TED Talks, Graham Hill: Less stuff, more happiness

Graham Hill: Less stuff, more happiness

What's in the box? Whatever it is must be pretty important, because I've traveled with it, moved it, from apartment to apartment to apartment.

(Laughter)

(Applause)

Sound familiar? Did you know that we Americans have about three times the amount of space we did 50 years ago? Three times. So you'd think, with all this extra space we'd have plenty of room for all our stuff. Nope. There's a new industry in town, a 22 billion-dollar, 2.2 billion sq. ft. industry: that of personal storage.So we've got triple the space, but we've become such good shoppers that we need even more space. So where does this lead? Lots of credit card debt, huge environmental footprints, and perhaps not coincidentally, our happiness levels flat-lined over the same 50 years.

Well I'm here to suggest there's a better way, that less might actually equal more.I bet most of us have experienced at some point the joys of less: college -- in your dorm, traveling -- in a hotel room, camping -- rig up basically nothing, maybe a boat. Whatever it was for you, I bet that, among other things, this gave you a little more freedom, a little more time.So I'm going to suggest that less stuff and less space are going to equal a smaller footprint. It's actually a great way to save you some money. And it's going to give you a little more ease in your life.

So I started a project called Life Edited at life edited.org to further this conversation and to find some great solutions in this area. First up: crowd-sourcing my 420 sq. ft. apartment in Manhattan with partners Mutopo and Jovoto.com.I wanted it all --home office, sit down dinner for 10, room for guests, and all my kite surfing gear. With over 300 entries from around the world,I got it, my own little jewel box. By buying a space that was 420 sq. ft .instead of 600, immediately I'm saving 200 grand.Smaller space is going to make for smaller utilities --save some more money there,but also a smaller footprint.And because it's really designed around an edited set of possessions -- my favorite stuff --and really designed for me, I'm really excited to be there.

So how can you live little? Three main approaches. First of all, you have to edit ruthlessly. We've got to clear the arteries of our lives. And that shirt that I hadn't worn in years? It's time for me to let it go. We've got to cut the extraneous out of our lives, and we've got to learn to stem the inflow. We need to think before we buy. Ask ourselves,"Is that really going to make me happier? Truly?" By all means, we should buy and own some great stuff. But we want stuff that we're going to love for years, not just stuff.

Secondly, our new mantra:small is sexy. We want space efficiency. We want things that are designed for how they're used the vast majority of the time, not that rare event. Why have a six burner stove when you rarely use three? So we want things that nest, we want things that stack, and we want it digitized. You can take paperwork, books, movies, and you can make it disappear -- it's magic.

Finally, we want multifunctional spaces and housewares --a sink combined with a toilet, a dining table becomes a bed --same space, a little side table stretches out to seat 10. In the winning Life Edited scheme in a render here, we combine a moving wall with transformer furniture to get a lot out of the space. Look at the coffee table --it grows in height and width to seat 10. My office folds away, easily hidden. My bed just pops out of the wall with two fingers. Guests? Move the moving wall, have some fold-down guest beds. And of course, my own movie theater.

So I'm not saying that we all need to live in 420 sq. ft. But consider the benefits of an edited life.Go from 3,000 to 2,000, from 1,500 to 1,000. Most of us, maybe all of us, are here pretty happily for a bunch of days with a couple of bags, maybe a small space, a hotel room. So when you go home and you walk through your front door, take a second and ask yourselves, "Could I do with a little life editing? Would that give me a little more freedom? Maybe a little more time?" What's in the box? It doesn't really matter. I know I don't need it. What's in yours? Maybe, just maybe, less might equal more. So let's make room for the good stuff.

Thank you.

(Applause)

Graham Hill: Less stuff, more happiness Graham Hill: Weniger Zeug, mehr Glück Graham Hill: Menos cosas, más felicidad Graham Hill : Moins de choses, plus de bonheur グラハム・ヒル：モノを減らして、幸福を増やす Graham Hill: Menos coisas, mais felicidade 格雷厄姆·希尔：更少的东西，更多的幸福

What’s in the box? 箱の中は何ですか？ Whatever it is must be pretty important, because I’ve traveled with it, moved it, from apartment to apartment to apartment. それが何であれ、かなり重要なものに違いない。なぜなら、私はそれを持って旅をし、アパートからアパートへと移動したからだ。 O que quer que seja, deve ser muito importante, porque eu viajei com ele, mudei, de apartamento em apartamento em apartamento.

