Hi friends!
Just another TED talk here for ya. This week I stumbled across Graham Hill’s talk “Less stuff, more happiness.” Being someone that has moved a lot in life, I’m no stranger to how much stuff can really weigh you down. Recently my mom has been ridding of the excess things I begged to keep in storage, and honestly, I haven’t noticed one bit.
The Talk
In this talk, Hill begins by explaining that each of us have probably experienced the joys of less (like college, traveling, fishing, etc.). He proposes a theory that less stuff, and less space = less CO2, more $, and thus, a little more ease in life. He explained that personally, he chose to downsize his living space to hold only his biggest desires: a workspace, guest space, and space to hold his kayaking equipment. And since this was designed specifically for him and his needs, he’s more comfortable and excited to be in his own space.
He asks the audience: How can you live little? He explains 3 approaches.
- Edit Ruthlessly. This means clear the excess of our lives. The old clothes you’ve had stuffed away in boxes – gone. Rid of the extraneous, and don’t buy in mass amounts unless it’s truly bettering your life.
- Think Small. “Small is sexy”. Why do you have 6 stovetop burners when you merely ever use 3? This also means things that stacks are friendly (measuring cups, lawn chairs, etc.). More so, the power of technology is our friend. Movies, books, and photo albums can all be digitalized and stored on a 15 inch laptop.
- Make Multifunctional. This directly correlates to multifunctional furniture like folding beds and expandable tables, making absolute use of the space given.
He reiterates that you don’t have to wake up tomorrow and drastically downsize your life and your possessions. However, he insists that it’s imperative to start somewhere, whether it’s space or stuff, try to decipher what you truly need. Hill believes that less can often equal more, so why not make room for the better things in life?
My Thoughts
This talk really made me think back on my impulsive buys and and demand for luxury in my future, and that I might not really need that in life. So, maybe next time I’m home I’ll finally dig through my boxes in storage and finally rid of all the excess. What are your thoughts?
I love that you brought this topic up! My family just downsized, and we therefore had to get rid of a lotttt of stuff. When I got home for winter break, most of my time was spent putting things into boxes to give away. At first I was sad, but now I don’t even think about those things. My life, and therefore my mind, is less cluttered and I feel more organized and ready to start our life in the smaller house.
This is definitely a lesson I need to put into practice and manifest because I have a constant problem with physical and metaphorical clutter at every turn of life. These lessons are also easily implementable into my everyday activities which leaves me no excuse not to practice!
I think the topic of happiness is so interesting! I actually did my passion blog last semester on it. I think you really touched on some important aspects of happiness. I totally agree that often times, less is more. In this day and age, everything is cluttered and people continue to build up their possessions, often to a point of hoarding. Perhaps it’s because they don’t want to lose certain memories, but often times we need to downsize and create new paths to live fulfilling lives.
I think I’ve always had a similar kind of mindset–I always want to get rid of things I don’t use or need anymore that would just end up sitting around collecting dust. I never really thought about it could make you happier though, but it makes sense. Less stuff, less stress, more happiness is what I’m thinking, though personally I’m not sure I can give up on selfish comforts to that extent
It is funny to think that we have a lot of items that we don’t need or use but just knowing that we have them can be comforting, but when we trim down on the stuff we own and realize that we don’t even miss it can be a great lesson about materials not being able to make you truly happy.