I consider myself an expert in living. And by that I mean I’ve a lot of experience going, having moved 15 times in 25 years for a variety of reasons. Through the years I have learned how to maximize my entire life for moving and have begun to think that doing so is an excellent idea for everybody — even in the event that you stay stuck in one house for the remainder of your life.
There are two sorts of home products generally: the sort you leave , and the sort you take with you. If you remodel your bathroom, put in an integrated vacuum cleaner system, add a tile floor or enlarge a cupboard, those upgrades will stay in the house whether you stay or not. These are the sorts of improvements that apartment tenants do not make. If you buy a new TV, rug, couch or dining room table, you are likely to take people with you — if they fit in your new location.
So the conventional wisdom goes that in case you own your home, you need to go nuts with all the built in stuff. In the end, even in the event that you move, it increases the resale value of the home. And that whether you own your home or not, you must generally fill the space with large stuff — large TV, large couch, large dining room table, home security systems and as much kitchen stuff as you can possibly find space for on your kitchen.
However, I think the conventional wisdom is worth revisiting.
Matroshka Furniture
Sarek Matroshka Furniture Place – $16,726.42
Most families have far too much material. Some of it crowds the living space; a number of it fills garages, closets and storage spaces. We buy things thinking we’ll use thembut often don’t. We keep things thinking we may use them later on. However, if we are not using them today, why would we later? In an old Jerry Seinfeld stand-up regular, ” he observes that once something goes into the garage, it’s never going to come back in the house. Why keep it in the garage?
Designing your own home and your own life around maximum portability means favoring small things over larger ones, fewer things more and more multipurpose objects over single-purpose ones. This exceptionally chic, versatile and movable set from Matroshka Furniture comes with an office, a dining room table, a bed and a couch all in one. It’s made with white stained walnut plywood and ash veneer, and the cushions are made with Swedish gray wool.
Epson
MovieMate 85HD 720p 3LCD Projector – $849
You may even go all electronic if you want, with novels, magazines, music and other articles. The specifics are up for you. The important thing is to buy multipurpose objects as much as possible. Embrace a zero-storage coverage — whether it’s in the garage or at paid storage, market, recycle, give it away or throw it away until you are no more saving all that old things.
Never warrant keeping something because you may need it someday. Look over your actual usage. If you are not using it today, eliminate it. Purchase small furnitureand as little of it as possible. Embrace open, empty space as the greatest aesthetic.
The Mobile Media Room
Technology increasingly helps. The dedicated minimalist can stream pictures from the Internet to be played on a huge PC screen, rather than buying separate PC and TV hardware and a DVR, cable box, smart TV box and most of the rest.
Or, even better, buy an HD-TV projector program, such as the Epson MovieMate 85HD. It’s a powerful, bright, high-definition projector with an integrated sound system. You’re able to play movies, DVDs, TV shows or Web content on any bare wall or some other purpose-built projector screen. That means in the event that you’ve got a party, then you can choose the system out. Or you may carry it in the living area to the bedroom. Or you may even take it with you on vacation. If you move to another house, you will have a lot more options about decorating without having to worry about where to place a big-screen TV.
Lockitron
Lockitron Door Lock
Some dwelling attributes that used to be only built in are becoming portable. By way of instance, an intriguing new electronic lock merchandise called Lockitron quickly fits over an existing deadbolt and turns the deadbolt handle once you lock or unlock the doorway with your smartphone.
It’s a cool concept, advertising a high-end capability at a low price ($149 at this writing). Best of all, you can take it with you once you move.
UBE
Ube Smart System
Another cool product which makes home automation easy 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 mobile.
Why Portability Is a Fantastic Thought
Minimalism is good. Everybody speaks about minimalism, but hardly anyone does anything about it. The goal is comfort and happiness. And having less material, less clutter, is good for your mind.
Freedom gives you peace of mind. The understanding you could move, either on another side of the nation or on another side of town — or into another nation, in the event that you wanted to — gives you peace on a comparable degree to having savings at the bank or good insurance. Maximizing options on your daily life reduces stress.
Save money on “stuff” and storage. Overconsumption is a significant waste of money. That storage device you are paying for, and all that unnecessary things you are being marketed into purchasing, costs real money. Wouldn’t you rather spend that money on something much better — say, a vacation to India or a professional-level baking class? Nobody plans to buy too much stuff, then store it forever. It simply happens. And it’s pricey.
You may actually want to move. Many 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 massive house. You’ll probably want to downsize, and in case you haven’t invested the last twenty years amassing too much stuff, the move will be far less traumatic. More importantly, you might be surprised one day with an amazing career opportunity that involves moving someplace else, or you could realize that since you are working at home, you may as well get an aged Italian farmhouse and operate from there. The older version of purchasing the biggest house you can afford, then completing it into the rafters with stuff is based on the now-obsolete expectation of lifetime employment in the same company in the same building. Stuff happens, and streamlining your daily life makes you ready for whatever.
It’s easier to provide, share and update. It’s simple to consider 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 wish to send it off to college with your daughter. But if that couch is too large for her dorm, you can not do it. Minimizing the size of things you buy maximizes the options for what may happen to them once you are willing to replace them.
More: Mobile Microliving in Oregon
