少即多

Did you know that we Americans have about three times the amount of space we did 50 years ago？Three times. So youd think， with all this extra space， wed have plenty of room for all our stuff， right？ Nope. Theres a new industry in town， a 22-billion-dollar-2.2-billion-square-foot industry， that of personal storage. So weve got triple the space， so weve become such good shoppers that we need even more space.

So where does this lead？ Lots of credit card debt， huge environmental footprints， and perhaps， not coincidentally， our happiness levels flat-line over the same 50 years.

Well Im here to suggest theres a better way， that less might actually equal more.

So I started a project called “Life Edited” at lifeedited.org to further this conversation and to find some great solutions in this area. First up： crowd sourcing my 420 ft2 apartment in Manhattan. I wanted it all： home office， sit-down dinner for 10， room for guests， and all my kitesurfing gear. With over 300 entries from around the world， I got it， my own little jewel box. By buying a space that was 420 ft2 instead of 600， immediately Im saving 200 grand. Smaller space is going to make for smaller utilities， save some more money there， but also a smaller footprint. And because its really designed around an edited set of possessions， my favorite stuff， and really designed for me， Im really excited to be there.

So how can you live little？ First of all， you have to edit ruthlessly. Weve got to clear the arteries of our lives. That shirt， that I havent worn in years; its time for me to let it go. We need to think before we buy; ask ourselves， “Is that really gonna make me happier， truly？” By all means， we should buy and own some great stuff. But we want stuff that were gonna love for years， not just stuff.

Secondly， our new mantra： small is sexy. We want space efficiency. We want things that are designed for how theyre used the vast majority of the time， not that rare event. Why have a 6-burner stove when you rarely use three？

So Im not saying that we all need to live in 420 ft2， but consider the benefits of an edited life. So when you go home and you walk through your front door， take a second and ask yourselves，“Could I do with a little life editing？ Would that give me a little more freedom， maybe a little more time？” Maybe， just maybe， less might equal more.

So lets make room for the good stuff.

你們知道吗，我们美国人如今拥有的空间是五十年前的三倍。整整三倍啊。那你会想，有了这么多额外的空间，我们放置东西应该绰绰有余了，对吧？不对。如今美国有一个新行业，一个涉及22亿平方英尺（约2.06亿平方米），价值220亿美元的行业，为个人提供储物空间。于是，我们拥有了三倍的空间，我们变得更爱购物了，以至于还需要更多的空间。

那么，这一切会把我们引向何方？庞大的信用卡债务，严重的环境污染，而我们的幸福水平在过去的五十年里并没有提高，而这一点也许不是巧合。

好吧，我在此想提出一个更好的理念，那就是少即多。

我在lifeedited.org网站启动了一个叫“简约生活”的活动，想在这个领域推动进一步的交流，找出一些出色的解决方案。第一步：以众包的方式收集我公寓的设计方案。这套公寓在纽约的曼哈顿，面积为420平方英尺（约39平方米）。我的要求是一应俱全：家庭办公室、十人用餐区、客房，还可以放得下全套的风筝冲浪设备。在我从全球收到的三百多条建议中，我找到了合适的方案，把我公寓设计成小巧但功能齐全的空间。选择买一个420平方英尺的公寓，而不是600平方英尺（约64平方米）的公寓，我马上就从这省了二十万。小空间就意味着小一号的生活用具，这不仅省钱，而且会留下更少的碳足迹。因为这个方案是围绕我精选的物品设计的，里面都是我自己喜欢的东西，是专门为我设计的，所以住在里面我很兴奋。

那你如何才能过简约生活呢？首先，你必须毫不留情地删减生活中无用的东西，就像我们要疏通身体的动脉一样。那件衬衣，我已多年未穿，是时候放手了。我们在购物前要三思，问问自己：“这件东西会让我开心吗？真的会吗？”我们当然可以购物，拥有一些好东西，但我们要的是那些能让我们好多年都爱不释手的东西，而不仅仅是一些物品。

第二，我们的新准则是：小即性感。我们需要的是空间有效利用率，我们要拥有那些可以在大部分时间都用得上的物品，而不是好长时间都不碰一下的东西。既然你平常连三个炉头都很少用得上，那为什么要买一个有六个炉头的灶呢？

当然，我并不是说我们都要住在420平方英尺的空间里，而是认真考虑简约生活的益处。当你回到家，走进家门时，不妨驻足片刻问问自己：“我能让生活简约些吗？这样做会不会让我多一点自由，也许是多一点时间呢？”可能，仅仅是可能，少或许就是多。

那我们就一起来为好东西腾出空间吧。