Apartment Therapy has some of the best “living small” resources around. I particularly like their contests. The Small Cool 2008 contest just ended (this is the fourth annual event for tiny spaces that rock). If you want to check out the winners for some ideas on ways to decorate your own smaller spaces, visit the page dedicated to the “living small” contestants.
“I learned this, at least, by my experiment; that if one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours. . . . In proportion as he simplifies his life, the laws of the universe will appear less complex, and solitude will not be solitude, nor poverty poverty, nor weakness weakness.” – Thoreau
I’m taking some serious steps to simplify my life. Yeah, yeah, I know, I say that all the time. But seldom do I actually start pulling out my possessions and start listing them on eBay. I’m doing that now. I’m selling sterling silver flatwear, pewter pieces, and I’ll soon be adding jewelry and other trinkets.
If this first week of throwing out my “eBay net” works well, I’ll be digging into storage and pulling out more stuff to sell. I’m tired of being tied to so much stuff. Yeah, I have less “stuff” than most people I know and YES, I’ve sorted through it and managed to keep only the ‘best of the best’ from my collections.
But it’s still too much. I’m tired of the responsibility of it all.
My biggest desire right now is to be out of debt. COMPLETELY out of debt and it’s close. I’m almost there. So what’s the purpose of having all this stuff and having to put in extra hours to keep it insured and protected, dry and safe, to worry about it disappearing in a fire or by theft?
Life is too short.
After all, my dream is to travel light. And right now, I’m travelling pretty heavy through this life. So, if the first 7-day auctions go well, I’ll add more and continue to simplify my life. I’ll do it. I can and I will!
Take a walk on the woodsy side with this enchanting tiny house from Whales — built by hand with straw bales, imagination and little else. Simply amazing low-impact housing with a sense of magic and wonder — and all built for 3000 British pounds.
In 2007, I have learned to say “no.”
It took alot to get me to that point. 2007 was obnoxious, but it beat the ability to say “no” into me by the beginning of the last month. I can now say NO — and mean it.
No to things that stress me out unnecessarily. No to unreasonable goals. No to commitments I’d rather not have. No to busy-work. No to things that make my stomach churn. And… for the first time ever: No to New Year’s resolutions. Continue reading
