(View from the stage before Zach Giffin and Andrew Morrison spoke.)
Wow. Where to begin...
I was invited to speak at the first national Tiny House Jamboree in Colorado Springs, which took place last weekend (Aug. 7-9th), and originally I was also going to have a booth for Simplify Your Stuff, as well.
And then we moved 6 hours away.
So, I decided not to have a booth since I wasn't "local" anymore...and boy, am I glad I didn't have to man a booth by myself for 3 days--at an event that brought in 40,000+ people!!
Instead, I got to take in (almost) the entirety of the event.
I had amazing conversations with some of the leaders in the Tiny House movement.
That's right, it's a movement, folks.
This isn't an 'Adkins diet' fad for living in a small house.
This is here to stay.
It has to.
Our planet and its resources can't take it anymore.
We need to stop consuming on such a large scale...and a pleasant side effect of dialing back our consumption is not needing to work 40, 50, 60+ hours per week to pay for our ginormous houses! We can have more time to enjoy life. What a concept!
What if your monthly electric bill was in the 10's of dollars? or...FREE?
What if you weren't 'stuck' in utility bills, mortgage payments, and upkeep of a huge house?
What if you knew what every single item in your home was?
(Can you even fathom that right now?!)
And that's where I fit into all of this.
I was at the Jamboree to talk about how to simplify your stuff.
How to get rid of stuff so you can fit into a tiny house!
To speak on a stage that also held individuals who are on TV was quite surreal. Some people were overheard saying "Oh, Molly--I want to see her speak--she's that organizer girl"...while others were literally wondering why I was there to speak in the first place!
I felt a bit out of place at first. I was the 3rd speaker on the first day of the event.
There were probably about 150 people listening to me speak (way less than what is pictured above!)--and by no means were people taking pictures of me the way they were of just about everyone else! (Which is good--that would be weird!)
I recognized some of the other speakers from their blogs, and Facebook pages--but couldn't necessarily tell you their names! I was kind of on the 'outskirts' of the tiny house movement, I guess.
After my nerves calmed down, when I was finished speaking, I got to mingle and just hang out with people the rest of the weekend. It was awesome! To be surrounded by SO many people who share common interests is really invigorating (and a bit overstimulating, too--even for an extrovert!)
My speaking session:
To be honest, most of what I spoke about was a blur...I blame that on nerves.
But, it was also because I sort of followed my note cards, but I improvised too.
And I'm glad I did.
I spoke from the heart about how we--as a society--are buried under too much stuff.
Our 'good stuff' is under the "got if for free" stuff.
And the "so-and-so gave it to me" stuff.
And the "it was on sale" stuff.
And the "I might need it some day" stuff.
I spoke about how I started Simplify Your Stuff: I helped a friend organize her playroom (4 hours of non-stop, pure bliss for me!)...and how she encouraged me to do this as a 'business.' To which I never thought anyone would pay for!
I talked about de-owning--not necessarily down-sizing your stuff--but getting rid of excess--and how it truly is freeing.
I gave tips for most areas of your home and how to get started with declutting and de-owning in those areas.
I saw people taking notes, and laughing, and, really 'getting it.'
And that made all of the anticipatory stress of my first public speaking event worth it!
I want to thank Darin and Coles with EcoCabins, for getting this even together! Their amazing team of employees and volunteers--oh, the volunteers!--made this event spactacular!
I also want to give a big virtual hug to all of the 'tiny house' friends I have now, thanks to the event! There really is nothing better than feeling connected to people who share a sense of 'common good' for humanity and the planet.
My heart is full.
Here's to living more sustainably, following our passions, and healing the Earth!
In simplicity,
Molly
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