Yestedary, after my coffee, after the style section and the NYTimes Sunday Magazine I picked up the business section to find a great article written by Stephanie Rosenbloom that is very pertinent to all of you on TGAAD. The article called But Will it Make You Happy, profiles one couple who moved from a house full of possesions to a small, posession free, spare 400 sq. foot appartment in Portland Oregon (makes TGAAD seem easy). The article goes on to profile what is making people happy in these lean economic times. Turns out it’s not the stuff, as we have all suspected, but rather the experience that makes us happy. It’s worth reading for sure. I highly recommend it! Here’s a snippet….
Today, three years after Ms. Strobel and Mr. Smith began downsizing, they live in Portland, Ore., in a spare, 400-square-foot studio with a nice-sized kitchen. Mr. Smith is completing a doctorate in physiology; Ms. Strobel happily works from home as a Web designer and freelance writer. She owns four plates, three pairs of shoes and two pots. With Mr. Smith in his final weeks of school, Ms. Strobel’s income of about $24,000 a year covers their bills. They are still car-free but have bikes. One other thing they no longer have: $30,000 of debt. Click here to read more. – http://nyti.ms/9mEhEK
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Thanks for posting this great article, Sally! This discusses so many of the ideas/emotions we’ve talked about in this blog, and the changes I feel in myself and my life. My husband and I are considering moving to a more expensive neighborhood that would bring several advantages for our family, but it would mean downsizing to live in a smaller space, and getting rid of a lot of our stuff. Thanks in part to TGAAD, that decision seems like a no-brainer to me now. I own my stuff–not the other way around. I will not let it own me!
I saw that article too and I LOVED it!!! It made me miss my tiny 2 room studio above an ice cream parlor. I would happily trade my 2 bedroom house for it back given half the chance. I’m currently in the process of convincing my boyfriend to start downsizing. Do we need 4 video game consoles and 3 sofas for 2 people? That’s a resounding ‘no’.