When my stuff arrived in Vancouver, I felt the anxiety creep back in. In 600 square feet, there was limited storage and space. I didn’t know how to set things up or where to put them. I stood in the middle of my small apartment, surrounded by boxes, and felt overwhelmed all over again. That’s when Janet Taylor of Totally Organized came to my rescue. We did a FaceTime session where she walked through my space with me, room by room. She suggested storage solutions, containers, and ways to organize that made sense for how I actually live. I followed her guidance, and once everything had a place, peace returned. So did inspiration.
The FaceTime session was different from what I expected. I thought she’d tell me to get rid of more things or that I’d kept too much. Instead, she asked me questions. How did I actually use my space? What did I reach for most often? What did I need to access quickly, and what could be stored away?
She wasn’t interested in making my space look like a magazine. She wanted it to work for my life. For how I moved through my day. For what mattered to me.
We went room by room.
She suggested storage solutions I hadn’t considered, containers that would maximize the space I had, ways to organize that felt natural instead of forced. She helped me see that living small didn’t mean living without. It meant being intentional about what I kept and where I put it.
I followed her guidance, and something remarkable happened. Once everything had a place, the anxiety disappeared. The space that had felt crowded and chaotic suddenly felt calm. I could find what I needed. I could move freely. I could breathe.
But the biggest change was something I didn’t expect. I noticed my language shift. What I’d once called “stuff” I now called “items.” It sounds like a small thing, but it wasn’t. “Stuff” is heavy, burdensome, something you accumulate without thinking. “Items” are intentional, purposeful, chosen.
I started to visualize what I wanted in my space, and I realized I didn’t need much. What I have now is more than enough, and I couldn’t be happier.
The peace and contentment I feel today is something I’ve never experienced before. Not in my 1,400 square foot home. Not in my 2,000 square foot home. Not in any of the bigger spaces I lived in over the years. This 600 square feet holds more peace than all of those larger homes combined.
When I consider buying something now, I ask myself a simple question: Is this just more stuff, or does this reflect who I am?
Most of the time, the answer is clear. I don’t need it. I don’t want it. What I have is enough.
I no longer identify with my stuff. I used to think my home, my possessions, my carefully curated spaces were part of my identity. I thought losing them would mean losing myself. But the opposite turned out to be true. Letting go of the stuff allowed me to find myself.
I am whole as I am. Not because of what I own or don’t own. Not because of the size of my home or the furniture in it. Just because I am.
At 66 years old, after a health crisis that took my vision and forced me to rebuild my life from almost nothing, I’ve learned that the things I thought defined me were just things. The real me, the essential me, was always there underneath. I just had to clear away enough stuff to see her.
Peaceful space.
My friend who kept sending me the tiny house videos was right, though I couldn’t see it at the time. Small living isn’t about deprivation. It’s about clarity. It’s about knowing who you are without all the noise.
And in 600 square feet of intentional, peaceful space, I finally know.
**When you look around your home today, what percentage would you say is “stuff” versus things that truly reflect who you are? And if you could start fresh, what would you keep?**
