Graham Hill: Less stuff, more happiness

http://www.ted.com Writer and designer Graham Hill asks: Can having less stuff, in less room, lead to more happiness? He makes the case for taking up less space, and lays out three rules for editing your life.

TEDTalks is a daily video podcast of the best talks and performances from the TED Conference, where the world's leading thinkers and doers give the talk of their lives in 18 minutes. Featured speakers have included Al Gore on climate change, Philippe Starck on design, Jill Bolte Taylor on observing her own stroke, Nicholas Negroponte on One Laptop per Child, Jane Goodall on chimpanzees, Bill Gates on malaria and mosquitoes, Pattie Maes on the "Sixth Sense" wearable tech, and "Lost" producer JJ Abrams on the allure of mystery. TED stands for Technology, Entertainment, Design, and TEDTalks cover these topics as well as science, business, development and the arts. Closed captions and translated subtitles in a variety of languages are now available on TED.com, at http://www.ted.com/translate.

• Category

  People & Blogs

[EpicAthiest]

Less stuff = less stuff to worry about.

Pretty much all there is to it.

[popcornality]

1st world problems

[michael castaneda]

116 they live in mansion because they are greedy people hehehehe...

[michael castaneda]

this man is from tiny house documentary... that is great documentary how to live a simple life and get out from debt...

[Smithpolly]

No. Not just a first world problem. Where does the stuff we buy come from and how can it be so cheap? How do we dispose of all this stuff? Rubbish is often exported to dumps in developing countries.

[givelifelemonade]

I appreciate a good decluttering every once in a while but he takes it a little too far for my tastes. I wouldn't want to have to pull my bed out of my sofa everyday.

[curiousSOUL22]

...yes, but they are still problems, and we are still only human.

[AtheistSisters]

For some reason his apartment post-remodel reminds me of the houses in The 21 Balloons. Now I'm all nostalgic for books I read as a kid.

[thudson99]

Gotta ask yourself if your "stuff" caught on fire, would you miss it? Some yes, some no. Get rid of "stuff" when YOU are ready to. Sell some of your stuff. You will feel great about it. Perhaps sell it on craigslist, yard sale, or swap meet space? Donate some of it. And listen to George Carlin talk about "stuff".

[rawnlove4eternity]

Quality over quantity. When things last ten times longer then you save in the long run, more ways than one. However, $3000 for a toilet is definately extravagent it seems.

[Fernando Villacorta]

I love this video and while he lived in a 420 sq ft apartment....it all looked expensive! Lol. nevertheless....awesome vid and true!