small modern living blog - health at the core

The Marie Kondo method gained popularity as society started to embrace the value in living minimally. Her mantra of only keeping things that spark joy seemed to resonate with people, across cultures and differing landscapes. She argued there are transferable benefits to living your life this way, including to one’s health and wellbeing.

Have you ever walked into a space and felt completely calm? That was achieved through design. How can we better design our lives to prioritize health? As a therapist, I am interested in the relationship between variables that impact mindset, behaviors, motivation to change, etc. Living minimally has the potential to influence numerous aspects of daily living - I am here for it!

I often think about the day my son had his first seizure. We were living in our tiny home in St Paul, “The Essential House.” I was putting laundry away and heard a strange faint noise coming from our bedroom. My son was having a grand mal seizure. I was in complete shock, but my years of working in intensive care units prepared me. The years after became a sudden proof that living in a small home was actually a complete blessing. I was able to monitor my son from any location in our home. Our outdoor enclosed courtyard allowed him to play, while the massive windows always ensured his visibility to his protective mother. I felt at ease knowing he was always close. This picture was taken after he came home from the hospital - My heart was completely full of holiday spirit having my son by my side.

When people would see our home for the first time, they seemed to declare in unison, “It’s a great space, but I could never live somewhere so small.” And every time I go to their homes I think to myself “I could never live somewhere so big.”