Tiny House

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Speaker 1 Welcome. to bedtime stories for everyone

Speaker 1 in which nothing much happens.

Speaker 1 You feel good

Speaker 1 and then you fall asleep.

Speaker 1 I'm Catherine Nikolai.

Speaker 1 I create everything you hear on nothing much happens.

Speaker 1 Audio engineering is by Bob Witterheim.

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Speaker 1 Now,

Speaker 1 busy minds need a place to rest.

Speaker 1 And that's exactly what I have for you.

Speaker 1 And for this to work,

Speaker 1 all you need to do is listen.

Speaker 1 Let your attention rest on my voice

Speaker 1 like an upturned leaf

Speaker 1 resting on the current of a river.

Speaker 1 Before you know it, you'll be fast asleep.

Speaker 1 I'll tell the story twice,

Speaker 1 and I'll go a little slower the second time through.

Speaker 1 If you wake again in the night, don't hesitate to turn a story back on.

Speaker 1 It'll rock you right back to sleep.

Speaker 1 This is brain training and improves with use.

Speaker 1 So be patient if you are new to this.

Speaker 1 Our story tonight is called Tiny House.

Speaker 1 And it's a story about a snug, small space to relax in.

Speaker 1 It's also about impatience for the flower bed, sunny days on the edge of the woods, hammocks and reading nooks, and the relief of having fewer decisions to make and more time to enjoy.

Speaker 1 So lights out, campers.

Speaker 1 Set everything down,

Speaker 1 even your thoughts and worries.

Speaker 1 Set them down for now.

Speaker 1 If they are useful, you can pick them up tomorrow. But most likely,

Speaker 1 you'll forget them as you dream.

Speaker 1 Notice how good it feels to be in bed,

Speaker 1 to be at the end of this day.

Speaker 1 Feel your jaw softening,

Speaker 1 your shoulders relaxing.

Speaker 1 All is well.

Speaker 1 Take a deep breath in through the nose

Speaker 1 and sigh.

Speaker 1 once more, breathe in

Speaker 1 and release it.

Speaker 1 Good

Speaker 1 tiny house

Speaker 1 Ever since I was a child, I've loved snug spaces

Speaker 1 the cupboard under the stairs,

Speaker 1 the space between the sofa and the wall,

Speaker 1 pillow forts and reading nooks.

Speaker 1 And even as I grew up, I loved the corner booth at the diner,

Speaker 1 a window seat with a curtain that you can pull closed.

Speaker 1 The interior of my small car parked on the edge of the park on a rainy chill day

Speaker 1 with the heat running and some music playing from the radio

Speaker 1 I think it's the simplicity of small spaces that make them feel so soothing to me

Speaker 1 caring for them

Speaker 1 cleaning and organizing

Speaker 1 and being in them comes with a pared-down list of options

Speaker 1 So the overworked, decision-making part of my brain gets a break when I'm in them.

Speaker 1 Instead of wearing myself out with a dozen what-ifs or should-Is,

Speaker 1 there is just a simple, clear path.

Speaker 1 Do this,

Speaker 1 the small space says.

Speaker 1 Yes, that feels like a relief to an overworked mind.

Speaker 1 So, a few months ago,

Speaker 1 I decided to make simplified spaces a way of life

Speaker 1 rather than an occasional escape.

Speaker 1 Just before the holidays, I bought a tiny house,

Speaker 1 sold or gave away most of my things,

Speaker 1 took what was left, and moved in.

Speaker 1 And

Speaker 1 I loved it.

Speaker 1 It felt like the safest little space I'd ever known.

Speaker 1 Small, uncomplicated, and all mine.

Speaker 1 It sat near a patch of thick woods, a mile or two outside of town,

Speaker 1 just before you get to the orchards.

Speaker 1 I liked the privacy and the quiet out here.

Speaker 1 From my bed in the sleeping loft,

Speaker 1 I could see a pond in the distance

Speaker 1 where deer and fox came to drink.

Speaker 1 All around my tiny house were shrubs and garden beds that I was planning to fill with pretty annuals and small trees.

Speaker 1 Since I'd moved in at the end of autumn, all I'd had time for outside

Speaker 1 had been hanging a few strands of Christmas lights on the porch

Speaker 1 and a wreath on my door.

Speaker 1 But this year

Speaker 1 I would spend a lot of time outside, making the most of my garden.

Speaker 1 Already, I used the porch every day.

