Sounds like this guy made a lot of money selling a business, and went on a shopping spree, then decided he did not need all of his crap. Not a cocaine, yachts, and hookers spree, but a bigger house than he needed, felt the need to hire someone to do his shopping, etc. A display in excess and lack of self control.<p>While likely well meaning the article comes across a bit preachy. The whole "stuff does not make you happy" things is getting to be a bit too trendy lately. Some people may indeed be happy basing their life in work, but not everyone is. Just because some people can't sanely manage the rewards of their own success, does not mean material things are somehow "bad".<p>I bought the equivalent of the turbo Volvo, not because I sold a company and suddenly was awash in cash, but because I kept my prior vehicle for 10+ years, and wanted to reward myself with something fun. I am 20 years into a tech career, and work too much at times - as a necessity, not an addiction - and felt I had earned something extra.<p>> "Does all this endless consumption result in measurably increased happiness?"<p>Only intelligent yet immature people who lack self control ask questions like this. Your income is the reward for your effort, and using or not using a portion of it to enjoy life is an individual question. I for one want to enjoy my time on Earth, and for me that means having some toys.
People who come into money should think the importance of things, but to be a bit cynical, let's not forget:<p>This is an article about the virtues of living in small homes written by a man who is in the business of selling small homes.<p>And I think it's interesting that this article completely avoids any mention of the rise of ownership-decreasing and utilization-enriching services like Uber, AirBnB, Lyft, etc (as my buddy David Weekly pointed out to me on FB).
Is it really better to have less and be emotionally attached to that than to have a lot of junk and not care about it?<p>As for the carbon footprint - it's just as much vanity as everything else in our lives. When you die, you won't be rewarded for having had a small carbon footprint, just like your wealth will be useless to you.
After reading the article, I painted a very minimalistic picture of the apartment in my head - Check out the video tour of his house -<a href="http://vimeo.com/55389782" rel="nofollow">http://vimeo.com/55389782</a>
I think this is living with a lot! but cramped into a small space.hmmm