diff --git a/ChangeLog b/ChangeLog
index da8ff47d3b..0d34bcf386 100644
--- a/ChangeLog
+++ b/ChangeLog
@@ -26,6 +26,8 @@ Changes in version 0.2.1.1-alpha - 2008-??-??
     - Make relay cells written on a connection count as non-padding when
       tracking how long a connection has been in use. Bugfix on
       0.2.0.1-alpha.  Spotted by lodger.
+    - Reduce the default smartlist size from 32 to 16; it turns out that
+      most smartlists hold around 8-12 elements tops.
 
   o Minor features:
     - Allow separate log levels to be configured for different logging
diff --git a/src/common/container.c b/src/common/container.c
index 6d3a8fd5f9..ffb4ffe497 100644
--- a/src/common/container.c
+++ b/src/common/container.c
@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@ const char container_c_id[] =
 #include "ht.h"
 
 /** All newly allocated smartlists have this capacity. */
-#define SMARTLIST_DEFAULT_CAPACITY 32
+#define SMARTLIST_DEFAULT_CAPACITY 16
 
 /** Allocate and return an empty smartlist.
  */