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

The joy of selling - 3 ways it's great

My friend Stephen asked about charging for things. He felt bad about charging someone $30 for an artwork - even if it cost him much more. Should he feel bad? No. If someone wants to pay the price, they obviously value it highly (at least more than the $30). If he's willing to sell, he must value it less than $30. So it's going to the person who will get more joy out of it. Why not just give it to them for free? Money is a convenient way to measure value. It's also a way to share the joy. If Steve gives the art away then he no longer gets to enjoy it - so is worse off. By selling it for $30, he is happier with the $30, and the buyer is happier with the artwork. The end result of the sale is that both people are happier than they were before. Here are 3 reasons it's better to sell than to giveaway and how it helps you declutter and minimise better. 1. Money (most obviously). It might just be a few bucks here and there - but it adds up. My wife and I often sell an i...

Top 5 articles of 2019

As we wrap up 2019, here are the most-read posts here on But Wait There's Less . 5. Books. Do we need them anymore? Why do we keep books? To read them again? How many do we ever read a second time? I worked it out .For me not many. This lead to a second post on my technique for streamlining my book collection . 4. Living in a converted barn. This was something my wife and I tried on a trip away this year. Check out the pictures . I still reckon it could be possible long-term. We really don't need as much space as we have. 3. What's your retirement age? It's not 67. At least it doesn't have to be. If we spend less, compulsory work can become optional at a very early age . It could even be in your 30s. 2. The automatic guest room On the same trip as number 4, we stayed with a friend who (with some clever furniture ) converts her living room into another bedroom. It's a clever way to be able to have guests, but without paying a heap of money for a bigge...

Colour me happy

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.

But wait... there's less!

Search This Blog