As I can not keep sharing how wonderful it is to spend time with my sister and her children, I will talk about something else. We are currently living in a huge house in Tuscany, a lovely contrast to the tiny house living of van life.
It is funny to see how the huge closets in each bedroom are totally out of proportion compared to not just what we bring but our entire wardrobes.
Natural minimalism truly is one of the great advantages of living small. Since we moved out of the big house in Copenhagen, we have had to live with less, and the more I do it, the more I want to learn about it. When I said to my niece waiting is the worst, she said: Changing the bag in the vacuum cleaner is worse - and I realized I had not owned a vacuum cleaner for five years. Not just possessions but also chores are reduced to a bare minimum when living small.
We have to face our modern society and how consumerism is consuming us. And our world. It is extremely hard to stop. We keep buying stuff, we keep accumulating, and we find new things to want all the time.
Commercials, actual commercials, and more subtle advertising of the consumerism lifestyle (movies, social norms, novels) are all over. We have to be very strong to avoid the influence. Living tiny helps. I think I have a lot of clothes, but in reality, I own only a few of each item and believe four sweaters are a luxury.
Living small has taught us all only to own what we truly need, maybe with a ten percent margin, and more importantly: to be grateful for what is, knowing we could easily live with half of what we have. It is not a reduction challenge. It comes from a true wish to get out there and live life.
Love and light
Cecilie Conrad
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