Living Small

There’s a lot to be said for simplifying one’s life, although it’s usually much easier to talk about it than to actually do it. I often declare (to no one in particular) that every time we buy something new for the house, we should get rid of something old. Of course, that only allows us to break even, so to speak, and we hardly ever do it anyway, so it’s just a lot of posturing on my part.

Even on those occasions when I put my money where my mouth is, it’s for stuff that I don’t really care much about anyway. Debbie will bring home two or three new shirts for me, and it bothers me not a bit to toss an equal number of old ones (I have shirts that originate further back into the 20th century than is comfortable to admit). But if I get a new iPod, do you think I’m deleting an old one? Heck, no. One can never have too many iPods.

I’m sporadically successful in convincing my wife to discard old drinking glasses or mugs when she buys new ones, but even that’s an uphill battle. Who knew one could develop a sentimental attachment to crockery?

What we do try to do is not acquire stuff that we won’t use and enjoy, or to expend so much of our income on acquiring things that there’s nothing left to give away to others. Frankly, I feel pretty good about the balance we’ve achieved in creating a comfortable lifestyle. And I’m dead certain that our sense of well-being would not be improved by shoehorning it into 96 square feet.

[Via MinimalMac]