Standing in our kitchen – the first room you see when entering our 980-square-foot home – I realized something profound the other day. The same tasks that once felt endless in our larger house now take minutes. What changed? It wasn’t just the square footage. By simplifying everything from our dish count (exactly two of everything per person) to our morning routines, we’ve discovered that less really does equal more – more time, more peace, and surprisingly, more wildlife sightings.
Take our kitchen for example. When we moved in, instead of transferring our old habits to the new space, we made a deliberate choice: each family member gets exactly two of everything – two plates, two bowls, two cups. No dishwasher either. What sounds like a recipe for inconvenience has actually become one of our best decisions. It forces us to clean as we go, preventing the overwhelming sink-full of dishes that used to accumulate in our old home. No more having enough clean dishes in the cabinet to ignore the mounting chaos in the sink.
The transformation extends beyond the kitchen. Our kids, who struggle with ADHD and anxiety, used to find room cleaning so daunting that it required the whole family’s intervention. The sheer volume of possessions made it overwhelming for them to even start. Now, with fewer belongings and clearer spaces, they can manage their rooms as part of their morning routine.
Speaking of routines, there’s a simple checklist on our fridge that guides our kids through their morning tasks:
- Go potty
- Get dressed (and put dirty clothes in the washer)
- Eat breakfast and clean their dishes
- Brush teeth and hair
- Take medication
- Make their beds
- Check backpacks
- Pick up their room floors
- Make Mom and Dad’s bed
That last item came from my mother-in-law’s wisdom: if parents are up early helping kids prepare for school and making breakfast, the least the kids can do is make their parents’ bed. It ensures Mom and Dad end their day without the additional stress of an unmade bed. These small acts of reciprocal care have strengthened our family bonds in unexpected ways.
The reduced chaos has rippled through every aspect of our lives. Instead of writing in the middle of the night as I used to, I can now spread my creative work throughout the day when three of our four kids are at school. The mental space that comes from physical organization has opened up new possibilities for family time too.
We’ve started taking what we call ‘nature drives’ in the early evenings, watching for wildlife as they become more active. The kids count deer that frequently visit our yard – something unimaginable in our old city life where finding wildlife meant driving past miles of civilization up into the canyons. While we’ve mostly spotted deer, our in-laws next door report sightings of moose, various birds, badgers, and foxes. It’s a different way of life here, where even in a town of 11,000 people, nature feels closer and more accessible.
Yes, the kids still sometimes struggle with their morning checklist – we often have to redirect them to review it multiple times before they head out the door. But compared to our previous life of endless cleanup and overwhelming spaces, these small daily challenges feel manageable. The routine might not be perfect, but it’s progress.
What we’ve learned through this journey of simplification is that it’s not just about having less stuff – it’s about creating space for better things. Better routines, better habits, better ways to spend our time together. Our smaller home hasn’t limited us; it’s liberated us to focus on what truly matters.
Sometimes the best changes come from necessity. We needed to pare down to fit into our new space, but in doing so, we found a rhythm that works better for our entire family. Less chaos really does mean more life.
Tyson Brooks is a 36-year-old creative who traded Utah’s bustle for Wyoming’s wide-open spaces in 2023. When he’s not crafting stories through technical theater lighting or working on his space exploration novel series, you’ll find him in his cozy 980 sq ft home, experimenting with healthy comfort food recipes or discovering how much richer life can be with less. Follow his family’s journey into intentional living, simple cooking, and finding joy in the unexpected.
