How low can you go?

[germdoc]

In square footage:

http://www.cnn.com/2008/LIVING/wayof...ses/index.html

I moved up progressively with each move until my previous house of 3000+ SF. Then I downsized to one about 1800 SF (not including the 3-car garage/workshop!).

I have been getting more and more disdainful of having too much stuff. If I move again it will be to a really small cottage-style house (unless my future wife has other plans...). I think I could get by with 250 SF, but anything smaller would drive me crazy.

[Ed62]

Here's something along those lines, but I don't know about the shop. http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/up/play...26713&src=news

Ed

[shoottx]

We have talked often that what we need is about 800 - 1200 sqft house and a huge Garage shop area.

We spend our time in the house in the kitchen bathroom bedroom office and thenthe shop. So as a prioity we need a decent kitchen, a functional bath room, space to sleep, a little space to work and then a shop

[cgallery]

I don't mind large spaces, I just can't stand clutter.

My current home isn't that large (1800 to 2000-SF), and it has been a struggle to keep the clutter out (married with two daughters).

My basement (shop) feels pretty cluttery at the moment. I plan on building 2-3 tool cabinets that can be wall-hung. Everything that doesn't fit, goes. Tools that have value (duplicates that I don't use, for example), will go on eBay.

[jlm]

I could definitely do fine in a small house with a large shop. If the shop were big enough, 500 sq feet might be plenty. The folks in the CNN story are definitely extremists. Seems like you can downsize without going to crazy lengths like storing your clothes in your car.

But does anyone else think it's insane that these 100 square foot houses cost $15-20K? That seems awfully high for such a tiny structure. You can get a single-wide mobile home with ten times the square footage for about twice that. Sure, the tiny house is probably better built than a cheap trailer, but $20K for what's basically a plumbed and furnished shed?

I'd love to have one of these on a spot of land in the country: http://tinytexashouses.com

[crokett]

When I was looking for my first house, one house I looked at was 1200 sqft. The garage/shop was 1300 - two car garage with a shop area on back. I came real close to buying it, but it was the nicest house in an otherwise not so nice neighborhood and was across the street from a graveyard, so would have been a hard one to sell.

[drumpriest]

We live in a 900 sq foot house. If it were not for my 2 hobbies, this would be PLENTY of space. The 2 hobbies being recording and woodworking, they take up quite a lot of space.

I have a 250 sq foot shop, and a 210 sq foot studio/office. The shop isn't included in the 900 sq feet, but the studio is. So we are currently living in about 700 sq feet of space. It's actually fine for my family, but 1 more bedroom would make life a good deal easier. I'd also like to about double the shop space. While the shop is functional, it can be a pain when working on larger projects.

Clutter is always an issue, and you definitely need to be of the right mindset to eliminate it, and we're still working on that. Things like netflix and the good ole library help a bit. You don't feel the need to own these things when you can rent them for little or no money.

[Popeye]

When I bought this place I had 4 kids and a wife. It's 2400 sq ft with a 15 x 30 shop. I now live alone with three cats and one small dog. I keep telling my friends I'm looking for a 2 bedroom, 1 bath, kitchen and living room house with a three car garage/shop. I could probably get by with 1000 sq ft. Pat

[Tom Slick]

my wife and I live in a 950 sqft house and it is a fine size for just the two of us. I need a 5000 sqft shop though. When I was growing up (80's-90's) none of my friends had houses over 2000 sqft, even the ones that were "rich". now I read the "average" house is over 2500 sqft. An average house where I lived was about 1600-1800 sqft and was on an 1/8-1/4 acre lot. I do understand that outside the western US where basements and multiple stories are normal you can gain sqft easily.

[Richard in Smithville]

My town home is just shy of 1100sqft but it is so well laid out that it feels that there is so much more living space. Some times there could be a little more storage but then that means I'll collect more junk. While driving around and seeing larger homes, loml always comments on how much more there is to clean. We want to enjoy our house, not having it become a second job just trying to maintain it. Having a smaller, more affordable house also makes it easier when there is an income change. When I was in the hospital this past June, I had no problem maintaining my home until the insurance kicked in.

[billwmeyer]

When my wife and I got married, we lived in an 9 x 36 1950's travel trailer for a year. It was a challenge then, and we didn't have much stuff. The roofline was curved at the back, so we could hardly sit up in bed. We did have a cat, a dog and a goldfish she named Cottontail. We traded it in on a 12 x 60 mobile home and we almost got lost in it as it seemed so big. I would estimate my house at aroung 1600 sq ft.
Bill

[Mrs. Wallnut]

We have about 1440 sq. feet. And right now I don't think I could handle anything smaller than this. The only thing that I would like to expand on right now is Richard and Thomas' room. There could be another 10 feet and I would be happy about it. I think the room is a 10x10 room, (but I am sure if I am wrong Mark will correct me).. A little more cupboard space would be nice but I like my house, and slowly we are doing things to make it look good inside and out.

[MikeMcCoy]

I'm a little under 1400 sg. feet right now and moved from a 2500 sq. feet house. It is just me and it's plenty of house but it wouldn't work if I had a spouse since one of my spare bedrooms is for working out and the other spare is over flow from the shop.

[jackellis]

Our current house is about 2,000 square feet and it would be all we *need* except for the clutter.

We're building a retirement home right now that will be large enough for a big family. His & hers hobby rooms, an office for me, plenty of room for guests, two car garage, large combination living room and kitchen. We may be sorry later, but it's what we want. I'll finally have a real shop instead of a piece of the garage with no wall storage.

[LinuxRandal]

My house's living space is just shy of 1100 square feet. If I were married with kids, I am sure I would need/want something larger (only attract the psycotic women, don't let your wives know you just thought all women are psycotic ). I really haven't hardly used the room that was added on in 1960, and have considered the last few years converting it into an upstairs shop. (11x14 with headroom, as compared to the 6' basement ceilings). (been using about 900 square feet of it, started out intentionally)

If I won a large powerball, I would buy out the house next door (bad shape, still up in part due to the connection to Harry Truman), rip it down, and build a large garage/shop. I would add an office up top with a bed for a bit, gut my house, build a foundation with 8' ceilings, and do a revamp/insulate. I know as George Carlin said, we have too much stuff, and I have had a few friends who have lost everything before (fires) and know what SHOULD be the most important.

I figure if I didn't want to work on things, and just hire them done, I could live in 500 or 600 square feet, comfortably, and spend more time out in the world with actual live humans.