Minimalism for the New Millennium - The couch / by Mirena Rhee

I watch people move all the time in New York City and I'm astonished at the lengths people go to to move some bulky furniture.

I used to do that too.

Every piece of bulky furniture you buy will end up costing you thousands of dollars over your lifetime, and thousands of hours of your life.

First, you are going to spend hours looking for the right piece.

Then you have to buy it.

It means you have to spend the hours to earn it.

It will most likely replace something you need.

Then you have to move it in place once it arrives.

It's going to take the space in your head and in your room of something truly important, like having fun and working on creative projects you love.

Then you have to fill it with stuff, butts, or whatever.

You're going to spend hours putting things in and out of it over its lifetime.

You're going to end up buying more stuff so you can put stuff in it.

You are going to spend hours taking care of it.

It's going to take the place of air in your room.

It's going to take space in your mind.

It's usually going to be brown.

And then one day you are going to stop liking it.

You are going to start hating it.

It's going to eat you alive for days.

You are going to try to sell it or put it in storage.

Or you will need to move and take it with you.

The moving company will come, wrap it up, load it on the truck, transport it, unload it, put it up in the new house, and unwrap it.

The time's going to come when you are going to be fed up with it anyway.

You are going to try to sell it or put it in storage.

This will cost you hours of your life and the storage is going to cost you fees over your lifetime.

You're going to begin the vicious circle of trying to find a new piece.

Once I bought a $5,000 couch from Macy's.

I think I spent 3 weeks after taxes working for it.

It took me two sets of movers to move it upstairs.

It took me another set of movers to move it to a new place.

I loved it but for the most part, it was just there.

At some point, I used it as a bed but I could have just slept on a futon on the floor.

I sold it to a gay couple who loved it and I was happy to get rid of it.

But before that I had other people come and sit on it and didn't like it and didn't buy it.

The thing is that I still think about it.

Free your space and your mind.

Always keep in mind that bulky furniture will cost you years of your life.

I currently do not own any furniture.

I only use whatever I find on the street in New York and will happily put everything back.