Big house, tiny living: how Mira downsized to 43 square meters
About ten years ago, when the KonMari decluttering trend took off, Mira Ahjoniemi founded a Finnish community for its enthusiasts. She first moved from a spacious single-family home to a temporary rental studio, then settled into her own one-bedroom apartment. Whenever there’s no room to host, she and her partner arrange Christmas get-togethers at an Airbnb.
Mira Ahjoniemi, 50, Riihimäki:
About ten years ago, our twin children moved to another town to attend high school. My partner and I immediately put our house in Karkkila, in Southern Finland, on the market. The two-story place had four bedrooms, and we realized that both financially and ecologically, it made no sense to live there—heating costs were high, we had year-round yard work, and most rooms were empty anyway.
I started clearing out our belongings right away. We encouraged the kids to take everything they wanted or needed for their own places. I filled a treasure chest for each child with photos, drawings, and small keepsakes, which I still have. We had enough towels, sheets, furniture, and dishes for several households. I sold all the extra furniture since it wouldn’t fit into a smaller home. That way, our moving load would be minimal.
Going through the belongings in such a large single-family home was quite a challenge, so I looked for new decluttering methods. We’d never had a huge amount of stuff, but I became interested in minimalism and read Marie Kondo’s The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up. I appreciated how it suggests each person adapt the method to their own ideals. I talked about the book on social media and, together with a few others, decided we should have a Finnish Facebook group on the topic.
I come from a family that values a neat and orderly home. I want my home to be tiptop.
When the house finally sold, we were free to move anywhere. We ended up buying a one-bedroom apartment in downtown Riihimäki off the presales plan. Construction lasted almost a year, so in the meantime we rented elsewhere. Part of our things went directly into storage, and I staged our rental place like a hotel room. After that, 43 square meters (463 sq ft) felt positively luxurious.
I come from a family that values a neat and orderly home. I want my home to be tiptop. Still, every home starts to accumulate extra items if you’re not actively fighting the tide of stuff. In a smaller home, you genuinely have to limit your clothing, belongings, and even pantry staples, since there’s very little storage.
We’ll have to rethink things if, for instance, we get grandchildren someday and need more room. I believe your home should always fit your life situation.
Moving into a smaller home was also an ecological and economical decision. I prefer to spend my money on services and travel rather than on more possessions. We’ll have to rethink things if, for instance, we get grandchildren someday and need more room. I’ve bought and sold homes five times in 30 years, and I believe your home should always fit your life situation.
From the larger house, I miss having enough space to host big parties, dinners, and gatherings. Now we take all our celebrations elsewhere: we’ve spent Christmas in a spa or an Airbnb, and sometimes we book a nearby hotel room.
That’s really fun, but it’d be nice to have overnight guests for a longer stretch, too. Still, buying a bigger apartment plus paying higher housing fees would cost more than just booking a few hotel nights each year.
How to make a small entryway work
“In my opinion, you need all the entryway space for shoes, clothing, and maybe bags. We keep our shoes in wire-mesh baskets on rails inside the entry closet, so air can circulate. You can fit multiple pairs of shoes, and there’s no wasted space at the back. When our children lived at home, we installed wire-mesh shelves along the bottom of a large hanger closet. If the closet floor doesn’t have heating, a mud mat is a good way to keep it clean.”
