If anyone is as much a fan of GoT as me, you probably know that before the cute little dragons died out, they had a hard life, sanctioned away within the Red Keep. Without room to grow, each dragon grew smaller and smaller, and eventually they all perished.

Sad face. 🙁

Although this spells a terrible end for the dragon, it also brings to mind an interesting way of thinking about clutter, and all that extra stuff you have lying around.

To Smaller Spaces

Before I downsized, I had a pretty large apartment for an early-20-something in her first big girl job. I had four closets (woo!), a good-sized kitchen, a craft area, and a bedroom that was actually uncomfortably large. When I moved into my current apartment, although it was only a difference of about 200 square feet (or 25%), I realized how much space can change your perception of how much crap you truly have.

I was down to two closets, so not only did I have to downsize my furniture and decor, but also everything I wanted to keep but not look at. Living definition of a nightmare. And this was before I got into minimalism, so the thought of throwing away a water-logged grocery list was abhorrent.

So I stuffed all of my over-sized, unnecessary stuff into my new, itty bitty apartment. I don’t know what exactly happened, but I looked around at all this crap I had and didn’t use, and I just started chucking it. I didn’t want to see any of it anymore.

And now I have everything I need, plus some fun stuff to keep me happy and entertained.

Make Like a Dragon

But my point is, like a dragon, I grew to the amount of space I was allowed. I really didn’t need all the space I had in that first apartment. I had had a bed, a couple bookshelves and a table, prior to moving in. After moving in, I found myself needing a couch, more tables, more kitchen equipment, and a writing desk.

Learning how to let go of things and slowly downsize to the amount of stuff I actually need taught me that it’s really not the size of the apartment that matters, but the quality of the things that you have inside of it. I went from keeping stuff “just because I might need it in three years when we do that thing that we might do in three years,” to chucking it, moving on, creating space, and living comfortably in an apartment that had absolutely all of the amenities I need to live a happy life.

This also made me think a lot about the people who have talked about moving into a studio apartment from a one- or two-bedroom. At first, I really thought the thought was taboo, almost incendiary (how dare thee!)

But as I got rid of more and more stuff, and saw all the floor space opening up within my apartment, I started to realize that for a lot of people, what you have is directly related to what you need. You’re used to have that two-bedroom apartment. You couldn’t imagine ever having to fold your laundry in your own bedroom, because it’s just so much more convenient to do it in your spare bedroom.

Minimizing What We Deem Necessary

Now, I’m not saying that everyone should go live in a box on the corner and call it. But I am saying that perhaps there’s a little more (read: less) we can do to minimize what we deem necessary.

Homes today are on average 1,000 square feet larger than a home in 1973, an increase from 1,660. What has changed so much within this time period that makes an average US family need so much more space?

I could see an increase in technology as an answer, and maybe an increase in consumerism. But there’s no way that our necessary living space has increased by more than half because we actually need the space.

So to anyone who is considering downsizing to a smaller apartment, but worried about losing space, I say go for it. Make like a dragon, and shrink.