About two years ago when my wife, Rebecca, introduced me to tiny homes and a documentary on YouTube called “Without Bound – Perspective on mobile living”, I would have thought more space makes a happier person. I thought all that space helped you amass things and allowed you room to find solitude. I wasn’t brought up that way, however. I grew up in a house with three siblings and shared a room with my brother. We were forced to interact with each other. When the house felt too small, our Dad would send us outside to play and experience life beyond our brick walls. Now, because of that YouTube documentary, I have begun to go back to my younger self and long for a simpler life. A life with less “stuff” and “things” and a greater interaction with the world around me.
To me, having less doesn’t mean living less. You can still have things in your life, just less of them, if you purchase things that are multipurpose and will last. For instance, the purchase of a quality pot or pan will last a long time and can be used to cook several dishes of various styles and amounts. This, versus several pots and pans of various sizes and cheaper quality, simplifies things and declutters your space (and life) while saving you money on replacements. This hit home very quickly after we sold our 2,500 square foot home to down-size into an 1,100 square foot apartment, and then used one room solely for storage. I began to get very frustrated as I carried box after box of “things” I hadn’t seen or used in years. These things at one time had meaning, I guess, but it was clear I had only held on to them to justify the money I spent.
Now we have squeezed our entire life into a 23 foot Airstream named “The Willy Wagon” in honor of our recently departed four-legged family member, Wilson. We don’t have it all figured out, as the storage on our travel trailer is bursting at the seams and we still have a 10×10 storage unit packed with stuff. Daily, I find myself questioning the value of the items we brought along on our journey, and I’m sure we’ll be getting rid of much of it before we’re finished. I ask you….. how much is too much?
