I once heard someone say “There’s no such thing as happy places, only happy people.” Having lived in both large and small places, I can tell you that each has its pro’s and cons. And the size of the place never really made much of a difference for my overall happiness.

If you’ve been contemplating moving into a smaller place, or already live in a small place and haven’t quite figured out how to make it work for you, here are a few tips.

Tip #1: Spend more time outdoors

When you’re outside it doesn’t matter how large or small your home is.

Tip #2: The Right Stuff

Go through a little bit of your stuff each week to weed out anything that’s not adding value. Just because you’ve had things for a long time doesn’t mean you should keep them forever.

Tip #3: Organize vertically

Clutter hides in a big home. But in a small home, clutter quickly gets in your way. Getting and staying organized is key.

When you don’t have a lot of floor space, you can use vertical space to make up the difference. Hang things on walls or from ceilings. This brings me to Tip #4.

Tip #4: Use your imagination

Some creativity and craftsmanship goes a long way.

• Turn that space under the stairs into a bookshelf or drawers.
• Try fold-away tables and desks.
• Try bunk-beds for the kids.
• Replace an awkward door with a sliding door.

The list of possibilities is truly endless. And if you can change your place structurally, you can do some really interesting and unique things that make the place even more fun to live in.

Here are a few more ideas to get you going.

Tip #5: Do interesting things with the money you’ll save.

Less space means less to heat, less to cool and less to clean. It can also mean a lower tax bill and probably means a lower mortgage or rent.

With all the money you’ll save on those expenses, you’ll be able to boost payments to debt, savings or investments. Or if you just want to live a little richer, you can do that too.

So there you have it. Living in a small space doesn’t have to mean going without. It can be an opportunity to shed clutter, save money and start a new chapter in life.

What’s your story? Are you thinking about down-sizing your living space? What makes it appealing to you. And what’s holding you back?

Check out Mr. Frugals tips on how to get the most out of purging your stuff.

Crystal Cove Beach Cottage

I don’t live in a house (yet), instead I live in a fairly large apartment compared to the average “apartment” size. However, 50% of my time is spent in one room, my office, and the other 45% of my time is spent in my bedroom. I roam the other parts of the apartment throughout the day, but only to get something to eat or use the bathroom.

Out of my 1,690 square foot living space, I utilize 400 square feet 95% of the time. The analysis of my behavior is what has led me to believe that I could live in a tiny or small house.

Not only do I recognize my living patterns and know I could live in less space, some of the tiny house designs I’ve come across are the most space-efficient designs I’ve seen. Partly because they have to be, given the small square footage, but also because there seems to be a trend towards living with less – less square feet, less material items lingering around, less income dedicated to a mortgage or rent payment. When it comes to some of my favorite tiny house designs, less is really more.

My all time favorite tiny house company is, of course, Tumbleweed Tiny House Company. I’ve been singing their praises for a long time. However, they’ve recently added six new designs called Box Bungalows. Each one under 110 square feet with plans selling for $49.00. These plans are different from their original tiny houses, which are now labled “House to Go,” which are intended to be built on a trailer for mobility. The Box Bungalow plans are meant to be stationary with concrete footings for the foundation, though there is some flexibility on foundation choice. The really nice part about these tiny houses, is you can purchase them in a kit or pre-assembled for those less handy with a hammer, and they cost under $20,000!

Tumbleweed Tiny House Company

While reading Westways Magazine, I came across a local real estate company that purchases small houses, renovates them, and then resells them preserving their originality. Better Shelter renovates small houses in the Los Angeles and Orange County area. A unique real estate niche for people who are tired of the McMansions of the early millenia. When the time comes to purchase a small or tiny house, I’ll be investigating this company a little more.

I can also “test-drive” a tiny house by renting one at Crystal Cove Beach, a state park in Newport, CA. In a concerted effort, the Crystal Cove Alliance and the CA state park has renovated the 1930′s beach cottages and rent them out by reserving them through Reserve America. However, I quickly searched for availability on the individual cottages and had difficulty finding available dates from now until next March! I guess the tiny house trend is more popular than I thought.

Not only do tiny houses cost less to build, relieving the owner of a hefty mortgage payment, they also are more energy efficient saving lots of money on utility bills. If you want to learn a little more about tiny or small houses, be sure to check out my house plan page. I’ve done extensive research on small and tiny house plans.

Could you live in a house under 400 square feet in size? Do you find that the majority of your time at home is spent within a smaller space than what the house actually provides?

This is the question that’s been perplexing me lately. As much as I love the idea of picking out my very own little house plan, I’m beginning to realize that living in a land-locked area makes this a challenging prospect. Take for instance the cost of land. There’s this nice sized lot (by this I mean it’s a little larger than a postage stamp) down the street from me. Guess how much? For only $299,000 it could be all mine. Apparently the person selling this lot thinks he/she can sell it to a developer and build 3 side-by-side homes on .28 acres. I think not.

