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1 week ago | 
laurafenton.substack.com | Laura Fenton
New for 2025, Q&A is an advice column of sorts for paid subscribers. Once a month, I answer a reader’s question about living small and invite the community to weigh in with ideas too. Q: After renting our apartment for three years, we recently had the extreme privilege of buying our unit. I had been a lifelong renter. The type who never put holes in walls to hang a thing because I didn’t want to deal with the arguments over security deposits.
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3 weeks ago | 
laurafenton.substack.com | Laura Fenton |Katie Gatti Tassin
This newsletter’s two-year anniversary slipped by without me noticing. Maybe that’s because other milestones were on my mind. My husband and I just marked ten years of living in our apartment. My book baby is five years old next week. The Little Book of Living Smallcame out on April 7, 2020, which is, of course, tied up in my mind with those scary, early days of the Covid lockdowns (a less happy anniversary).
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4 weeks ago | 
laurafenton.substack.com | Laura Fenton
New for 2025, Q&A is an advice column of sorts for paid subscribers. Once a month, I answer a reader’s question about living small and invite the community to weigh in with ideas too. Q: Do you have any advice for how to entertain in a small space with a family? Our place is small, so it’s especially hard to figure out how to have friends over without displacing my spouse and child. A: I wanted to answer this question because it’s something I have struggled with too.
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1 month ago | 
laurafenton.substack.com | Laura Fenton
Last week’s Google Trends report indicated that search interest in “decluttering” hit a five year high in 2025, and “minimalism” was a top-trending related search. The trendcasters at Google also noted that “how to start decluttering when overwhelmed” searches rose 800% in the previous week. I was not surprised. However, I was curious about that phrase “decluttering when overwhelmed.” Were these searchers merely being overwhelmed by the clutter?
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1 month ago | 
laurafenton.substack.com | Laura Fenton
With all the talk of “no buy” challenges lately, I decided to compile a list of my favorite ways to improve a small space without buying a thing (or buying very little). Because even if you don't want to buy things this year, you may still want to make your home more beautiful and functional. Part of the secret to reducing your consumption (and changing your habits) is to find other ways to bring you that same satisfaction of a new purchase.
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1 month ago | 
laurafenton.substack.com | Laura Fenton |Paul Krugman |Garrett Bucks
Last week, I announced that 10% of the profits for each month’s paid subscriptions will be donated to a different charitable cause. My first donation went to EarthJustice. In Small Takes, I ask people who are living small how they make it work. This month, I’m introducing you to Merie Subryan, an interior stylist and design consultant, who lives with her husband Alex and two children in a 850-square-foot one bedroom that the family recently converted to two.
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1 month ago | 
laurafenton.substack.com | Vicki Robin |Joe Dominguez |Laura Fenton
Lately, everywhere I look it seems that another writer or influencer is doing a “no buy” year or boycotting Amazon or Target. On the one hand, I applaud these efforts to curb consumption and spend more consciously. I believe that if enough of us are organized, boycott campaigns are a real opportunity to push for change. (They say just 3.5% of a population actively participating in an alternative model can bring a shift in business as usual). But on the other hand?
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1 month ago | 
laurafenton.substack.com | Laura Fenton
Do you ever wonder what you would do if you were rich? Not sort of rich, like reallyrich. I certainly have. If someone waved a magic wand and filled my bank accounts, I would have so much fun. Picture me like Mackenzie Scott giving it all away to non-profits, trying to die with zero. Of course, I’m not totally selfless. I’d use some of the money to fund my retirement and I’ll admit I’d probably move to a nicer, larger apartment. I’d want to make sure my family had enough to live comfortably.
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2 months ago | 
laurafenton.substack.com | Laura Fenton
Something new for 2025: An advice column for paid subscribers. Once a month, I answer a reader’s question about living small and invite the community to weigh in. Q: What’s your take on storage units? We’ve lived on sailboats for the last 10+ years, and have managed to avoid having a storage unit up until this last fall. Some of this was because we leaned on family, but mostly it has meant a lot of buying and selling and/or generally doing without large items.
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2 months ago | 
laurafenton.substack.com | Laura Fenton |Bridget Shirvell |Erin Boyle
The news has felt like a lot in recent months, and especially in the last few weeks. But I think it’s been extra challenging for parents, who are (rightfully) scared about the future their children are inheriting. I got an early look at the new book Parenting in a Climate Crisis: A Handbook for Turning Fear into Action by journalist and mom , which aims to help parents navigate the intersection of the climate/biodiversity/environment crisis and parenting.