apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

I fell in love with the concept of less things leads to a fuller life after reading the Not So Big House series but Sarah Susanka. We purged many of the things we couldn't live without at some point or another--Our home is back on its way to being a space that is centered around our family and activities. Its a more productive and comfortable place for us to be now.

sorry, but it sounds like you're saying that while Oprah was watching an episode of Oprah, she up and left for Denmark.

Love the concept, hate the grammar. Could we say "fewer things" instead?

@ADDled: Yes!

Rather than own/park/insure/drive a car, I take public transit, taxis and walk.
Rather than buy new, I frequently buy used/pre-owned.
Whenever possible, I repair rather than replace.
I use credit card points for free merchandise - like my new vacuum cleaner, and the set of All-Clad I'm saving points for.

Since I live in a secured apartment and have no pets, I'm completely unconcerned with being gone for weeks at a time - which allows me to travel 4-5 times a year, with at least one overseas trip annually.

"Denmark and other cities"???
Part of what I like about AT is that, even though it's US-based, most of the time it's not nearly as US-centric as a lot of American sites out there. Denmark may be tiny, but it is a country.
**on a more positive note**
yay! for living more and having less. I'm totally going to order the Sarah Susanka book from the library.

Hmmm. I lived in Denmark for a year, and never heard anyone say that.

That said, most of the homes/apartments I visited were quite small, which seemed quite typical of Europe in general - I suspect a combination of older buildings, and smaller countries/no room for sprawl encouraged that. And the exceedingly high taxes and resultant high prices in Denmark certainly diminished my ability to accumulate 'stuff'. Add to that the incredible Scandanavian design tradition, and the idea of hygge (coziness and tranquility), and there's certainly a lot to be inspired by in Denmark.

@ADDled: Thirded.

I guess I'll be the first......I like my "stuff".
I like living with it, I like looking at it, and I like occasionally adding to it.
I don't think it "takes" from my life, I think it adds to it.
It works as inspiration as well as comfort.

I do like the look of less is more.....
but in someone else's house.

Why do I always miss the good Oprah shows? Whenever I happen to be home during the day sick (very very rarely) she has on former addicts or runaways.

I can second Zoee to a degree. While I certainly do my best to eliminate clutter, do without when possible, etc... I'm an artist- and maybe that's why I like looking at 'things.' It doesn't have to be tons of things- but to me, those photos, trinkets, etc SAY 'life.' When I'm not out and about 'living life.' I want to be reminded about what I've done and want to do again back home. It's inspirational!

Of course, 'less is more' still applies in full, but it doesn't mean 'things' are bad or awful. It's about what things you choose to keep around and why.

Also- 'more living' doesn't mean 'more traveling' to me. There is PLENTY to see, do, and live right in your own backyard (and your home... with your things). Nothing against traveling, but I really don't like the idea that you haven't 'lived' if you haven't been to Europe. When I hear 'more living' I want to have more cooking and game nights with my family. I want to put together a puzzle with my sisters.

PS- nothing against Oprah at all, but something tells me she has a lot of 'things' :)

The Danish are onto something. I love the idea of clean lines and no clutter.

http://smallspaceresources.blogspot.com

you lost me at Oprah...
nice picture though

How many houses does Oprah own?

"you lost me at oprah" hahahaha!

we've been de-cluttering for about a year,
cleaned the attic out just yesterday. there's
room for intelligently organized things, i'm
ecstatic to report. and we did the basement last
year so i actually have a laundry area and
storage shelves.

it makes for a less chaotic life, i do believe.

someone on here said (i forget who/which post)
that your house reflects what's going on in your
head. essentially, if your house is cluttered and
chaotic, so are your thoughts.

all i know is that it's nice to walk into a tidy
laundry area and not have to be afraid that
the laundry pile might be breathing....

xo

I fell in love with Denmark with that episode of Oprah. I am a minimalist at heart; a cluttered home is a sign of a cluttered mind.

They were a little too minimalist for my taste. They didn't value 'things' as much as our culture does, and their homes were very small. Where were the giant flat panel TV's and computer monitors? Maybe they do have them, but they were just tucked away, as most of their stuff is stored in the wall unit closets when not in use.

Although their taxes are high, and their economy is very "civil" - as the woman in the piece called it (as opposed to the suggestion of socialism; everyone makes roughly the same amount due to taxes) - it seems like a great place to live. No one chooses a career path based on salary - they just follow their passions. The American Dream is success as measured by things: a white picket fence around a large free-standing house, an accumulation of "stuff" most people can't afford, etc. For the Danes, success is measured by happiness.

I live somewhere in the middle. I could win $50M in the lottery tomorrow and I wouldn't have a very long list of things to buy, and all of my memories of "living" reside in my heart.

love the idea of how people in denmark live.
i saw an episode of oprah where we looked into her homes; a TON of stuff. in every home.

any books on minimalism? (sp?) I like the idea but not sure if I could dive completely into it...

am with ADDled on this one: "Less" vs. "fewer" is a major grammar pet peeve of mine. Switch it to "fewer things" and I'll be as happy as a Dane.