But wait... there's less!

"There is something good about the life that explicitly identifies itself within certain limits" says Scott Stephens, co-host of The Minefield podcast. The Minefield covers philosophy and ethical dilemmas. This series is on good virtues that seems less popular today and this episode 's virtue is restraint. So what's restraint? We're not talking seatbelts. Restraint is simply the idea of being satisfied with what you have, even if you're able to have more. In today's culture it might almost seems like heresy - to suggest not getting, doing or buying every single thing you want. Consumer culture says to have as much as we want of everything we want, as long as it doesn't hurt anyone else. As I write this I have several leftover Easter eggs on the table - the tiny ones. I'm leaving one until I finish writing this. Even that felt a little counter-cultural. It's right there. It'll taste good. Why not eat it? Opting out Recorded durin...

I often mention the expense of our homes. Whether it's renting or a buying, it's a major cost in our lives. Here in Australia it's widely accepted that prices are too high. Compared to four decades ago, we earn ten times more - but house prices are 30 times more expensive. So what do we do about it? This Australian documentary looks internationally to see what solutions other countries are coming up with. Solutions involve town planning and financial arrangements, and a lot of ideas involved living in a smaller space. While a lot of solutions take a long time to implement, one of the quickest is a change we can make ourselves. More about that at the end. First here are some of the ideas from the documentary: Just keep building In Tokyo each year there are more new homes built than in all of England. Commercial areas have been more flexibly re-zoned to allow enough new homes to match the need. As a result, prices don't increase alarmingly as they do elsewhe...

Have you seen those fold-out desks that attach to the wall? I see them on the tiny home shows on TV. Here's what I'm talking about: They're ultra-space efficient as they fold right up when you're not using them. Very handy for a tiny house Artwork Too If the 'legs' form a frame shape, it can be an artwork when it's pack away. In the tiny home shows, people use this to display art, inspirational words, or to have a chalkboard for changeable messages or art. It's a desk that takes up no floor space, or art that also has a function. Either way it's a winner of an idea. Not just for tiny homes Until now I thought it was specifically something people made themselves for tiny homes. But my friend has one in her apartment. (Yes, the same friend I mentioned last time ). They're available in Australia and can be quite affordable. Due to the wall-mounting aspect, it's probably more for the home-owners and landlords. But it's definite...

On our recent trip, my wife and I stayed with a friend in Sydney. That sounds normal - except our friend has a 1 bedroom apartment. Yes this is going to be another example of clever furniture adding a lot of value without adding a lot of cost. This is our friend's lounge room (when we're not in town). The lounge cleverly rearranges into a double bed. When it's made up, as it was when we arrived, it even looks like a bed. It can even become two separate single beds, which is an added advantage over a traditional sofa-bed. This is great for 2 platonic visitors or for when 2 parents and a sibling visit. The parents have the bedroom and the siblings can have single beds. So how was it? Absolutely fine. It took a few minutes to adjust to the novelty of having a kitchen in our 'bedroom', but then it was great. Why do I love this so much? This is so clever because it gives so many options. It also gives a small and affordable home the same function and ...

Could you live in a converted barn? Could we? My wife and I tried out this small cottage. I'm guessing it's around 35 - 40 m 2 . It's decorated to have that barn look from the outside, but inside it is quite modern. Down one end are the bathroom and the kitchen, which are more spacious than I expected. At the other end is the bedroom and sitting area (along with a table of tourist brochures). Behind the central curtain is an outdoor seating area. Tiny home enthusiasts: there is also a loft. It looks like there are hooks for a ladder to get up there. Could we live there? Obviously, visiting on a holiday is different to making a permanent home. On a trip you leave things behind. Your washing machine, musical instruments, bicycles, and Christmas tree - to name just some. Having said that, I think it would be very possible to live in a space this size. The height is a great feature as it allows for much storage, both in a loft above a room and by having even more...