But wait... there's less!

Part of the inspiration of the tiny home movement is saying goodbye to insane mortgages. Psychologists have identified that we humans are good at comparing similar items - like one car versus another - but much less good at comparing between items from different categories. This house auction satirical ad points out the things we sacrifice to be an owner of a home. I think it could go further. Many people spend years, or decades, in jobs they hate - just to afford a house they can call their own. I guess that's fine if you value the house more than those lost years. But if that's not the case, are we better off having smaller homes? Or renting? Or both? Part of what I'm doing is discerning what I value in life, and working out how to make a life that reflects that. I reckon that's part of the key to happiness - lining up our values and our actions.

One of the great things about reducing possessions is thing called 'helper's high' . It's that fuzzy feeling you get from helping someone else out. I got one recently by helping an old man lift heavy groceries into his car boot when he was struggling. But this is not about that. I was about to put some watercolour paints online for anyone who wanted them. Then I remembered a local community group where people do art therapy. I gave the paints to a contact who passed them on to the group. The next day my contact called me to say how much they were appreciated. One of the participants wanted to do some watercolour painting, but couldn't afford the paints. When my contact walked in with free paints the participant was overjoyed to be able to do her art. As far as 'helper's highs' go, this was a slightly removed one - I never met the actual person I helped. But still it was a buzz.

One of the things you look at when thinking about tiny living is better use of space. This video, with more than 13 million views, contains some amazing designs that make it so easy to save space. Why have a bedroom and a study if one room can do both. The furniture may cost a bit, but it would be far less than the cost of an extra room. This is the kind of thinking that is involved in the tiny living scene. It's not ordinary, but it's brilliant. Update: Check out the new transformer table my wife and I recently found.

This is a great video of the benefits of a relaxed short commute. It comes from the evocities website, which promotes smaller cities. But it also applies to smaller living. A simpler life with fewer possessions makes it easier to move (for a shorter commute). Also, with a small (or no) mortgage there's also the option of taking a job closer to home, rather than having to chase the dollars.