Speaker 1 That was something I'd noticed about living in a smaller space.

Speaker 1 In my last house,

Speaker 1 there were whole rooms I barely ever used.

Speaker 1 Only entered to dust or store things.

Speaker 1 In this house I used every space nearly every day

Speaker 1 and it gave me a sense of

Speaker 1 not wasting,

Speaker 1 not wasting space,

Speaker 1 and not wasting time.

Speaker 1 The porch gave off of my front door,

Speaker 1 which was painted a cheery yellow

Speaker 1 among the antique blue of the house exterior.

Speaker 1 and it held just my comfortable chair

Speaker 1 and the small table for my coffee and a book.

Speaker 1 I sat outside as soon as it was warm enough in the mornings and watched the world wake up around me.

Speaker 1 It had become a kind of meditation to sit there,

Speaker 1 listen to rain dripping from the eaves and tree branches,

Speaker 1 or the birds singing on sunny days,

Speaker 1 to taste the deep, strong flavor

Speaker 1 of my coffee, and smell the woods and the grass as spring arrived.

Speaker 1 Might often carry my cup with me

Speaker 1 as I stepped down from the porch porch and circle my house slowly,

Speaker 1 stopping to pull weeds from the beds

Speaker 1 or pluck a few stems of lily of the valley from around the oak tree roots.

Speaker 1 Inside my little house,

Speaker 1 I'd shed my shoes at the door

Speaker 1 and find a small vase for the flowers

Speaker 1 and clean the whole kitchen

Speaker 1 in less than a minute flat.

Speaker 1 In fact, my whole home could be cleaned in less than an hour.

Speaker 1 So keeping it just the way I liked it,

Speaker 1 in order and welcoming, was something I did every day.

Speaker 1 I found, living here,

Speaker 1 that I had more time to do things I loved,

Speaker 1 felt less overwhelmed by the list of chores and to-dos

Speaker 1 that used to dominate my days.

Speaker 1 I read more books,

Speaker 1 went for more walks,

Speaker 1 listened to more music,

Speaker 1 and slept better than I had in years.

Speaker 1 When I'd first told friends about my plans for this tiny house life,

Speaker 1 many had asked,

Speaker 1 What about dinner parties?

Speaker 1 What about guests?

Speaker 1 Wouldn't I just need more space at certain times?

Speaker 1 And I know I haven't lived here long

Speaker 1 just six months.

Speaker 1 But so far their concerns hadn't proved worth worrying over.

Speaker 1 For the brick patio at the back of the house,

Speaker 1 I'd ordered a nice sized outdoor table.

Speaker 1 If I wanted to have a dinner party,

Speaker 1 I could do it any day the weather allowed.

Speaker 1 As for guests,

Speaker 1 well,

Speaker 1 they were welcome to come, to have a cup of tea with me.

Speaker 1 I'd even take an extra chair out onto the porch for them.

Speaker 1 But when the visit was over,

Speaker 1 I'd send them on to the next stop in their journey.

Speaker 1 I'd spent many years making myself less comfortable to make others more so.

Speaker 1 And now I was in a different season of my life.

Speaker 1 And real friends appreciated that

Speaker 1 and never resented it.

Speaker 1 I guessed there could be times when I would want some extra space.

Speaker 1 But the world was full of space.

Speaker 1 And I'd realized it didn't all have to live in my home.

Speaker 1 I could be in town in five minutes,

Speaker 1 wandering through the open streets,

Speaker 1 meeting a big group of friends for a movie or dinner,

Speaker 1 watching a soccer game with hundreds of others at the high school stadium,

Speaker 1 listening to a band play

Speaker 1 at the clamshell concert stage in the park.

Speaker 1 In fact, today seemed a good day

Speaker 1 to step out into the world

Speaker 1 and find a few things I'd been thinking of for my home.

Speaker 1 I'd go to the plant nursery

Speaker 1 and look for a few flats of impatience

Speaker 1 for the bed beside the porch.

Speaker 1 I'd stop by the gift shop

Speaker 1 to buy a candle scented for spring.

Speaker 1 And I just might go to the hardware store where I'd seen a display of hammocks in the window.

Speaker 1 This smaller,

Speaker 1 simpler approach to living

Speaker 1 was making more space in my life for little pleasures.

Speaker 1 More time to just rest and notice

Speaker 1 and enjoy.