Obviously, purchasing land any where in my zip code is not going to happen. So I look a little father west and for $150,000 I can score an 8,000 sq. ft. lot in a residential section of a neighboring valley. Not too shabby. But land is just the beginning. Thankfully this lot has a current geologic survey, but I think I once read that a new owner must confirm and pay for their own test. I’m guessing this might be a few thousand dollars. This particular lot is flat and has electric, water, and sidewalk access, so I’d estimate land preparation would be somewhere in the $7,000-$12,000 ball park. Now I’m up to about $163,000 and that’s just for a hunk of dirt.

I’ve found this great new house plan site called the Perfect Little House (I love that title ). Their plans are refreshing and different. I love the Kingfisher and Beachcomber house plans. Their site doesn’t estimate building costs, but from my research it varies between $100 to $250 per sq. foot. I’m going to estimate building in my current city would be on the higher end, maybe around $195 per sq. foot. If I opted for the slightly smaller Beachcomber plan, the cost to build would be about $320,000. Now let’s add up those figures, shall we?

Kingfisher Perfect House Plan

• Land and prep: $163,000
• House: $320,000
• Delays (there’s always delays and more costs, right?): $25,000
• Grand total: $508,000

I think I’m going back to my Tuff Shed plan.

Now on to some link love and thanks. This week I guest posted and blog swapped on the following sites:

• On the Yakezie – Finding Free Money for College
• Blog swap with Financial Success for Young Adults -  Do-Over, Do-Over, Can I ask for that?

I was also part of a couple of carnivals including:

• Featured link in Blog Mango, To Rent of To Buy?
• FSYA Blog Swap Round-up

A big thanks to those sites driving traffic my way this week:

• The Saved Quarter
• The Consumerist
• Yakezie
• Retireby40
• WiseBread

It’s been quite a while since I’ve written a post about small floor plans, so I decided to focus on functionality and design. How many times have you walked into an enormous house, yet were disappointed with the layout and functionality of the floor plan? I know that in my personal experience, the McMansions that were so popular during the housing boom were some of the most poorly designed floor plans I’ve seen. Plans that had too much wasted space; cubbies that seemed to have no purpose; open areas in places where there wasn’t any flow of traffic – these floor plan mishaps not only take away from the functionality of the design, but also cost money  -square footage that still must be heated and cooled.

Of course, if you had a choice over what kind of floor plan to choose, functional floor plans make the most sense. But what constitutes a functional floor plan?

• Rooms that serve a purpose
• Traffic flow throughout the house – the rooms should be laid out in such a way that you don’t have to walk through a bedroom to get to a living room or den, etc. Or walk past an unused living area to the “main family area”
• Plenty of storage
• Minimal wasted corners, landings, or seating areas

Some good choices include bungalow style plans. Bungalows vary in size, but are typically under 1,500 square feet. Their exterior design can range from Craftsman to Cape Cod. These small floor plans normally focus on the living/dining/kitchen area as the central “living area” with the bedrooms anchored towards the back or to the sides of the house. Bungalow plans include both open floor plans, where the kitchen is open towards the dining and living areas, as well as more “closed” floor plans, where the rooms are only connected by doorways.

Bungalow Small Floor Plan

Ranch Style Small Floor Plan

Ranch style plans are another preferred, functional choice, depending on your individual style. Ranch style plans are traditionally one-level, however newer styles offer two-levels. The main living area (living room, kitchen, dining area) are clustered together either towards the middle of the house or on either end with the bedrooms grouped together as well. Ranch plans can range in size from small (1,000 sq. ft.) to very large (over 3,500 sq. ft.)

The benefits of choosing smaller, more functional floor plans can mean huge savings in your electric and gas bill. It may also mean you accumulate less “stuff” because you have fewer wasted areas that end up getting filled with things you never use. Another good reason for a small floor plan.

When you bought your home, did you consider the floor plan and its functionality? Are you thinking of buying or building a home and seriously considering a smaller one?

This is the last day to purchase the Tumbleweed Popomo House Plan for only $9.99! This is one of Jay Shafer’s mid-sized, tiny house plans that’s quite modern in style. It reminds me of a Frank Lloyd Wright ranch-style/modern home of the 1950′s. At 172 square feet, it’s size is just right for a single person or a couple. It’s apparently also one of the easier plans to build as well if you’re a newbie!

And, if you happen to miss out on this sale; or it’s not quite the plan you’ve been drooling over, Tumbleweed Houses is offering a build-it workshop in Hawaii on March 26th and 27th, 2011. If you’re planning a trip, or need a good reason to go to Hawaii, the workshop starts at just $99 and all others are on sale for 20% off until Christmas.

Small houses rock!