Our minimalist “luxury” studio apartment layout. “Minimum viable living”

Is the Goal to Live a Peaceful Life?

It seems the reason why we want wealth and riches is to live a peaceful life.

But what if living a frugal and simple life were a more effective strategy?

Our minimalist “luxury” studio apartment layout. “Minimum viable living”
Our minimalist “luxury” studio apartment layout. “Minimum viable living”

Living in Kyoto, Osaka, and Tokyo in these micro apartment/hotels, I’ve learned:

You don’t need much space to live large.

New mode of living?

Typically speaking, we got the “American dream”of owning our own home (bigger is better). But what if this living in a small space is actually SUPERIOR, irrespective of price?

Some living life hacks

  1. Sleep on the ground with a 3’’ memory foam mattress topper, instead of buying a mattress. Sleep on the ground, Japan futon style.
  2. In praise of small “luxury studio”apartments in a central location in a city: All inclusive, gym inside, and washer dryer inside the unit. Simplifies life soooo much. Also the benefit of having free heating— beneficial in cold winters. Also generally super fast WiFi is included. Just get the smallest and cheapest room in the building.
  3. For cooking, use a cheap $25 crockpot for meals. Just throw in cheap cuts of pork (99 cents a pound for pork picnic cut), cheap chicken (thighs), or ground beef (or beef roast). Throw in some celery, onions, garlic, chili powder, tomato paste and you’ve got a great meal. Just push a button in the morning, and your dinner is waiting for you at home at night!

Other hidden benefits of small living quarters

The smaller the space, the easier it is to find your stuff. The less stuff you accumulate and buy, because you know you don’t really have the space.