Well, hello there welcome back. My name is Stephanie Safarian and you are listening to

episode 237 of the Sustainable Minimalist Podcast, a twice-weekly show about

intentional and eco-minimalist living. On today's show

we are discussing how to create more space without adding more space. Most of us have felt at one time or another, including myself, that we need more space, that our home perhaps is too small. Perhaps you've even felt as though you need to either undergo a major addition or renovation

onto your existing structure or move altogether. Here in North America, we tend to gravitate towards the

bigger is better mentality. And so it's natural to believe at least on the surface level that a bigger home that having more space

will solve all of our problems. Now today's show is split into two parts. In part one it's just you and I. I am giving you my best

thoughts on adding that space without adding more space. And then in part two of today's show I am bringing you an interview with Melanie Naw.

Melanie is a small living expert and a small living coach and she's on the show to describe how she personally has resisted the urge toward

bigger as being better. So we're going to get into part one of today's conversation. That's just me and you after a quick word from today's first sponsor.

And here we are part one. Before we start, I should just say that, of course,

it goes without saying.

This isn't even one of my four tips for you today,

but we've got a declutter first, right?

The more stuff we have, the tighter our living spaces feel.

This is especially true, especially prevalent right now.

We have just come off a major holiday season. So if you're like me and you just celebrated

Christmas and you also therefore are in the midst of experiencing an influx of stuff despite your best intentions, it may literally

feel as though the stuff is squeezing you out of your home.

This year has taught us, actually this past year and a half, I think we're 22 months

and counting into this pandemic, but who's counting? These past 22 months have taught us that our living spaces need to be flexible.

They need to be able to adapt at a moment's notice and they can adapt if we're drowning in stuff.

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