less is more

less is more

A friend sent me a link to this video about Jay Shafer and his tiny house Tumbleweed a week or so ago. I have read about and seen him before. I think his little abode is fantastic. I just moved out of a 430 sq. foot apartment that I often felt wasteful in as I only ever used about half the space if that. I could easily live in one of Jay’s houses. It’s so freeing to not own tons of stuff (mentally and financially.) I have always been a minimalist, but the older I get, the even less I want. Take this trip for example; I packed smart (or so I thought) and didn’t stuff my car to the gills, but I still brought too much. Granted I have only been gone 8 days, but I have gone from suburbs with houses, the big city with studio apartments, to country with cabin. (Think the variety of clothes, bags, shoes, cameras, maps, etc. I’d use in those three different spots.) I’ve probably only used about 20% of what I brought. It seems as if we all look at what we actually used on a regular basis and kept only the quality stuff/favorites and only kept those things, we’d all have less clutter, more loot for other things and far less stress in our days.

Years ago when I was traveling with an old boyfriend, our car and all belongings were stolen and we were stranded in Vancouver. After the initial shock of pissed off and oh my god what are we going to do without our stuff, we realized no one just shot us to get our car and reality was; PHEW! I’ve said from then on that at one point in life or another, everyone should get all their stuff stolen. When you realize you’re still standing there with all limbs attached and the people you love there with you- the stuff becomes so unimportant.

I suppose the point of this is after watching that video, I’m inspired to have even less than I already do and I’d like to encourage everyone to go through those drawers and closets and start getting rid! Pile up all the crap you don’t need, have a yard sale or sell it on Craigslist. (If anyone needs detailed tricks and tips on this please let me know. I don’t have many talents, but I am a pro at selling things these ways after doing it a million times myself.) You’ll be blown away at the amount of money you can make and what you can get rid of. Take the money and pay an extra mortgage payment, a couple extra credit card payments, or grab a few people you love and treat them away for the weekend to spend time together. I promise you’ll never miss that extra cutting board or 96th piece of Tupperware. (Who ever really has that many leftovers anyway?)

Thanks for the clip BW!