Fill your life with stories to tell, not stuff to show.
The simplicity/minimalism movement is a beautiful community. And I enjoy any opportunity to promote writing that encourages people to live more by owning less.
So fix yourself a nice warm cup of coffee or tea. Find a quiet moment this weekend. And enjoy some encouraging words to inspire more simplicity in your life today.
What I’ve Learned After One Year of Tiny House Living | Love Liberty Shelter by Liberty. The truth is, this past year of tiny house living has packed quite a punch in surprise, discomfort, upending old notions . . . and somehow, it has also ushered in a new breakthrough in living.
I Wore a Black Dress Every Day For a Week — And It Changed How I Look At My Closet | This Is Insider by Lindsay Mack. The basic idea is that uniforms allow you to spend less time and effort putting together outfits, so you have more resources for the other areas in your life.
To Cure Affluenza, We Have To Be Satisfied With The Stuff We Already Own | The Guardian by Richard Denniss. We have been trained to love the thrill of buying new stuff. We love things not for their material function, but for the symbolic act of acquiring and possessing them.
Wellbeing Enhanced More By Places Than Objects, Study Finds | The Guardian by Caroline Davies. Research using brain scans finds people experience feelings of contentment from places more than from objects such as photographs or wedding rings.
In general terms, I get it. I’m drowning in 6,000 sq.ft. of stuff from three people with the attic and basement, and a rather large chunk of it can just be trashed. I don’t have a problem with separating from most of it, and I’ve never bought into the big houses with high costs, taxes and maintenance. My car is 14 years old, too.
Having said all that, what happens to our economy when or if a chunk of us start living small–especially from the beginning? If this extends to income, less will be earned, taxed, spent and invested, but it won’t stop people from demanding everything from hundreds of thousands in a free education to even more in healthcare over a lifetime. Let me be clear, I’m not talking about going into debt for stuff, but the further left you go on the political spectrum, the more people demand from local, state and federal governments. I’m just wondering how many jobs could be lost along with less tax revenue to pay for the other stuff that people will want.