge SUV's and trucks to work every day when they could be driving a rice burner. Yes rvs have a full kitchen bathroom and bedroom for all those who think they know what a rv is. We are currently living in a 960 sq ft house with 6 people. I would love to have an rv any old day, full timing with my family to see history so my kids can learn both sides of the story and not sit in some 4 wall room and listen to a teacher talk for hours on ends and only read about. Life is school we as parents are still learning in life. Hands on, learning life. Life is too short to not enjoy it. Think about when you have a disaster what the one thing you make sure you have...your family....everything esle can be replaced. go clean your house and find how much stuff you never knew you had or use. And for the record a lot of people in (big ) motorhomes usually have a little rice burner that they pull behind that they do errands in after they park for the month or the week...that better then those who use their huge fuel hogs everyday.

  • Posted By: nancy sv @ 02/15/2008 9:08:07 AM

    I couldn't agree more that giving up a big house in favor of a small space is the best thing for a family! We are a family who travels on bicycles - in fact, we will be taking off in June to ride from Alaska to Argentina with our ten-year-old twin boys!! Being together as a family as we enjoy Mother Nature's gifts just doesn't get any better. You can read about our journey at www.familyonbikes.org

  • Posted By: JOHNJOHN642 @ 02/14/2008 8:25:47 PM

    Crazy world, isn't it? There's a global energy crisis and you get a job driving two RVs around the country on a disability awareness campaign. The clock is ticking America. The clock is ticking.

  • Posted By: YumaMamaLama @ 02/14/2008 8:21:26 PM

    For those few who must travel a lot for their work, an RV makes pretty good sense. For those whose finances make living in one, I have sympathy, since it can be a lonely life, and you don't have a yard.

    However, as a citizen of Yuma, AZ, I can tell you that most of us living here dread seeing these behemoths coming into our area every winter. All of the extra vehicles in our city makes trying to get around our town that has marginally enough adequate streets into a nightmare. Our population swells from 80,000 to over twice that many for at least 5 or 6 months a year. They're obscene to look at.. Often, they're towing an "around town" car -- so when one stops to get gas, they take up the space of three pumps. Those who drive them seem to be mostly those with way too much extra money and the attitude that goes along with that. Much to the drivers'/owners' misperception, their money is not the lifeblood of this city. Since they pay so little for our infrastucture, we citizens bear the burden of the extra taxes it takes to accomodate them.

    I have nothing against people travelling around and seeing all the wonderful sights we have in this country, And I have nothing against people travelling to see relatives and friends. But do they HAVE to do it in those monstrosities that reek of excess and take up way more than their space in this world?

  • Posted By: Rickey136 @ 02/14/2008 7:04:03 PM

    We have been RVing for 18 years I'm a unionworker and I travel all over from hall to hall meet brothers and sisters from different halls and enjoy it, the only way to make a living you enjoy where be travel plus its a paid vacation thats what I tell my wife. Plus, when you enjoy twisting wires together and lighting up America it makes me feel good.

  • Posted By: Rickey136 @ 02/14/2008 6:59:18 PM

    Will the thing is down sizing is not at all the choice of the problem ,see I'm a unionworker and I follow the life of RVing due to the fact is construction is the only way too pay your bills plus we enjoy to travels because I tell my wife it's a paid vacation, plus we are seeing America been doing it for 18 years.
    With the work here and there we go, plus we are building America.

  • Posted By: U82much @ 02/14/2008 6:12:07 PM

    I love hearing stories about morons with lots money to WASTE. Debbie, perhaps you should have hired a nanny to take care of your kids so you would be available to follow Jimbo around.

  • Posted By: fishnart @ 02/14/2008 4:37:14 PM

    We are a semi-retired, kids gone, one dog family who recently made a move to Arizona from Montana. We found a tiny 650 sqare foot cabin in a rural area next to the national forest. We bought it as we were tired of living in our 5th wheel. 2 years later, and 400 square feet more, we are loving our new downsized home. We are finding we don't need any more room than we have, and find it hard to believe that people need houses that are in the 5 and 6 thousand square foot catagory. Why does anyone need that much house space? I think this country is going to find after this latest housing crisis that we can all do with much less. It is easier on the environment, and much easier on the wallet!

