By

Melissa Noble

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I've always loved the idea of having a big family home. I grew up in a two-story house with six family members, and it was always loud, fun, and messy.

Now that I'm a mother of three, I have a very different perspective on what it actually takes to run a busy family home. After living in multiple two-story houses in the last few years, I've realized that bigger isn't necessarily better in many ways.

In August, our family of five downsized to a small three-bedroom duplex in Labrador on the Gold Coast, Australia. Before that, we'd been living with my parents, and prior to that, we lived in a double-story house in Bright, in country Victoria.

Initially, I dreaded the idea of residing in what felt like a shoebox. How would we all cope? Would the kids drive each other nuts? How would they manage without a big yard to run around in? And most importantly, where on earth would I hide, aside from the shower?

The first couple of weeks were an adjustment, as we got used to our smaller abode. But much to my surprise, I'm actually finding it to be a refreshing change, and there have been plenty of unexpected benefits.

The inside is so much easier to clean

Our previous homes took me at least three hours to clean each week. When you're busy running businesses and raising three children, that kind of time can feel like dead expenditure, a bit like paying rent.

In contrast, it takes less than an hour to clean our new home. It's light and bright and somehow doesn't seem to accumulate dust in the same way the two-story properties did.

Having a smaller space to maintain has saved me an enormous amount of time and energy. Instead of spending hours keeping on top of the housework, my husband and I have more time for things that actually matter to us, like making memories with our kids.

There's less yard work

One of my favorite things about our home in country Victoria was the garden. It had these beautiful, mature trees that were spectacular to look at, but they also dropped a huge amount of foliage.

As a result, my husband was forever outside raking up debris. Likewise, when we lived with my parents, he'd spend several hours a month mowing and maintaining their yard.

Our new home is a different story. The back has a tiled courtyard, so there's no real maintenance required, and out front, there's a small yard. My husband or son can mow the grassed area in about 20 minutes. Again, this means we've gained more time to spend together as a family, rather than being tied down with the upkeep of a property.

Less clutter, more functional

With bigger homes, it's easy to fall into the trap of buying things to fill the space. Often, it's stuff you don't necessarily need, or at least that was my experience in the past.

Before we downsized, we ditched a whole lot of our clutter. Toys the kids hadn't looked at in years went to the thrift shop. Old clothes were tossed or passed on to someone who could use them.

In our new home, we've kept the furniture to a minimum, which has naturally reduced clutter. I feel like this has really helped with my mental health. Moving into a smaller space has also made us more conscious about the items we do own. We try to stick to items that are functional and serve a specific purpose in daily life.

Cheaper bills

It's still early days, and we haven't had to pay any bills yet, but we do expect to see some energy savings thanks to our move. The difference in our utility bills will really help our household budget over time.

It's hard to compare like for like between our last two properties, as one was in a much cooler climate and needed heating at this time of year, and Mum and Dad's house had solar panels. We do expect our bills to be lower at our new home.

Our water bills may also be cheaper, as there's less outdoor watering required.

Small suits us, for the moment

We know that our current home probably won't work as our kids grow older. I imagine that having three teenagers in a small duplex, haggling and loafing around, could test our patience in the long run.

But for the moment, downsizing has been a refreshing change. There's something so liberating about simplifying things, living with less stuff, and having a smaller space to maintain. We're embracing our small-home chapter and appreciating the little things along the way.

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