WEBVTT - Second Cup: Every square foot, every day

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning,

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<v Speaker 1>This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's

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<v Speaker 1>tip is to really use your space. People tend to

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<v Speaker 1>be happiest when there is an everyday use for the

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<v Speaker 1>spaces in their homes. So if you don't use a

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<v Speaker 1>room for its traditional function, change it. After all, it

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<v Speaker 1>is your house. So back in twenty eleven, while I

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<v Speaker 1>was writing a book called All the Money in the World,

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<v Speaker 1>I interviewed architect Sarah Susanka about the size and scale

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<v Speaker 1>of American homes. Susanka, author of the Not So Big

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<v Speaker 1>House series of books, noted that she encountered many homes

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<v Speaker 1>with unusable rooms spaces that I didn't reflect how people actually lived.

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<v Speaker 1>Such waste could be pricey for normal folks, but she

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<v Speaker 1>reported that even her clients with unlimited budgets tended to

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<v Speaker 1>be happiest with everyday uses for their spaces. The goal

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<v Speaker 1>should be to use every square foot every day. After

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<v Speaker 1>recently rereading All the Money in the World, I have

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<v Speaker 1>been revisiting my old work. Like I recommended in a

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<v Speaker 1>recent episode, I have been thinking of that goal. With

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<v Speaker 1>my new old house. We spent a year renovating this

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<v Speaker 1>historic home, partly to be sure we could use the

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<v Speaker 1>somewhat eclectic spaces. Now, a year after moving in, I

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<v Speaker 1>tracked where everyone was during a normal weekend day, and

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<v Speaker 1>I am pretty sure we do indeed use the full house,

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<v Speaker 1>or at least I turn off the lights in every

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<v Speaker 1>room every night. This use has been achieved partly by

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<v Speaker 1>shifting room functions. What is technically a dining room has

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<v Speaker 1>become the space where the kids can play on the

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<v Speaker 1>family computer and where I do my various one thousand

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<v Speaker 1>piece puzzles, generally while supervising the computer using kids. We

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<v Speaker 1>knocked down walls between a few tiny, ambiguous rooms to

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<v Speaker 1>create a children's playroom whose current mess level suggests it

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<v Speaker 1>has achieved new life. So the obvious caveat here. I

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<v Speaker 1>know that even pondering these matters is already a function

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<v Speaker 1>of having more space than is strictly necessary. Back when

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<v Speaker 1>my family lived in a small New York City apartment,

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<v Speaker 1>we definitely used every square foot every day. We didn't

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<v Speaker 1>have a choice. But in any case, if you too

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<v Speaker 1>are pondering your space and how it is used, it

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<v Speaker 1>might help to remember that a home exists to serve you.

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<v Speaker 1>If you don't need a space in its traditional function,

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<v Speaker 1>you don't need to preserve it for that function. You

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<v Speaker 1>might be able to use it in a different way. So,

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<v Speaker 1>for instance, if you are not doing a lot of

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<v Speaker 1>formal entertaining, maybe that formal living room could become a playroom.

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<v Speaker 1>My guest is the toys already migrate there. Now you

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<v Speaker 1>can just embrace it, keeping a sofa for a parent

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<v Speaker 1>to sit on and relax. If you mostly eat at

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<v Speaker 1>your kitchen table, then a dining room could become a

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<v Speaker 1>crafting or game room, or a library for a booklover,

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<v Speaker 1>or your real home office. If you've got a guest

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<v Speaker 1>room but don't have many overnight guests, maybe it can

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<v Speaker 1>be something else. A movie room for movie buffs, or

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<v Speaker 1>a music room. If you've got lots of family members

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<v Speaker 1>who play instruments, perhaps you enter through the garage and

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<v Speaker 1>your front foyer sits empty. If you've got a green thumb,

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<v Speaker 1>perhaps that becomes your plant room, so you can finally

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<v Speaker 1>use that giant window over the door. Now, to be sure,

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<v Speaker 1>habits don't always follow possessions. Plenty of people buy treadmills

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<v Speaker 1>and never use them. But if a space is not

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<v Speaker 1>being used at all, you may as well try shaping

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<v Speaker 1>it to an activity you think you would do. Doing

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<v Speaker 1>so increases the chances that you do use every square

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<v Speaker 1>foot every day, and that will most likely make you

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<v Speaker 1>happier in your home. In the meantime, this is Laura.

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<v Speaker 1>Thanks for listening, and here's to making the most of

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<v Speaker 1>our time. Hey, everybody, I'd love to hear from you.

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<v Speaker 1>You can send me your tips, your questions, or anything else.

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<v Speaker 1>Just connect with me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at

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<v Speaker 1>Before Breakfast Pod. That's b E the number four then

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<v Speaker 1>Breakfast pod. You can also shoot me an email at

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<v Speaker 1>Before Breakfast podcast at iHeartMedia dot com. That before Breakfast

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<v Speaker 1>is spelled out with all the letters. Thanks so much.

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<v Speaker 1>Should I look forward to staying in touch. Before Breakfast

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<v Speaker 1>is a production of iHeartRadio. For more podcasts from iHeartRadio,

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