  • Posted By: jackpotlady @ 02/14/2008 4:10:52 PM

    I've lived in a small Winnebago for 6 years and would give anything to live in a house or motel room. Downsizing has strengthened my marriage and made me aware of how much I need indoor plumbing and a space to call my own. I suffered a stroke, couldn't drive if I wanted to, have gone without much social interaction and find it demoralizing to continue and I miss the summer and the fun times. I cannot have my kids or grandkids over, cannot fathom that it was once fun, and after winter in a tin can I am ready to resume normal life.

  • Posted By: RV next @ 02/14/2008 3:22:15 PM

    We are already planning to do the same thing in the future
    sell the house take the procedes and buy a RV
    we plan to see every state in the US

  • Posted By: bronxtony @ 02/14/2008 2:48:52 PM

    Is it not amazing what we do not need in our lives, how we get caught up in the run for the roses each and every day. It is so refreshing to see that there are a few who realize that the relationship between husband wife and family are the most important things they have. All the rest is eye-wash and self induced stress. My wife and I love to get away in our RV, the closeness is exactly what we bought it for. Everything is within five steps and you are never out of touch with your loved one. The chores of the RV are nothing compared to the joys of being together and relaxing in the "Simple Life"................Tony Cordaro

  • Posted By: JimWard @ 02/13/2008 2:40:00 PM

    Update from Jim Ward: We are leasing a 1600 sq. ft. home and keeping the RV to continue our advocacy. Dan was using our experience to illustrate how "less is more." No matter how you choose to cut it, the RVs functioned as home and mobile office for 6 people (including other advocates), cost less and left less of a carbon footprint than that of our combined homes, offices, cars, etc. Since November 15, 2006, we have traveled nearly 30,000 miles to more than 100 bus stop events that included disability leaders, governors, members of Congress, and state and local policymakers. The urgency of this mission is grounded in the fact that, 17 years after passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the courts have significantly weakened these vital civil rights protections. The result is that people with disabilities face poverty and unemployment at rates more than twice the mainstream population. We have been calling on Congress to pass the ADA Restoration Act which will restore these protections and ensure fairness, freedom & opportunity for all. More: http://adawatch.smugmug.com/gallery/2925333 As a person with a history of a significant disability, I arrived in Washington, D.C. divorced, unemployed, nearly bankrupt and with a list of psychiatric diagnoses as long as my arm -- and with the associated stigma. My previous "housing" prior to this relocation included a locked psychiatric ward. Among the limiting messages was that I would be a life-long "patient," that I should never have children and that, despite my masters degree, extensive professional experience and having been elected to political office, I should do something "less stressful" -- like work in a deli! That was more than a decade ago. I have refused to be put in the box of "limited expectations" so often forced on people with physical and mental disabilities. This tour around the United States promoting the ADA served many professional goals. But for me personally, it was a celebration of the family that I "wasn't supposed to have" and a call on people with disabilities to refuse to accept living in the box of stigma and discrimination. Let???s not limit what people with disabilities should do or think that people with disabilities should somehow be exempt from wanting to participate in the American Dream. People with disabilities strive for the same dreams as all Americans: the right to live in our own homes and not isolated nursing homes and institutions; the right to a decent wage for a job we are capable of holding; the right to raise our own families in our own communities. So, in the end, I hope we can keep the focus on those who are forced from their homes and communities and into isolated and sometimes abusive nursing homes and institutions. This happens regularly in America because of the institutional bias in our healthcare system which rewards the nursing home and institutional industry at the exp

    • Posted By: JimWard @ 02/13/2008 3:08:55 PM

      So, in the end, I hope we can keep the focus on those who are forced from their homes and communities and into isolated and sometimes abusive nursing homes and institutions. This happens regularly in America because of the institutional bias in our healthcare system, a system which rewards the nursing home and institution industry at the expense of home care and attendant services.

