How Portability Can Make You Happier at Home
Downsizing your stuff and going for maximum mobility can actually make your home feel bigger and your life feel fuller
I consider myself an expert in mobile living. And by that I mean I have a lot of experience moving, having moved 15 times in 25 years for various reasons. Over the years I’ve learned how to optimize my life for moving and have come to believe that doing so is a great idea for everyone — even if you stay put in one house for the rest of your life.
There are two kinds of home products in general: the kind you leave behind, and the kind you take with you. If you remodel the bathroom, install a built-in vacuum system, add a tile floor or expand a closet, those upgrades will stay in the house whether you stay or not. These are the kinds of improvements that apartment renters don’t make. If you buy a new TV, rug, couch or dining room table, you’re going to take those with you — if they fit into your new place.
So the conventional wisdom goes that if you own your home, you should go nuts with the built-in stuff. After all, even if you move, it increases the resale value of the home. And that whether you own your home or not, you should generally fill the space with big stuff — big TV, big couch, big dining room table, home security systems and as much kitchen stuff as you can possibly find room for in your kitchen.
But I think the conventional wisdom is worth revisiting.
There are two kinds of home products in general: the kind you leave behind, and the kind you take with you. If you remodel the bathroom, install a built-in vacuum system, add a tile floor or expand a closet, those upgrades will stay in the house whether you stay or not. These are the kinds of improvements that apartment renters don’t make. If you buy a new TV, rug, couch or dining room table, you’re going to take those with you — if they fit into your new place.
So the conventional wisdom goes that if you own your home, you should go nuts with the built-in stuff. After all, even if you move, it increases the resale value of the home. And that whether you own your home or not, you should generally fill the space with big stuff — big TV, big couch, big dining room table, home security systems and as much kitchen stuff as you can possibly find room for in your kitchen.
But I think the conventional wisdom is worth revisiting.
MovieMate 85HD 720p 3LCD Projector
You can even go all digital if you want, with books, magazines, music and other content. The specifics are up to you. The important thing is to buy multipurpose objects as much as you can. Embrace a zero-storage policy — if it’s in the garage or in paid storage, sell, recycle, give it away or throw it away until you’re no longer storing all that old stuff.
Never justify keeping something because you might need it someday. Look at your actual usage. If you’re not using it now, get rid of it. Buy small furniture, and as little of it as possible. Embrace open, empty space as the highest aesthetic.
The Mobile Media Room
Technology increasingly helps. The devoted minimalist can stream movies from the Internet to be played on a big PC screen, rather than buying separate PC and TV hardware plus a DVR, cable box, smart TV box and all the rest.
Or, better yet, buy an HD-TV projector system, like the Epson MovieMate 85HD. It’s a powerful, bright, high-definition projector with a built-in sound system. You can play movies, DVDs, TV shows or Internet content on any bare wall or any purpose-built projector screen. That means if you have a party, you can take the system outside. Or you can carry it from the living room to the bedroom. Or you can even take it with you on vacation. If you move to a different house, you'll have a lot more options about decorating without having to worry about where to place a big-screen TV.
Never justify keeping something because you might need it someday. Look at your actual usage. If you’re not using it now, get rid of it. Buy small furniture, and as little of it as possible. Embrace open, empty space as the highest aesthetic.
The Mobile Media Room
Technology increasingly helps. The devoted minimalist can stream movies from the Internet to be played on a big PC screen, rather than buying separate PC and TV hardware plus a DVR, cable box, smart TV box and all the rest.
Or, better yet, buy an HD-TV projector system, like the Epson MovieMate 85HD. It’s a powerful, bright, high-definition projector with a built-in sound system. You can play movies, DVDs, TV shows or Internet content on any bare wall or any purpose-built projector screen. That means if you have a party, you can take the system outside. Or you can carry it from the living room to the bedroom. Or you can even take it with you on vacation. If you move to a different house, you'll have a lot more options about decorating without having to worry about where to place a big-screen TV.
Lockitron Door Lock
Some home features that used to be only built in are becoming portable. For example, an intriguing new digital lock product called Lockitron quickly fits over an existing deadbolt and physically turns the deadbolt handle when you lock or unlock the door with your smart phone.
It’s a cool idea, advertising a high-end capability at a low price ($149 at this writing). Best of all, you can take it with you when you move.
