We moved from a ranch in South Carolina to an apartment in Madrid. I learned material things are not important.

• My family moved from Greenville, South Carolina, to Madrid.
• We went from living in a 3,600-square-foot home to a 1,100-square-foot apartment.
• We moved with four duffel bags and four backpacks, and everything else was left behind.

In the US, my family of four had achieved the American dream.

We owned a three-acre farm in the suburbs of Greenville, South Carolina, in a great school system surrounded by a wonderful community. We enjoyed our 3,600-square-foot home, which had an attached in-law suite for my parents to visit.

Our elementary-aged boys had an ATV track in the backyard, along with all of the toys they had wanted from past holidays. We had comfortable linens on our beds and copper cookware in the kitchen. We were giving off major Joanna Gaines farmhouse vibes. We even had an outdoor chicken coop that we called “The Chick Inn” with 12 egg-laying chickens, all with endearing names that we chose.

On paper, we had it all. But we decided to move to Spain for a cultural experience and live outside the US for a bit.

After living in a high-rise apartment in Madrid for one year, we now know that we didn’t need all of that to be content.

We downsized when we moved

Our daily life now consists of living in an apartment with about 1,100 square feet of space. When we moved from the US to Spain, we only brought with us four duffel bags and four backpacks. We decided that if our belongings didn’t fit in those bags, we wouldn’t need it. And that reasoning, without doubt, has proven to be entirely true.

We live in an apartment with simple decor and enough dishes and utensils for our family of four. Here in Spain, we own clothes that can fit in a small wardrobe closet, and we share one car to help us get to events that are hard to access on public transportation.

Our boys traded their ATVs for electric scooters, which helps them get to local parks faster. All of their possessions, including balls and sports equipment, stuffed animals, and toys, fit in their closets alongside their shoes, school uniforms, and clothes.

My husband and I share a small wardrobe space. To make more room, we change out our clothes seasonally, placing the other season’s clothes on top of the closet.

There hasn’t been a day that I think about or miss sweaters, home decor, photo albums, or wall art that we either donated before moving to Spain or stored away in a closet in our furnished (and rented out) house in the US.

In the US, we were always comparing what we had with others

Living in the US, we found it hard not to want the better or bigger version of an item. When we lived in a Florida golf cart community and owned a golf cart, our neighbor got a stereo system installed in their golf cart, and it made us wonder if we needed one, too. The “Keeping up with the Joneses” mentality in the US is real, and we have found freedom going from possessing things to possessing experiences instead.

For our family, we have learned that when you give up space to store these items, you’re forced to choose their importance to you. As I purged and donated personal items from our home, I needed to look at each item and acknowledge that while I wanted it at some point, I didn’t truly need it. When you leave behind a life full of things, you realize the freedom that comes along with it.

Downsizing has also taught us a thing or two about requests for holiday gifts from family and friends. How wonderful it feels to give someone something you care about, yet more often, simply spending time with that person holds a much greater value.

No matter where my American family and I may live in the future, moving into a smaller apartment in Spain taught us that all of the important things we need in life aren’t things. It’s my family that I can’t replace.