Small Takes with Shira Gill
How a family of four living in 1,200 square feet in Berkeley makes it work.
Welcome to Small Takes, a monthly column for all LIVING SMALL subscribers.
In Small Takes, I ask people who are living small how they make it work. In this month’s installment we’re visiting Shira Gill’s Berkeley, California home, which appeared in my first book The Little Book of Living Small. Shira and I have become long-distance friends bonding over our shared interest in homes and writing books and newsletters (Shira pens the excellent newsletter The Life Edit). In those six years, a lot has changed in Shira’s life and home. Her elementary-school aged daughters have become teens; the family adopted a dog; her husband Jordan returned to graduate school; and Shira’s own career has shifted from working solely as a home organizer to her current multi-hyphenate life as an author, educator, and organizer.
At 1,200 square feet, Shira’s house is not small-small, but unlike many family homes, the 1916 Craftsman has only one non-bedroom closet and no attic or garage (aka no place to hide any excess). It will come as no surprise that Shira’s house is immaculately organized and styled, but it caught my attention that much of her advice about living small below is about how to live–not just how to organize a home. Her latest book Lifestyled also looks at being organized more expansively, taking the lessons Shira learned as a home organizer and applying them to the rest of her life.
Here’s how Shira makes her small space work:
What is your definition of living small?
Living small is about being radically intentional—not just with the stuff you own, but with how you spend your time, energy, and resources. It’s clarifying what truly matters and trimming away the distractions that get in the way. To me, the ultimate luxury isn’t having more—it’s having exactly enough.
What is the real reason you live small?
I’ve always loved small, cozy spaces, but the real perk is freedom. Less stuff means less cleaning, less decision fatigue, and more time for what we actually enjoy—like travel1, concerts, and going out for ice cream. Sure, I would love another bathroom (we share one the size of a postage stamp!) or an actual entry closet, but living small lets us focus on quality over quantity, which feels like the real win.
Do you have any tips for living small with a family?
Keep shared spaces flexible. Our dining table pulls triple duty as my office, the kids’ craft zone, and the place we gather for dinner parties.
Embrace minimalism where it counts. By keeping our living room, dining room, and kitchen clutter-free, these spaces can evolve with our needs—whether it's hosting a dinner party or building a blanket fort for movie night.
What is a small change you made to your home that made a big difference?
We knocked down the non-structural walls between the living room, dining room, and kitchen. Instead of cramped, choppy rooms, we now have an open, airy space that feels twice as big (without needing twice the budget).
What is your greatest home extravagance?
Fresh flowers! Every week, I treat myself to a tiny cluster for my nightstand and a big, dramatic bunch of greenery for the kitchen. It’s a little luxury that makes the house feel lovely and makes me wildly happy.
What’s one way that your home is sustainable?
We installed a foot pedal for our kitchen faucet, and I’m not exaggerating when I say it’s life-changing. It's fun to use, saves so much water, and it’s from a small, family-run business, Principle Faucets—wins all around.
Branch Basics cleaning concentrate also greatly reduces our plastic consumption. When diluted with varying amounts of water, this plant-based, non-toxic concentrate can replace all of your cleaning products. It’s a minimalist's dream! Now we only have one bottle. It even can be used as laundry soap (we keep ours in a cute little glass bottle with a pour spout next to our laundry machine).
What’s something you’re obsessed with right now?
The Freedom app. It’s my digital babysitter, keeping me off social media and email during work hours, so I can actually get things done. It’s magical, though tragically, it can’t stop me from snacking.
Is there a home design book you’d like to recommend?
Still: The Slow Home by my friend Natalie Walton is a favorite. It’s full of beautiful, pared-down homes from around the globe and chalk-full of inspiration.
Care to share an Instagram account that inspires you?
I adore Ashlee Piper (@ashleepiper), the genius behind the #NoNewThings challenge. She’s hilarious and makes sustainable living feel doable—even for someone who can’t resist a good throw pillow. Ed note: Ashlee’s got a No New Things book coming out in April that I was fortunate to receive an advance copy of and it is fantastic.
What helps you stay organized in your small home?
Simple systems are my lifeline. For example, we don’t have an actual entryway, but a set of mini lockers by the door keeps coats, bags, and shoes from exploding all over the house. We also have both an “inbox” (a dedicated spot for mail, bills, and school forms) and “outbox” (a tote for anything leaving the house—library books, returns) near our front door. I clear the inbox out every Sunday and the whole family knows if something needs my attention it needs to be put in the inbox.
Read more of Shira’s home advice in this post from the archive:
And see more of Shira’s home here.
Shira’s latest book Lifestyled: Your Guide to a More Organized & Intentional Life is available at libraries and wherever books are sold including Bookshop.org, Barnes & Noble, Amazon, and independent booksellers nationwide.
3 More Things
The best small space I saw last week was this color-saturated London apartment in The New York Times (gift link). Not quite my personal style, but I loved seeing such a bold take on living small–and the green kitchen is perfection!
Reading The New Yorker’s review of More Than Pretty Boxes: How the Rise of Professional Organizing Shows Us the Way We Work Isn’t Working inspired me to check out an electronic copy of the book from the library and then a dozen pages in I decided I needed a hard copy, which is on its way.
Subscribing Much to my delight Heather Evans has brought her newsletter back to Substack under a new name Design Your Wild. Anyone interested in gardening should sign up—stat. The first new newsletter hightlights 12 rewilding success stories from 2024.
One last thing: Carter had it right.
Because their home is so orderly and free from clutter, the family is able to rent it out when they travel, offsetting the costs of their vacations: a true example of how living small can mean living large.
Such an important reminder (for me) that living small gives you more freedom in your life; I love that perspective!
Thanks for the shoutout, Laura! Thrilled to be back among excellent writers and thinkers like you.