Speaker 1 And when I came back home today

Speaker 1 and set the flowers on the patio for tomorrow's planting,

Speaker 1 lit the candle on my single table

Speaker 1 and locked the door behind me.

Speaker 1 I'd feel

Speaker 1 a rush of gratitude for taking this step

Speaker 1 to move my life more deliberately

Speaker 1 in the direction of my dreams.

Speaker 1 Tiny House

Speaker 1 Ever since I was a child

Speaker 1 I'd loved snug spaces

Speaker 1 the cupboard under the stairs,

Speaker 1 the space between the sofa and the wall,

Speaker 1 pillow forts

Speaker 1 and reading nooks.

Speaker 1 And even as I grew up,

Speaker 1 I loved the corner booth at the diner,

Speaker 1 a window seat

Speaker 1 with a curtain that you can pull closed,

Speaker 1 the interior of my small car

Speaker 1 parked on the edge of the park

Speaker 1 on a rainy, chill day,

Speaker 1 with the heat running,

Speaker 1 and some music playing from the radio.

Speaker 1 I think it's the simplicity

Speaker 1 of small spaces

Speaker 1 that make them feel

Speaker 1 so soothing to me.

Speaker 1 Caring for them,

Speaker 1 cleaning and organizing

Speaker 1 and being in them

Speaker 1 comes with a pared-down list of options.

Speaker 1 So the overworked decision-making part of my brain

Speaker 1 gets a break when I'm in them.

Speaker 1 Instead of wearing myself out

Speaker 1 with a dozen

Speaker 1 what-ifs

Speaker 1 or

Speaker 1 should I's,

Speaker 1 there is just a simple, clear path.

Speaker 1 Do this,

Speaker 1 the small space says.

Speaker 1 Yes,

Speaker 1 that feels like a relief

Speaker 1 to an overworked mind.

Speaker 1 So a few months ago,

Speaker 1 I decided to make

Speaker 1 simplified spaces

Speaker 1 a way of life

Speaker 1 rather than an occasional escape.

Speaker 1 Just before the holidays,

Speaker 1 I bought a tiny house,

Speaker 1 sold or gave away most of my things,

Speaker 1 took what was left

Speaker 1 and moved in.

Speaker 1 And I loved it.

Speaker 1 It felt like the safest little space

Speaker 1 I'd ever known,

Speaker 1 small,

Speaker 1 uncomplicated,

Speaker 1 and all mine.

Speaker 1 It sat near a a patch of thick woods,

Speaker 1 a mile or two outside of town,

Speaker 1 just before you get to the orchards.

Speaker 1 I liked the privacy

Speaker 1 and the quiet out here.

Speaker 1 From my bed in the sleeping loft,

Speaker 1 I could see a pond in the distance

Speaker 1 where deer and fox came to drink.

Speaker 1 All around my tiny house were shrubs

Speaker 1 and garden beds

Speaker 1 that I was planning to fill with pretty annuals

Speaker 1 and small trees.

Speaker 1 Since I'd moved in

Speaker 1 at the end of autumn,

Speaker 1 all I'd had time for

Speaker 1 outside

Speaker 1 had been hanging a few strands of Christmas lights on the porch

Speaker 1 and a wreath on my door.

Speaker 1 But this year I would spend a lot of time outside,

Speaker 1 making the most of my garden.

Speaker 1 Already,

Speaker 1 I used the porch every day.

Speaker 1 That was something I'd noticed about living in a smaller space.

Speaker 1 In my last house,

Speaker 1 there were whole rooms I barely ever used,

Speaker 1 only entered to dust

Speaker 1 or store things.

Speaker 1 In this house

Speaker 1 I used every space

Speaker 1 nearly

Speaker 1 every day

Speaker 1 and it gave me a sense

Speaker 1 of not wasting,

Speaker 1 not wasting space

Speaker 1 and not wasting time.

Speaker 1 The porch gave off of my front door,

Speaker 1 which was painted a cheery yellow

Speaker 1 among the antique blue

Speaker 1 of the house exterior,

Speaker 1 and it held just my comfortable chair

Speaker 1 and a small table

Speaker 1 for my coffee

Speaker 1 and a book.

Speaker 1 I sat outside

Speaker 1 as soon as it was warm enough in the mornings

Speaker 1 and watched the world wake up around me.

