Smaller is better

[conwy]

I noticed quite a few instances where I could use a smaller object rather than a larger one with much less hassle.

Smaller car - easier to park and manoeuvre.

Smaller cooking pot - faster to heat up, easier to clean, more portable for storage or relocating.

Smaller bucket for cleaning solution - e.g. to clean the bathroom, instead of filling a giant bucket with water and a big cap-full of cleaning fluid, I could just use a very small hand-sized tub and just a few drops of cleaning fluid. I cut a regular sponge in half and used that to wipe down the surfaces. This is more economical, smaller ecological footprint, easier to manoeuvre and probably better for health as less toxic fumes inhaled.

Smaller rubbish bin - I can dispose of waste more frequently leading to less odour. It's less conspicuous and leaves more space in the house. I use smaller plastic bags, so likely no negative environmental impact. Also easier to store, transport, clean, etc.

Smaller liquid soap dispenser - I switched to a small 100ml foaming dispenser. Takes up much less space next to the wash basin. I can still buy cheap large refills and just refill it more regularly. Bonus - this is super convenient to just throw in a backpack when travelling and always be able to disinfect my hands.

Smaller food bowl, plate and cutlery - Encourages me to eat smaller portions - good for keeping calories down. The smaller fork encourages me to savour the taste - good for psychology. It's all much easier to clean at the end of the meal and easy to travel with.

I don't understand how we came to have this culture of everything being jumbo-sized. People seem to accept it as normal to have a garbage bin the size of a small child or a cooking pot the size of a large infant. I think it might be an American influence, and it might also be linked to sales/marketing trying to appeal to customers' cognitive biases, e.g. subconsiously thinking that "bigger is better" or that somehow a higher quantity of plastic/metal for the same price equals better value for money.

As alluded to above, this just increases the burden of cleaning or relocating and probably isn't good for people's health or the environment.

I'm now actively looking to "downsize" my belongings wherever possible. The ambitious task I set myself is to have all my belongings fit in a large backpack and a luggage. Maybe one day I'll become a 1-bag person, hopefully there's some sort of medal or prize, or maybe a letter from the King of England.

[Chris]

Great idea for a topic. So much of the buying public does their purchasing like they're shopping for warehouse space.

When looking at cars, I feel like I'm the only person who cares about the exterior dimensions and turning radius. Maybe it's because of my negative view of stuff: I consider purchases based on how much they will add hassle, as opposed to adding comfort/convenience.

Switching to smaller utensils was so easy but produced outsized results. Rice and beans is better with a teaspoon. More savoring and slower eating.

Here are some additions:

House/living space: less space to heat, less space to clean, less likely to lose things.

Laptop: easier to pack, and usable in more places (economy class on planes).

Phone: more pocketable, easier to grip, easier to use one handed, less glass to break.

Mattress: more room space, smaller sheets (resulting in smaller laundry loads, and cheaper linens)

[conwy]

Laptop: easier to pack, and usable in more places (economy class on planes).

Phone: more pocketable, easier to grip, easier to use one handed, less glass to break.

Mattress: more room space, smaller sheets (resulting in smaller laundry loads, and cheaper linens)

Laptop - I've always gone for a smaller 13" laptop.

Phone - I still use an iPhone 7 - can't find another Apple phone with such perfect dimensions

Mattress - Good point about the smaller sheets -> smaller laundry. For this reason I also only have one pillow and one quilt.

[Slevin]

Switching to smaller utensils was so easy but produced outsized results. Rice and beans is better with a teaspoon. More savoring and slower eating.

The next / penultimate move is to chopsticks. Even smaller bites, and anyone who can find sticks and an old pocket knife can duplicate and make more chopsticks at any time. Plus, they’re just better than any other utensils. I feel like a caveman every time I have to use a fork these days. Also, big chopsticks for cooking. Spoons are still needed sometimes for mixing / soup obviously.

[Slevin]

Smaller liquid soap dispenser - I switched to a small 100ml foaming dispenser. Takes up much less space next to the wash basin. I can still buy cheap large refills and just refill it more regularly. Bonus - this is super convenient to just throw in a backpack when travelling and always be able to disinfect my hands.

I buy a big bottle of Dr Bronners liquid Castile soap, which already needs dilution before the foaming mix even, so it’s even like a 1/100 - 1/1000 volume gain when moving to foaming hand soap.

[ertyu]

Another benefit to a smaller living space is the container effect. If your home is smaller, you have less space. Your furniture is smaller. You have less space for storage. This incentivizes minmaxing when it comes to belongings and discourages consumerism.

Few minmaxed belongings means known belongings. No piles and piles of stuff half of which you forgot about so you end up buying duplicates when you can't fish the original out. One's belongings mean more. Which means one maintains them more. Etcetera.

We do have the less space => less tools and workshop space. How would you deal with that in a "less is more" way?

[vexed87]

I don't understand how we came to have this culture of everything being jumbo-sized. People seem to accept it as normal to have a garbage bin the size of a small child or a cooking pot the size of a large infant. I think it might be an American influence, and it might also be linked to sales/marketing trying to appeal to customers' cognitive biases, e.g. subconsiously thinking that "bigger is better" or that somehow a higher quantity of plastic/metal for the same price equals better value for money.

