WEBVTT - Every square foot, every day

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.

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<v Speaker 1>Good Morning, This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.

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

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

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

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

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<v Speaker 1>it is your house. So back in two thousand eleven,

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<v Speaker 1>while I was writing a book called All the Money

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<v Speaker 1>in the World, I interviewed architect Sarah Suzenka about the

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<v Speaker 1>size and scale of American homes. Sasenka, author of the

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<v Speaker 1>Not So Big House series of books, noted that she

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<v Speaker 1>encountered many homes with unusable rooms spaces that didn't reflect

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<v Speaker 1>how people actually lived. Such waste could be pricey for

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<v Speaker 1>normal folks, but she reported that even her clients with

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<v Speaker 1>unlimited budgets tended to be happiest with everyday uses for

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<v Speaker 1>their spaces. The goal should be to use every square

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<v Speaker 1>foot every day. After recently rereading All the Money in

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<v Speaker 1>the World, I have been revisiting my old work. Like

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<v Speaker 1>I recommended in a recent episode, I have been thinking

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<v Speaker 1>of that goal. With my new old house. We spent

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<v Speaker 1>a year renovating this historic home, partly to be sure

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<v Speaker 1>we could use the somewhat eclectic spaces. Now, a year

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<v Speaker 1>after moving in, I tracked where everyone was during a

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<v Speaker 1>normal weekend day, and I am pretty sure we do

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<v Speaker 1>indeed use the full house, or at least I turn

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<v Speaker 1>off the lights and every room every night. This use

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<v Speaker 1>has been achieved partly by shifting room functions. What is

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<v Speaker 1>technically a dining room has become the space where the

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<v Speaker 1>kids can play on the family computer and where I

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<v Speaker 1>do my various one thousand piece puzzles, generally while supervising

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<v Speaker 1>the computer using kids. We knocked down walls between a

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<v Speaker 1>few tiny, ambiguous rooms to create a children's playroom whose

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<v Speaker 1>current mess level suggests it has achieved new life. So

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<v Speaker 1>the obvious caveat here. I know that even pondering these

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<v Speaker 1>matters is already a function of having more space than

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<v Speaker 1>is strictly necessary. Back when my family lived in a

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<v Speaker 1>small New York City apartment, we definitely used every square

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<v Speaker 1>foot every day. We didn't have a choice. But in

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<v Speaker 1>any case, if you too are pondering your space and

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<v Speaker 1>how it is used, it might help to remember that

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<v Speaker 1>a home exists to serve you. If you don't need

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

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<v Speaker 1>preserve it for that function. You might be able to

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<v Speaker 1>use it in a different way. So, for instance, if

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<v Speaker 1>you are not doing a lot of formal entertaining, maybe

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<v Speaker 1>that formal living room could become a playroom. My guess

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<v Speaker 1>is the toys already migrate there. Now you can just

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<v Speaker 1>embrace it, keeping a sofa for a parent to sit

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<v Speaker 1>on and relax. If you mostly eat at your kitchen table,

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<v Speaker 1>then a dining room could become a crafting or game room,

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<v Speaker 1>or a library for a book lover, or your real

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<v Speaker 1>home office. If you've got a guest room but don't

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<v Speaker 1>have many overnight guests, maybe it can be something else.

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<v Speaker 1>A movie room for movie buffs, or a music room.

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<v Speaker 1>If you've got lots of family members who play instruments,

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<v Speaker 1>perhaps you enter through the garage and your front foyer

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<v Speaker 1>sits empty. If you've got a green thumb, perhaps that

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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<v Speaker 1>for listening, and here's to making the most of our time. Hey, everybody,

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<v Speaker 1>I'd love to hear from you. You can send me

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<v Speaker 1>your tips, your questions, or anything else. Just connect with

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<v Speaker 1>me on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram at Before Breakfast pod

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<v Speaker 1>that's B the number four, then Breakfast p o D.

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

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<v Speaker 1>Podcasts at i heeart media 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 I Heart Radio. For more podcasts

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