Speaker 1 It had become

Speaker 1 a kind of meditation to sit there,

Speaker 1 to listen to rain dripping from the eaves

Speaker 1 and tree branches,

Speaker 1 to taste the deep, strong flavor of my coffee,

Speaker 1 and smell the woods and grass

Speaker 1 as spring arrived.

Speaker 1 I'd often carry my cup with me

Speaker 1 as I stepped down from the porch

Speaker 1 and circle my house slowly,

Speaker 1 stopping to pull weeds from the beds,

Speaker 1 or pluck a few stems of lily of the valley

Speaker 1 from around the oak tree roots

Speaker 1 Inside my little house,

Speaker 1 I'd shed my shoes at the door

Speaker 1 and find a small vase for the flowers

Speaker 1 and clean the whole kitchen

Speaker 1 in less than a minute flat.

Speaker 1 In fact, my whole home could be cleaned in less than an hour.

Speaker 1 So, keeping it just the way I liked it,

Speaker 1 in order

Speaker 1 and welcoming

Speaker 1 was something I did every day.

Speaker 1 I found

Speaker 1 living here

Speaker 1 that I had more time to do things I loved,

Speaker 1 felt less overwhelmed by the list of chores

Speaker 1 and to-dos

Speaker 1 that used to dominate my days.

Speaker 1 I read more books,

Speaker 1 went for more walks,

Speaker 1 listened to more music,

Speaker 1 and slept better

Speaker 1 than I had in years.

Speaker 1 When I'd first told friends

Speaker 1 about my plans

Speaker 1 for this

Speaker 1 tiny house life,

Speaker 1 many had asked,

Speaker 1 What about dinner parties?

Speaker 1 What about guests?

Speaker 1 Wouldn't I just

Speaker 1 need more space at certain times?

Speaker 1 I know I haven't lived here long

Speaker 1 just six months.

Speaker 1 But so far

Speaker 1 their concerns hadn't proved worth worrying over.

Speaker 1 For the brick patio

Speaker 1 at the back of the house

Speaker 1 I'd ordered a nice sized outdoor table

Speaker 1 if I wanted to have a dinner party

Speaker 1 I could do it any day the weather allowed

Speaker 1 as for guests

Speaker 1 well

Speaker 1 they were welcome to come

Speaker 1 to have a cup of tea with me.

Speaker 1 I'd even take an extra chair out onto the porch for them.

Speaker 1 But when the visit was over,

Speaker 1 I'd send them on

Speaker 1 to the next stop in their journey.

Speaker 1 I'd spent many years

Speaker 1 making myself

Speaker 1 less comfortable

Speaker 1 to make others more so.

Speaker 1 And now

Speaker 1 I was in a different season of my life.

Speaker 1 And real friends appreciated that

Speaker 1 and never resented it.

Speaker 1 I guessed there could be times when I would would

Speaker 1 want some extra space.

Speaker 1 But the world was full of space.

Speaker 1 And I'd realized it didn't all have to live

Speaker 1 in my home.

Speaker 1 I could be in town.

Speaker 1 in five minutes

Speaker 1 wandering through the open streets

Speaker 1 meeting a big group of friends for a movie

Speaker 1 or dinner

Speaker 1 watching a soccer game

Speaker 1 with hundreds of others at the high school stadium

Speaker 1 listening to a band play

Speaker 1 at the clamshell concert stage in the park.

Speaker 1 In fact, today seemed a good day

Speaker 1 to step out into the world

Speaker 1 and find a few things I'd been thinking of for my home.

Speaker 1 I'd go to the plant nursery

Speaker 1 and look for a few flats of impatience

Speaker 1 for the bed beside the porch.

Speaker 1 I'd stop by the gift shop to buy a candle scented for spring.

Speaker 1 And I just might go to the hardware store

Speaker 1 where I'd seen a display of hammocks in the window.

Speaker 1 This smaller,

Speaker 1 simpler approach to living

Speaker 1 was making more space in my life for little pleasures,

Speaker 1 for time to just rest

Speaker 1 and notice

Speaker 1 and enjoy.

Speaker 1 And when I came back home to

Speaker 1 and set the flowers on the patio

Speaker 1 for tomorrow's planting,

Speaker 1 lit the candle on my single table,

Speaker 1 and locked the door behind me,

Speaker 1 I'd feel a rush of gratitude

Speaker 1 for taking this step

Speaker 1 to move my life

Speaker 1 more deliberately

Speaker 1 in the direction of my dreams.

Speaker 1 Sweet dreams.