  • Posted By: LBinLV @ 02/12/2008 1:37:38 PM

    People need to get back to what is important. While they weren't exactly living in poverty, the Wards learned that they do not need so much unused space. After 25 years of marriage and raising two kids in a 2200 sq. ft. home with a pool, I often said we could have been just as happy if not happier if we would have been stepping all over each other in a much smaller home. Less upkeep, less stress, more closeness with the people who mean the most. I could have probably been a stay at home mom which might have helped my one child turn to a better direction in life. Bottom line is, we are way to much of a consumer-oriented society.

    • Posted By: blessed @ 02/12/2008 5:45:52 PM

      What bothers me the most is that if people could spend this much on a home, think how many people they could help with the money that they give away to a bank for there big homes. This I feel is our biggest problem here in America. We take and take and borrow and borrow and we give nothing in return. Think of someone other then yourself when you have more then you need. Saving for retirement and your childrens college is one thing, but buying a home that cost a million dollars is beyond belief for me. I make a lot of money myself, but I can not see spending all of it on me and my family when we can afford to give to other less fortunate.

      • Posted By: JimWard @ 02/13/2008 3:06:34 PM

        Please see how we spent our year working on a cause that has become my calling. You can see what we are trying to do at http://adawatch.smugmug.com/gallery/2925333 and hopefully you will join our campaign. I am appreciative that Dan included a link to our nonprofit work at www.roadtofreedom.org as most of the national media, in this day and age, might write about our house size and our sex lives but ignore the how America is failing to keep the promise of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Go to http://roadtofreedom.wordpress.com/ and scroll down the page to see how the real purpose of this journey was covered in the media at the state and local level.

  • Posted By: lindsayhil @ 02/13/2008 12:10:35 PM

    ???my suggestion for the storage unit is to go in with a view to keeping only ???what you used??? (on a really regular basis...) and perhaps that is redundant as you haven???t used any of it for 2 years; and ???what you love??? anything of great sentimental value. Everything else in-between is just clutter...often ???potentially??? useful (but not right now), sometimes guilt ridden (if a ???should??? comes up when deciding, get rid of it), occasionally very valuable, but never-the-less clutter. Less clutter equals more peace of mind, free time and jingle in your jeans!! Sell or donate all that lovely stuff to a good cause and bank the tax rebate. To quote one family in California who were definitely on the right track ??? ???Small house, big life???.
    Cheers, Lindsay
    Lindsay Hilsenbeck ACG CVCC
    Professional Organizing & Coaching
    The nonjudgmental solution for disorganization...
    Phone: 510 669-1152
    Email: lindsay@professional-organizing.com
    WebSite: http://www.professional-organizing.com

  • Posted By: lindsayhil @ 02/13/2008 12:03:49 PM

    ???my suggestion for the storage unit is to go in with a view to keeping only ???what you used??? (on a really regular basis...) and perhaps that is redundant as you haven???t used any of it for 2 years; and ???what you love??? anything of great sentimental value. Everything else in-between is just clutter...often ???potentially??? useful (but not right now), sometimes guilt ridden (if a ???should??? comes up when deciding, get rid of it), occasionally very valuable, but never-the-less clutter. Less clutter equals more peace of mind, free time and jingle in your jeans!! Sell or donate all that lovely stuff to a good cause and bank the tax rebate. To quote one family in California who were definitely on the right track ??? ???Small house, big life???.
    Cheers, Lindsay
    Lindsay Hilsenbeck ACG CVCC
    Professional Organizing & Coaching
    The nonjudgmental solution for disorganization...
    Phone: 510 669-1152
    Email: lindsay@professional-organizing.com
    WebSite: http://www.professional-organizing.com

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