The $1600 bookcase

The apartment we live in is currently for sale. The owners are asking $429,000. The floor area is 76 square metres. (US readers: 818 sq.ft)

With those numbers, a buyer is paying $5,645 for each square metre. (US readers $524/sq.ft)

In those terms, it seems really expensive. So many things that just aren't worth the space they take up.

The bookcase is not the worst, but at 90cm wide and 30cm deep, it takes up 0.27m² (3 sq.ft). Either way, that's $1,573 worth of space.

I gets scarier when that maths is applied to a spare bedroom.

It reminds me of the book Less is More. Kim says that in the old days items were more expensive but space (housing) was cheap. So it made sense to hoard things back then. But now it's the other way around. Generally items are cheap to repurchase (if we ever need to) but the space to store them is costly. These days it makes more sense to be selective about what we hold on to.

In Australia there's a lot of talk at the moment about how expensive houses are. I reckon a big part of that is the fact that we have the biggest homes in the world. So much of that space is just a waste of money - to store things that aren't worth it.

Comments

Less Clutter More Cash - now available

Do you feel like you have too much stuff? Is your home full of things you never use? Would you like to swap them for cash? We did My wife and I have sold more than 550 items online as we downsize and we've learnt a bit along the way. I've put some of our best tips into this handy ebook. I hope you can use these tips so you too can have less clutter and more cash. Enter your email address below to receive the book for free. Less Clutter More Cash Get my new ebook for free. PS. This will subscribe to the But Wait There's Less email list, so you'll know when the new updated version of the book is available. You can unsubscribe at any time.

Big motivator for small living

It's been a while between posts here - mainly because we've been moving house. It's been a real motivator for downsizing. Packing each and every item we owned, really makes me wish there were fewer of them. Moving everything from the old apartment to the new one made me envious of those people who live in a "tiny house on wheels". For them moving house simply means towing it to a new location. No packing required. The whole process has reaffirmed our commitment to owning less stuff. So we're going to be intentional about downsizing. It will be an ongoing activity. My environmental heart couldn't stomach a spontaneous dumping of things into the garbage, but it's also more fun this way. Selling things online brings in some handy pocket money. Giving items away is also a great community activity, whether it is to friends and family, to charity or to people in the neighbourhood. I'm looking forward to it as a lifestyle rather than a task to do....

The Transformer Table

Our new table transforms itself, and our view of furniture Here is our new table It has 3 modes. Friends mode: Seating up to 6 for dinner or board games. Couple mode: Great for the two of us. Or for doing some writing while looking out at the view. 99% mode: Most of the time we don't need a table, so it folds away. Storage in the side drawers. Best of all it allows the space to be multipurpose. Ordinarily a traffic area (between the kitchen, other rooms and the balcony) it can also be a spacious area for the two of us, a table for 6, or an expanded lounge area if we push the lounge furniture back. How it transforms homes Traditionally each room has one purpose. TV room for TV; bedroom for bed; study for studying; the dining room for the dining table. When furniture is cleverly designed , spaces can be multifunctional and we don't need so many rooms. It's one of the key concepts behind tiny homes . One of the architects from The Tiny House Company showed...

But wait... there's less!

Search This Blog