Lately I’ve been thinking about scaling down ‘the clutter’ in several areas of my life. I don’t live in a ginormous house, nor do I drive a massively large car, but I do have stuff that collects dust, takes up room and I don’t use often. Every now an then, I go through my boxes, cupboards and shelves, weeding out the things I really don’t need or forgot I had. Of course there are other benefits to not having so much clutter, besides not having to clean it, I can also save the money I would normally spend on frivolous items and stick it into a vacation fund or give it to charity.
Having lived in both Europe and the US, I realized that I have adapted to the customary consumer life-style enjoyed by many Americans. While I am not implying this is a bad life-style, I am saying we should reevaluate our motivations for ‘having it all.’ I love this example of ‘simple living’ as interpreted by Landscape Architect Andreas Stavropoulos, who chose a 1959 Airstream as his new home/studio. He picked up the classic American traveler on Craigslist, restored some of the original features and renovated the interior to suit his needs.
[Image Source: Mark Compton]
