Downsized and Proud of it

15 years ago

Downsized and Proud of It

KPLU listeners Dave and Kathy Ferre in Salem, Oregon, share their small living strategy:

We are just completing the renovation of our Salem, OR home of 576 sq. feet. For text and pictures:

This was a great little website with pictures of before, during and after a renovation project.

We sold our 4-bedroom, 2-bath home and have been selling off furniture and other items to "fit" into this smaller space, which is easy to heat, to cool, and taxes are just over $800 a year. By doing most of the

renovations ourselves, we also saved a lot of money.

Thanks,

Dave and Kathy

Here is a link that might be useful: Dave and Kathy's renovated small home

Comments (8)

columbiasc
15 years ago
I am always in awe of people who can perform that kind of work themselves. Nice story. Thanks.

~Scott~
FlowerLady6
Original Author
15 years ago
Hi Scott ~ ** I am always in awe of people who can perform that kind of work themselves. ** I am too. DH and I have done a lot to our little cottage here and it's much more comfortable being opened up, plus we reinsulated the attic, and laid down flooring over it, and put insulation board on the roof side in between rafters. It has made a difference in here. We put in new double paned windows, also making a difference in noise and making it more insulated. We've lived here since 1973, hard to believe. I am really appreciating more and more what we have the older we get. It's nice to have it paid for and decluttering is what we are working on now. We have a workshop, a small barn and a storage building all built to code, and two sheds with permits also. It helps to have out buildings.

That article really inspired me to get rid of more stuff, as we are a couple of pack rats. It isn't easy, but we are working on it. The article also made me really appreciate our little place and compound on 1/4 of an acre.

FlowerLady
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columbiasc
15 years ago
All that on 1/4 acre. Great job! I'll bet it looks fabulous.

~Scott~
FlowerLady6
Original Author
15 years ago
Well, fabulous, not so sure about that. : -) But it is cool looking and we just have to get rid of the accumulated stuff that's laying around. We are waiting for cooler weather to do more organizing, and getting rid of.

FlowerLady
emagineer
15 years ago
How great to see your pics. All that you have done makes me feel so good about the projects I have gotten finished too. You had far more to accomplish, the place looks wonderful.
FlowerLady6
Original Author
15 years ago
emagineer ~ Those weren't my pics, that's of the couple in the article. They did a fantastic job of renovating their whole place.

Very inspirational.

FlowerLady
lexi7
15 years ago
Oh Wow!!! I am so impressed. You now have a beautiful home, and you will treasure those before and after pictures. We have been to Salem, OR. You are so blessed to live there. I love OR especially Bandon, LaGrande and the Columbia River area.
FlowerLady6
Original Author
15 years ago
lexi ~ We don't live in OR, it would be nice if we did. We live in se FL. The couple in that article lives in OR and those are their pictures. They did a fantastic job with that little place.

FlowerLady