(Laughter)

(Applause)

Sound familiar? 聞き覚えがあるだろうか？ Did you know that we Americans have about three times the amount of space we did 50 years ago? ¿Sabía que los estadounidenses tenemos aproximadamente el triple de espacio que hace 50 años? 私たちアメリカ人は、50年前の約3倍のスペースを持っていることをご存知だろうか？ Você sabia que nós americanos temos cerca de três vezes a quantidade de espaço que ocupamos 50 anos atrás? Three times. So you’d think, with all this extra space we’d have plenty of room for all our stuff. Então você pensaria que, com todo esse espaço extra, teríamos muito espaço para todas as nossas coisas. Nope. There’s a new industry in town, a 22 billion-dollar, 2.2 billion sq. Hay una nueva industria en la ciudad, un negocio de 22.000 millones de dólares y 2.200 millones de m2. Há uma nova indústria na cidade, 22 bilhões de dólares e 2,2 bilhões de metros quadrados. ft. ft. industry: that of personal storage.So we’ve got triple the space, but we’ve become such good shoppers that we need even more space. indústria: a do armazenamento pessoal. Então, triplicamos o espaço, mas nos tornamos compradores tão bons que precisamos de ainda mais espaço. So where does this lead? Então, onde isso leva? Lots of credit card debt, huge environmental footprints, and perhaps not coincidentally, our happiness levels flat-lined over the same 50 years. Muchas deudas de tarjetas de crédito, enormes huellas medioambientales y, quizás no por casualidad, nuestros niveles de felicidad se estancaron durante los mismos 50 años. 多くのクレジットカード負債、莫大な環境フットプリント、そしておそらく偶然ではないだろうが、私たちの幸福度は同じ50年間で横ばいとなった。

Well I’m here to suggest there’s a better way, that less might actually equal more.I bet most of us have experienced at some point the joys of less: college -- in your dorm, traveling -- in a hotel room, camping -- rig up basically nothing, maybe a boat. 大学では寮で、旅行ではホテルの一室で、キャンプでは基本的に何も持たず、ボートに乗るくらいだ。 Bem, eu estou aqui para sugerir que há uma maneira melhor, que menos pode ser igual a mais. Aposto que a maioria de nós já experimentou em algum momento as alegrias de menos: faculdade - em seu dormitório, viagem - em um quarto de hotel, camping - montar basicamente nada, talvez um barco. Whatever it was for you, I bet that, among other things, this gave you a little more freedom, a little more time.So I’m going to suggest that less stuff and less space are going to equal a smaller footprint. あなたにとってそれが何であったにせよ、とりわけ、それによって少し自由が増し、少し時間が増えたことは間違いない。だから私は、物を減らし、スペースを小さくすることは、フットプリントを小さくすることと同じだと提案するつもりだ。 O que quer que tenha sido para você, aposto que, entre outras coisas, isso lhe deu um pouco mais de liberdade, um pouco mais de tempo. Então, vou sugerir que menos material e menos espaço sejam iguais a uma pegada menor. It’s actually a great way to save you some money. 実際、お金を節約する素晴らしい方法だ。 Na verdade, é uma ótima maneira de economizar dinheiro. And it’s going to give you a little more ease in your life. そして、あなたの人生にもう少し安らぎを与えてくれるだろう。

So I started a project called Life Edited at life edited.org to further this conversation and to find some great solutions in this area. そこで私は、この会話を進め、この分野における素晴らしい解決策を見つけるために、life edited.orgでLife Editedというプロジェクトを始めた。 First up: crowd-sourcing my 420 sq. まずは、私の420平方メートルをクラウドソーシングする。 Primeiro: multidão de meus 420 m2. ft. フィート。 apartment in Manhattan with partners Mutopo and Jovoto.com.I wanted it all --home office, sit down dinner for 10, room for guests, and all my kite surfing gear. ホームオフィス、10人掛けのディナー、来客用の部屋、そしてカイトサーフィンの道具のすべてだ。 With over 300 entries from around the world,I got it, my own little jewel box. 世界中から300を超える応募があり、私は自分だけの小さな宝石箱を手に入れた。 By buying a space that was 420 sq. ft .instead of 600, immediately I’m saving 200 grand.Smaller space is going to make for smaller utilities --save some more money there,but also a smaller footprint.And because it’s really designed around an edited set of possessions -- my favorite stuff --and really designed for me, I’m really excited to be there. スペースが狭ければ、光熱費も少なくて済むから、その分お金を節約できる。 Em vez de 600, imediatamente estou economizando 200 mil.Espaço menor será usado para utilitários menores - economize um pouco mais de dinheiro lá, mas também uma área útil menor. minhas coisas favoritas - e realmente projetadas para mim, estou muito animada por estar lá.