As alluded to above, this just increases the burden of cleaning or relocating and probably isn't good for people's health or the environment.

https://leanlogic.online/glossary/scale/

Also see writings of Kirkpatrick Sale and E F Schumacher, Small is Beautiful is a favourite of mine. I think it has been discussed here many a time.

[plantnerd]

Smaller dog: less food, less poo, no counter surfing, likely increased lifespan, less potential for incredible destruction

[Laura Ingalls]

The known belongs is key.

I have been traveling with a 40 liter bag (plus some joint belongs in DH’s larger bag.)

I have four pairs of socks. I had a fifth cheap pair I consciously tossed. They are my little sock friends. I know when I leave if I have them all. Two pairs of them are Darn Tough brand and I don’t want to lose them so I can utilize the warranty.

The bad news is that I packed for warmer weather than my current location. I am not getting much use out of my shorts. And I am so over wearing my two pairs of long pants.

[mountainFrugal]

Small pleasures - tea, a bird song, a familiar painting, a warm fire, a comfortable chair, a hot meal, good conversation...

[bos]

I have a mini-oven and a two burner induction plate. The mini oven uses 50% less energy and heats up quicker.

[ducknald_don]

Small pleasures - tea, a bird song, a familiar painting, a warm fire, a comfortable chair, a hot meal, good conversation...

That reminds me of our holidays. We usually hire a cottage near the sea and spend our week walking and eating too many cream teas.

[plantnerd]

I definitely agree that small joys are much more impactful to peoples' general sense of well being than we give them credit for- especially if we take a moment and really savor them.

[unemployable]

Smaller breasts: Less sagging, less lecherous staring, easier to find bras that fit, highly correlated with better fitness, can wear men's clothes, people like you for your other features instead of your gazoombas, can become a fashion model

Smaller penis: ?

Smaller bank account: ?

[chenda]

Smaller breasts: Less sagging,

+1.

Being a short female has many advantages; most men are of datable height, you can wear children's clothes (much cheaper) you can weave your way through crowds, you need fewer calories, you can live in old houses with low ceilings (that's a real advantage in the old world) In short, I lke being short, though being top heavy offset the tendency to my being treated like a child which some short women face. But now they need shoring up.

I think penis size follows something of a bell curve of utility, at least from the perspective of the recipient.

[7Wannabe5]

Yes, I agree on the smaller breasts, although with caveat that it has been my experience that breast men tend towards being somewhat jollier/easy-going than ass men (more choleric/overbearing) or face/leg men (more melancholic/hopeless-romantic.) Since even on a non-chubby day, I tend towards being the same size as the average American man, I also agree that being smaller/shorter is an advantage for a female, especially if you also have high IQ. I remember one time I was at a funeral home for a viewing, and I suddenly realized that there were a lot more men who looked like somebody I might date in the room than usual, and the mystery was solved when I learned that the recently deceased belonged to a football fraternity.

One advantage of a smaller penis might be that with more nerve endings per unit skin surface and less volume to fill/lift, after age 42 or so, the ability to achieve/maintain erection and freely ejaculate might be superior. I had one partner in his 50s who was significantly on the other side of the spectrum and it was kind of like sitting in your car watching a highway bridge slooooowly lift over the wide river.

Smaller bank account: I think this is often relative to debt/obligations or perception of these. Also maybe whether you are an Ne tactician vs. Ni strategist. For example, does the size of your bank account represent an acreage/domain you have well-boundaried or does it represent how much water you have to carry into the woods or ???

Smaller IQ: The great bliss of ignorance and more humans you can knock boots with while also being able to tolerate their "quality" of pillow talk.

[chenda]

I had one partner in his 50s who was significantly on the other side of the spectrum and it was kind of like sitting in your car watching a highway bridge slooooowly lift over the wide river.

It's like how large baths take ages to fill and usually empty the hot water tank when only half full.

Largest I ever saw looked like a babies arm, but came with guaranteed cervical trauma and was attached to an otherwise small geeky guy who was rather coasting on his endowment.

[7Wannabe5]

@chenda:

I would describe the largest I ever encountered as being like special Polish holiday kielbasa deceptively packaged (folded/tucked) in a manner counter to standard marketing practice. Like when you could only feel for what you were purchasing through maybe a bulky layer of Dad jean denim over the stick shift/cup holders, you estimated "More than plenty for the gathering given that I will also be serving deviled eggs.", but then when you tear off the packaging and the second half emerges, you realize "Wow, there are definitely going to be leftovers! I better clear some more room in the fridge."

[chenda]

@7w5 haha, I've never tried a kielbasa, literally or figuratively.

Thinking about this further the only disadvantages to being a short female is top shelves usually require heels and if you're into combat sports you might struggle to find a similar weighted opponent.

[7Wannabe5]

Yeah, the only advantage I can think of for being a tall female is that maybe it is more effortless to be taken seriously in settings such as business meetings, and you will be recruited for sports even if you are a nerd with no interest. And, there is a certain contingent of the male population which has a Wonder Woman fetish, although one of the reasons I stopped wearing knee-high boots was lack of desire to attract this contingent. Anyways, I've found that it is increasingly less an issue with age, since I have been literally and relatively shrinking in height since age 13, and most humans become more flexible with age.