Our Living Area Shrunk from 1,100 to 1,000 Square Feet

A few days ago, I shared that we were going to downsize our home to save some money this winter. Today we switched bedrooms with my son and moved my office into our bedroom. My old office now has a few things I plan on selling on eBay as well as some exercise equipment which will be moved somewhere else shortly. None of that needs heat, so the door is now closed off from the rest of the house. We’ve successfully trimmed our home down to around 1,000 square feet of living area.

My son was against the move at first. He had the biggest bedroom, after all. Before long, he was super excited about it because we told him he could have his bunk beds (the bed he was using was just the top bunk – we tried the bunk beds earlier, but he was a little too young and scared of them at the time). That’s all we had to say. Tucking him in tonight in the bottom bunk which he made into a fort, he gave me a huge hug and said that he loves his new room. That made my day.

Mom and Dad’s new room is pretty cool too. Everything fit beautifully and it doesn’t seem crowded at all. Part of me wonders why we didn’t do this last year!

I’m very excited because I know doing this move will save on our heating costs. Like I did with showing how we saved money on electricity, I’ll have to graph out our gas usage to see how we do.

We’re not done yet, though!

I’m currently working on a huge list of everything did or are doing to save some money on heating costs this winter, so stay tuned!

Posted by Tricia on September 29, 2007 at 9:47 PM in Saving Money | 14 Comments »
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Exercise » Our Living Area Shrunk from 1100 to 1000 Square Feet responded:
Posted: September 29th, 2007 at 11:39 pm
[...] kruz75 wrote an interesting post today onHere’s a quick excerptMy old office now has a few things I plan on selling on eBay as well as some exercise equipment which will be moved somewhere else shortly. None of that needs heat, so the door is now closed off from the rest of the house. … [...]
Esther responded:
Posted: September 30th, 2007 at 12:28 pm
Don’t forget to buy and install a digital thermostat as well as a “Smart Strip” which is a power strip that stops insidious energy “sippage” from things like plugged-in computers and printers, or you could unplug everything you’re not using at the moment. I know this sounds like nickel-and-dime stuff, but it does add up. The thermostat and power strip will likely pay for themselves over time, so the cost is justified.
Mike responded:
Posted: September 30th, 2007 at 2:58 pm
This is a wonderful idea you have employed. It looks like you are trending in the right direction. Keep up the good work!
Posts Roundups (Ask Mr Credit Card’s Blog) responded:
Posted: September 30th, 2007 at 10:26 pm
[...] her determination to pay down her credit card debt. Why don’t we pack up and move and how she reduced her house living area to reduce her heating bills were two posts from her that really got my attention of all the other finance posts out [...]
Roundup for week of 23 September 2007: Plumbing fixtures edition at Mighty Bargain Hunter responded:
Posted: October 1st, 2007 at 12:49 am
[...] Blogging Away Debt smallified her living area. [...]
Roundup for week of 23 September 2007: Plumbing fixtures edition at Mighty Bargain Hunter responded:
Posted: October 1st, 2007 at 12:49 am
[...] Blogging Away Debt smallified her living area. [...]
JLP’s Weekly Roundup (Week of September 24, 2007)—ï¿½ AllFinancialMatters responded:
Posted: October 1st, 2007 at 1:00 am
[...] mapped out her strategy for saving money on heating costs this winter. – Sometimes it’s nice living in area where the coldest temperatures during winter are in the [...]
Joy Smith responded:
Posted: October 1st, 2007 at 8:35 am
This will be our first winter here in our home, so I’m not sure what our bill will be like. Our summer cooling bill wasn’t bad at all, so I’m going to guess that our winter bill won’t be too bad either.
Lynnae @ Being Frugal responded:
Posted: October 1st, 2007 at 9:02 am
Good for you! I hope your gas bill goes way down!

And I can’t wait to see your list of money saving strategies for winter. I may have to borrow some of them!
Chris responded:
Posted: October 1st, 2007 at 10:36 am
We tried something like this with our front guest bedroom but didn’t see any appreciable difference in our bill. Don’t forget to close the vent in that room. I hope it works for you!
Leanne NZ responded:
Posted: October 1st, 2007 at 1:34 pm
Your blog makes me SMILE.

I have given you an award if you wish to claim it! Go to http://www.homesteadblogger.com/TheGoodLife/71539/
An Extra Bonus » Blogging Away Debt responded:
Posted: October 1st, 2007 at 1:58 pm
[...] Leanne NZ: Your blog makes me SMILE. I have given you an award if you wish to… [...]
Patrick responded:
Posted: October 4th, 2007 at 6:37 am
What a great idea! Too many people heat and cool unused space and not only does it cost them a fortune, but it stresses our resources. Good on you for taking this step.
This Week in Review - Oktoberfest Edition | Cash Money Life responded:
Posted: October 6th, 2007 at 12:58 pm
[...] Our Living Area Shrunk… Save money by closing off unused rooms. This is a great way to save money and use fewer resources. [...]