So how can you live little? では、どうすれば小さく生きることができるのか？ Então, como você pode viver pouco? Three main approaches. Três abordagens principais. First of all, you have to edit ruthlessly. まず第一に、冷酷に編集しなければならない。 Primeiro de tudo, você deve editar sem piedade. We’ve got to clear the arteries of our lives. 人生の動脈をきれいにしなければならない。 Temos que limpar as artérias de nossas vidas. And that shirt that I hadn’t worn in years? E aquela camisa que eu não usava há anos? It’s time for me to let it go. Está na hora de eu deixar ir. We’ve got to cut the extraneous out of our lives, and we’ve got to learn to stem the inflow. Temos que cortar o estranho de nossas vidas e precisamos aprender a conter o fluxo de entrada. We need to think before we buy. Precisamos pensar antes de comprar. Ask ourselves,"Is that really going to make me happier? Pergunte a nós mesmos: "Isso realmente vai me deixar mais feliz? Truly?" By all means, we should buy and own some great stuff. Por todos os meios, devemos comprar e possuir ótimas coisas. But we want stuff that we’re going to love for years, not just stuff.

Secondly, our new mantra:small is sexy. Em segundo lugar, nosso novo mantra: pequeno é sexy. We want space efficiency. We want things that are designed for how they’re used the vast majority of the time, not that rare event. Why have a six burner stove when you rarely use three? Por que ter um fogão de seis bocas quando você raramente usa três? So we want things that nest, we want things that stack, and we want it digitized. Então, queremos coisas que se aninham, queremos coisas que se empilham e queremos que seja digitalizado. You can take paperwork, books, movies, and you can make it disappear -- it’s magic.

Finally, we want multifunctional spaces and housewares --a sink combined with a toilet, a dining table becomes a bed --same space, a little side table stretches out to seat 10. Por fim, queremos espaços multifuncionais e utensílios domésticos - uma pia combinada com um vaso sanitário, uma mesa de jantar se torna uma cama - mesmo espaço, uma mesinha lateral estendida para o assento 10. In the winning Life Edited scheme in a render here, we combine a moving wall with transformer furniture to get a lot out of the space. Look at the coffee table --it grows in height and width to seat 10. My office folds away, easily hidden. My bed just pops out of the wall with two fingers. Minha cama simplesmente sai da parede com dois dedos. Guests? Move the moving wall, have some fold-down guest beds. Mova a parede móvel, tenha algumas camas dobráveis. And of course, my own movie theater.

So I’m not saying that we all need to live in 420 sq. ft. But consider the benefits of an edited life.Go from 3,000 to 2,000, from 1,500 to 1,000. Mas considere os benefícios de uma vida editada. Passe de 3.000 para 2.000, de 1.500 para 1.000. Most of us, maybe all of us, are here pretty happily for a bunch of days with a couple of bags, maybe a small space, a hotel room. A maioria de nós, talvez todos nós, estamos aqui muito felizes por alguns dias com algumas malas, talvez um pequeno espaço, um quarto de hotel. So when you go home and you walk through your front door, take a second and ask yourselves, "Could I do with a little life editing? Então, quando você voltar para casa e entrar pela porta da frente, pare um segundo e pergunte a si mesmo: "Eu poderia fazer uma pequena edição da vida? Would that give me a little more freedom? Isso me daria um pouco mais de liberdade? Maybe a little more time?" What’s in the box? It doesn’t really matter. I know I don’t need it. Eu sei que não preciso disso. What’s in yours? Maybe, just maybe, less might equal more. Talvez, apenas talvez, menos possa ser mais. So let’s make room for the good stuff. Então, vamos abrir espaço para as coisas boas.

Thank you.

(Applause)