It’s a cool idea, advertising a high-end capability at a low price ($149 at this writing). Best of all, you can take it with you when you move.
Ube Smart System
Another cool product that makes home automation simple and also portable is a new system called Ube (pronounced "you be"). The idea is that you can control just about any Internet-connected device in your home — from thermostats to garage doors to home entertainment systems — with your smart phone.
Why Portability Is a Great Idea
Minimalism is good. Everybody talks about minimalism, but hardly anybody does anything about it. The goal is comfort and happiness. And having less stuff, less clutter, is good for your mind.
Mobility gives you peace of mind. The knowledge that you could move, either to the other side of the country or to the other side of town — or to another country, if you wanted to — gives you peace on a similar level to having savings in the bank or good insurance. Maximizing options in your life minimizes stress.
Save money on “stuff” and storage. Overconsumption is a big waste of money. That storage unit you’re paying for, plus all that unnecessary stuff you’re being marketed into buying, costs real money. Wouldn’t you rather spend that money on something better — say, a vacation to India or a professional-level baking course? Nobody plans to buy too much stuff, then store it forever. It just happens. And it’s expensive.
You might actually want to move. Most people move at some point. If you’ve got a house full of kids, the day will come when they go off to seek their fame and fortune, leaving you with a huge house. You’ll probably want to downsize, and if you haven’t spent the last 20 years accumulating too much stuff, the move will be far less traumatic. More to the point, you could be surprised one day by an incredible career opportunity that involves moving somewhere else, or you may realize that since you’re working from home, you might as well buy an old Italian farmhouse and work from there. The old model of buying the biggest house you can afford, then filling it to the rafters with stuff is based on the now-obsolete expectation of lifetime employment at the same company in the same building. Stuff happens, and streamlining your life makes you ready for anything.
It’s easier to give, share and upgrade. It’s easy to think about home design and decoration objects in the short term. But most of these things have multiple lives. You buy a couch and five years later want to send it off to college with your daughter. But if that couch is too big for her dorm, you can’t do it. Minimizing the size of things you buy maximizes the options for what can happen to them when you’re ready to replace them.
More: Mobile Microliving in Oregon
Why Portability Is a Great Idea
Minimalism is good. Everybody talks about minimalism, but hardly anybody does anything about it. The goal is comfort and happiness. And having less stuff, less clutter, is good for your mind.
Mobility gives you peace of mind. The knowledge that you could move, either to the other side of the country or to the other side of town — or to another country, if you wanted to — gives you peace on a similar level to having savings in the bank or good insurance. Maximizing options in your life minimizes stress.
Save money on “stuff” and storage. Overconsumption is a big waste of money. That storage unit you’re paying for, plus all that unnecessary stuff you’re being marketed into buying, costs real money. Wouldn’t you rather spend that money on something better — say, a vacation to India or a professional-level baking course? Nobody plans to buy too much stuff, then store it forever. It just happens. And it’s expensive.
You might actually want to move. Most people move at some point. If you’ve got a house full of kids, the day will come when they go off to seek their fame and fortune, leaving you with a huge house. You’ll probably want to downsize, and if you haven’t spent the last 20 years accumulating too much stuff, the move will be far less traumatic. More to the point, you could be surprised one day by an incredible career opportunity that involves moving somewhere else, or you may realize that since you’re working from home, you might as well buy an old Italian farmhouse and work from there. The old model of buying the biggest house you can afford, then filling it to the rafters with stuff is based on the now-obsolete expectation of lifetime employment at the same company in the same building. Stuff happens, and streamlining your life makes you ready for anything.
It’s easier to give, share and upgrade. It’s easy to think about home design and decoration objects in the short term. But most of these things have multiple lives. You buy a couch and five years later want to send it off to college with your daughter. But if that couch is too big for her dorm, you can’t do it. Minimizing the size of things you buy maximizes the options for what can happen to them when you’re ready to replace them.
More: Mobile Microliving in Oregon
Designing your home and your life around maximum portability means favoring small things over larger ones, fewer things over more and multipurpose objects over single-purpose ones. This incredibly minimalist, versatile and movable set from Matroshka Furniture includes an office, a dining room table, a bed and a couch all in one. It's made with white stained birch plywood and ash veneer, and the cushions are made with Swedish gray wool.