Create Space to Live and Love
Imagine you’ve just moved into a new one room space. Aside from a bathroom, you only have one room put your stuff and live your life. The size of the room doesn’t matter as much as what you will put in it, or what you won’t put in it. How will you live there?
You have a chance to create space that will impress your friends and family. You can create a space that requires lots of cleaning and up keep or a space that people are afraid to move in, or you can create space to…
- dance
- laugh
- picnic
- love
- cuddle
- breathe
- stretch
- think
- feel
- be
You can create a space that doesn’t need extra cleaning supplies, hefty insurance policies and needless worrying.
As I have started to empty rooms in our home, I think about how I felt when we first moved in 6 years ago. Once all of our boxes and furniture came in, then we had to go to Target, and Bed Bath and Beyond. We had to spend too much money at home depot. We “needed” a new dining room table that we bought at a very expensive Scandinavian furniture store. And eight even more expensive chairs to match.
We eat less than ten meals a year at that table. Maybe less than five. I walk by the table every day from my bedroom to the kitchen, and it’s a reminder of great change. I still love the table and think it’s beautiful, but laugh at the the thought that I “needed” a dining room table. Why wasn’t the kitchen table enough?
In a few years, or five, when it’s time for us to move, we won’t take the dining room table, or the chairs, or most of our furniture. We also won’t need to run to the store and fill our new space, wherever that may be.
As Mark and I approach our 7th wedding anniversary in May, we are deeper in love and better friends than ever before. It’s a direct result of breaking our attachment to stuff. We don’t spend our weekends at the mall. We don’t have to replace things that aren’t perfect. Our home doesn’t have to look like a spread from any magazine or catalog. We aren’t deep in debt and fighting or worried about money. We aren’t pressured to keep up with anyone. We have the time and space to pay attention to each other and the most important things, right now and in our future.
I didn’t know that would happen when I donated my first box of stuff. I didn’t have the expectation that my life would change so radically with each simple change. Every time I let go, I make room for something new and different. I change a little bit with each goodbye to something I thought I needed. It doesn’t mean that I don’t appreciate beauty, art or even everyday things. It just means that I appreciate things like
- time
- space
- attention
- laughter
- connection
… more than stuff and I understand that you have to intentionally create space for these very important things.
It’s fun to think about about moving into an empty space and starting fresh but you don’t have to wait until you move to create space. You can start right now, or next Monday with Tammy Strobel and I. Our first course Create Space begins on Monday, March 19th. For $21 you’ll receive 3 weeks of inspiring, educational material and homework assignments with direct feedback and assistance.
Tammy and I have both experienced the benefits and joy of creating space and are excited to share our lovely lessons with you.
What do you want to make room for in your new space?
Thanks for reading! If you enjoyed this post, please subscribe to Be More with Less & connect with me on twitter or G+. If you are interested in working with me, please learn more here.
12 Responses to “Create Space to Live and Love”
Comments
Read below or add a comment...
please comment
subscribe your way …
Courtney, I love the idea of “if I lived in one room, what would I include in my space?” What a great way to think about it. I’ve never narrowed it down this way, but I will now! Thanks for your thoughts on simple living and what is most important.
God bless!
~Bohemian Christian Chelle
*Imagine* moving into a one-room space? I don’t have to imagine that, I actually did move into one 11 months ago! It’s a challenge to say the least. Of the approx. 32 sq.m. of floor space, approx. four are covered with boxes containing all kinds of stuff, most of which has to go.
And that’s where the challenge lies. Unclutterers usually recommend donating a lot of stuff but that’s not much of an option. I’m surviving on Welfare Benefits (described in my country, The Netherlands, as “Too much to die, not enough to live”) so I really need every extra Euro I can get. Selling it on the Internet is tough because of the tendency of my fellow countrymen (the Dutch) to want everything — except pay a reasonable price for it.
So, any suggestions you may have are more than welcome.
I like to sell stuff too. If it has taken 11 months though, and things are still not selling, you may consider if it is worth keeping the clutter around. You could try lowering the prices each week until the stuff sells. Some money will be better than keeping all that stuff you don’t need.
Courtney, so funny you wrote about this because I wrote a similar post this week. I think the “letting go” thing must be in the air! I could not agree with you more about letting go and allowing more space and time in your life. We live in a very small house and it makes you really think when you want to add something to your life.
Thanks for your beautiful words and love your new project with Tammy.
Lovely words, as usual. And I especially like what you said about how your relationship with your husband has changed. The two of you are very lucky.
P.S. Wouldn’t exchange my one room/small space for places with more square footage, even if I could.
Humm… This post has definitely got me thinking, what can I let go of to create more space for the things I love,xxx
Inspiring, as always. It’s so palpable that you have a great marriage. I hope i can, someday, say the same thing about my relationship with my spouse…
We have dreams of someday building a ‘little house’ that just has a room half kitchen half living room on the bottom and a loft area for bedrooms for us and the kids. So much stuff is purchased and collected to fill space. I need a place to cook, but it doesn’t need to be big. We need a comfortable place to sit as a family and read or play games and we need a place to sleep. Less space means that we can have the nicest stuff in that space.
Last year when we moved to the apartment we brought very little with us and haven’t purchased much. It is pretty bare and I love it.
We are getting ready to sell our house, so I’ve started purging and packing. I’m surprised how much I enjoy looking at less in our rooms and on our walls. I love family photos, but do find the more relaxing to have less. And, there is definitely less to dust!
My husband and I are actually living this life. We recently sold our 1.5 acre property with an 1100 sq. ft. house and are now living in a 350 sq. ft. studio condo. We have both made the committment to simplify our lives and scale back on our “stuff” – a necessity in 350 sq. ft.
We have just finished painting our condo and making it our own. It is cozy, inviting, and yes, small, but totally functional. We have spent about $1000 to make it this way, as opposed to the 10s of thousands we spent on our other place.
As you said in another blog post, Courtney, people think you’re weird when you do something totally different. And we know people think we’re weird because we live in such a small space. But we know it is the right decision for us.
“As Mark and I approach our 7th wedding anniversary in May, we are deeper in love and better friends than ever before.”
I love this. I feel closer to my husband as well as time goes by.
The fun thing with stuff is that they keep piling up. I find that I frequently go through decluttering missions in my apartment.
I also recently got rid of a pole. When I first got started with pole fitness I got super-excited and bought a pole for my home. However, I would use it 4 times a year. I would keep thinking that at some point…I would do more pole exercises at home.
I finally made the decision to let it go. I love the space that is now available!