Big Things Come In Tiny Packages

I live in the middle of a city in a weeny, teeny, tiny house. It is so small we don't even have a hallway. Walk through the front door and bam! You're in our lounge. Fancy it ain't.

And in alot (ok...most) ways it is rather un-suited to life with a baby. The stairs are narrow and steep, you have to walk through our bedroom to access the bathroom and nearly all our floors are wooden.

But I love this place more than any other. Heating bills are manageable, I never have to spend more than half an hour doing dishes and cleaning our little kitchen and it's easy to run around for 15 minutes before any visitors arrive to get the place looking pretty decent. In short - this small house makes light work for this housewife.

Which leaves me plenty of time to do the things that I really enjoy; cooking, baking, playing with my daughter, reading, knitting, eating and taking baths.

Since I came home last year, I've been amazed by the liberation that this lifestyle brings. Once you start only buying what you need and not the things you are told you want, you find a whole treasure trove of time and freedom to enjoy your family and home life. Giving up the enormous houses, new clothes, flashy holidays and expensive cars buys you the freedom to give up the rat-race and all it's accompanying exhuastion and stress. Our society has found a way to be affluent and materially wealthy. But I wonder how many neglect to see the mass spriritual poverty that is so often a by-product of living in an endless cycle of consumption and acquisition. We're among the most stressed, anxious and depressed people in the world. We're sold the myth that more always equals more: more money = more happiness. More possessions = more happiness. It's clearly a miscalculation. Consuming only what you need does not have to mean living without. Quite the reverse in fact.

I can only conclude what many other people have probably realised; quality of life has so little to do with money, possessions and status. Once you can pay your bills, have a little left over and not worry about where the next pay cheque is coming from, you've made it. There is no extra happiness to be gained from acquiring more. The research is there. I've read it.*

So I'll take my titchy tiny house and all the freedoms it affords me. And I'll count myself just as rich as all those millionaires who will tonight come home to empty mansions, paid housekeepers and expensive takeaway meals.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthadvice/maxpemberton/4273227/Men-listen-up-money-does-not-make-you-happy.html