Here's why small is sustainable

And why I bother writing about how to organize your closet

When someone introduced me recently and said, “Laura writes about organizing,” I felt a little ping of panic. 

Is that what people think is my work? I wondered. To be fair, it is a topic I’ve written a lot about, especially recently, but to me, it’s just one of many things I report on—from gardening to artist profiles. I think of organizing as one of the many lenses through which I write about the home and how to live more sustainably.

That passing comment had me spinning about all the ambitious, important things I should be writing instead (Electrifying our homes! Stormwater management! Native plants!). But when the initial sting burned off I remembered that being organized is a key piece of living small, and I believe that choosing to live small is important.

One of the reasons I wrote The Little Book of Living Small and why I write this newsletter is because choosing to live in a small space is one of the biggest levers an individual can pull to address the climate crisis. You can tote your reusable shopping bag and buy all the zerowaste shampoo you want, but if you are living in a 4,000 square-foot house, you have a hefty carbon footprint. 

With my writing I want to show that living small can be aspirational and achievable–and that you don't need to have a custom-built tiny house or an uber-minimalist aesthetic to live small in style. I send out these newsletters about how to edit your closet or organize your home because I want more people to feel comfortable in smaller spaces. I want to make it possible to choose small because it is the most sustainable choice.

So why is small more sustainable?