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.

你們知道嗎，我們美國(guó)人如今擁有的空間是五十年前的三倍。整整三倍啊。那你會(huì)想，有了這么多額外的空間，我們放置東西應(yīng)該綽綽有余了，對(duì)吧？不對(duì)。如今美國(guó)有一個(gè)新行業(yè)，一個(gè)涉及22億平方英尺（約2.06億平方米），價(jià)值220億美元的行業(yè)，為個(gè)人提供儲(chǔ)物空間。于是，我們擁有了三倍的空間，我們變得更愛購物了，以至于還需要更多的空間。

那么，這一切會(huì)把我們引向何方？龐大的信用卡債務(wù)，嚴(yán)重的環(huán)境污染，而我們的幸福水平在過去的五十年里并沒有提高，而這一點(diǎn)也許不是巧合。

好吧，我在此想提出一個(gè)更好的理念，那就是少即多。

我在lifeedited.org網(wǎng)站啟動(dòng)了一個(gè)叫“簡(jiǎn)約生活”的活動(dòng)，想在這個(gè)領(lǐng)域推動(dòng)進(jìn)一步的交流，找出一些出色的解決方案。第一步：以眾包的方式收集我公寓的設(shè)計(jì)方案。這套公寓在紐約的曼哈頓，面積為420平方英尺（約39平方米）。我的要求是一應(yīng)俱全：家庭辦公室、十人用餐區(qū)、客房，還可以放得下全套的風(fēng)箏沖浪設(shè)備。在我從全球收到的三百多條建議中，我找到了合適的方案，把我公寓設(shè)計(jì)成小巧但功能齊全的空間。選擇買一個(gè)420平方英尺的公寓，而不是600平方英尺（約64平方米）的公寓，我馬上就從這省了二十萬。小空間就意味著小一號(hào)的生活用具，這不僅省錢，而且會(huì)留下更少的碳足跡。因?yàn)檫@個(gè)方案是圍繞我精選的物品設(shè)計(jì)的，里面都是我自己喜歡的東西，是專門為我設(shè)計(jì)的，所以住在里面我很興奮。

那你如何才能過簡(jiǎn)約生活呢？首先，你必須毫不留情地刪減生活中無用的東西，就像我們要疏通身體的動(dòng)脈一樣。那件襯衣，我已多年未穿，是時(shí)候放手了。我們?cè)谫徫锴耙迹瑔枂栕约海骸斑@件東西會(huì)讓我開心嗎？真的會(huì)嗎？”我們當(dāng)然可以購物，擁有一些好東西，但我們要的是那些能讓我們好多年都愛不釋手的東西，而不僅僅是一些物品。

第二，我們的新準(zhǔn)則是：小即性感。我們需要的是空間有效利用率，我們要擁有那些可以在大部分時(shí)間都用得上的物品，而不是好長(zhǎng)時(shí)間都不碰一下的東西。既然你平常連三個(gè)爐頭都很少用得上，那為什么要買一個(gè)有六個(gè)爐頭的灶呢？

當(dāng)然，我并不是說我們都要住在420平方英尺的空間里，而是認(rèn)真考慮簡(jiǎn)約生活的益處。當(dāng)你回到家，走進(jìn)家門時(shí)，不妨駐足片刻問問自己：“我能讓生活簡(jiǎn)約些嗎？這樣做會(huì)不會(huì)讓我多一點(diǎn)自由，也許是多一點(diǎn)時(shí)間呢？”可能，僅僅是可能，少或許就是多。

那我們就一起來為好東西騰出空間吧。