6 Slow Things: Whitney Leigh Morris
Our third guest to our 6 Slow Things series, who I’m so excited to feature, a woman who champions and embraces so many of the practices I’m drawn to: living a beautiful life with a smaller footprint, reusing old things time and again, living slowly and earth consciously and embracing the things and spaces we already have.
Whitney Leigh Morris is an author and digital storyteller living in the US while slowly and sustainably restoring a Tiny French Farmhouse home in Occitanie, France.
Her intention through her work is to embolden us to rethink the idea that ‘bigger’ or ‘more’ equates to better or more successful or more important.
And she does this so wonderfully through her gentle and clever content online, her book Small Space Style, which shares hundreds of practical tips for embracing and making the most of small homes (and which I often turn for ideas for our home) and through her non- profit, One Shared Home, a giveback initiative that supports companies dedicated to protecting the natural world.
I’m delighted to have her share her 6 Slow Things with us.
1) Do you have a favourite material or item that you most love to re use for projects?
I save any scraps of linen I can. I find the pieces ever-useful for projects such as creating window coverings or under-counter skirts, wrapping gifts, making patches for mending, crafting reusable wipes or napkins, making throw covers, etc. I also feel like old s-hooks and shepherd’s hooks are endlessly useful in smaller and shared spaces, where going vertical in unexpected ways is a great way to maximize inches and reduce clutter.
2) What do you most look forward to when spending time with your family in France?
Our residence in France, which is under 800 square-feet, is shared by 9 (!!!) people. Being there together is the greatest joy. To watch our kids play on the land where my friends and I spent so much of our 20s and 30s working is such an incredible experience. And, of course, we love visiting nearby farmers markets and flea markets so we can all prepare meals and evolve our home together.
3) Do you have a pastime outside of your work, and how do you carve out time to enjoy it in a regular week?
Luckily we’ve been able to fold many of our personal interests into our professional lives. My spouse works at the public library, so the kids and I visit him often while exploring new titles and old favorites. And we delight in contributing to community gardens, and helping to preserve wild green and blue spaces. As such, I’ve expanded my business’ scope to include creative tasks in those areas as well. That way our Saturdays can be spent doing slow home-related activities together, such as tending the laundry and line (we have no dryer), visiting the farmers markets, making food for our multigenerational home, crafting art / DIY / upcycling projects, tending the garden, and so forth.
4) You share so many tips for making the most of small spaces, can you share one that brings you the most connection as a family?
We brainstorm and problem solve together. Much of making our home work for everyone in an evolving manner without constantly acquiring new things involves getting inventive by repurposing what we’ve already got on-hand. (“How can we make more room for library books without buying bins or shelves? How can we store our backpacks and bags near the door without cluttering up that multitasking zone? How can we create a seasonal seedling grow zone indoors without using up the surfaces we need for everyday activities?) My 9 year-old tackles crafting household solutions like he approaches assembling a puzzle — by assessing all the pieces, and grouping the ones that make the most sense in each context, while asking for our opinions and seeking guidance as he goes. Coming up with these concepts together is not just a way to spend time together — it’s also an opportunity that provides everyone an active role in caring for our home.
5) What do evenings look like for you and your family?
In the milder seasons, we walk with the dogs down the dirt road and marvel at the changing sycamore trees, the emerging owls in the live oak branches, and the curious mammals and reptiles we pass along the stroll. At home, we pop in some window screens, open the venting skylights, turn on music or a library book via the Libby App for the family to listen to together, and prepare dinner for the 4-6 of us, depending on what we’re making. (We’re pescatarians, but the grandparents are not.) We always, always close out the night by reading library books to the kids in their shared bedroom, where they have a double-length daybed that spans wall-to-wall under the windows. This is a good life, and I am extraordinarily thankful to get to live it. We are lucky, and we strive to pay it forward as best we can.
6) What LES SIX piece would you most like to bring home?
This tea strainer is a gem for sustainable small spaces. By avoiding bags of tea, we sidestep generating unnecessary trash while also avoiding harmful micro plastics. And the hole in the handle makes the item perfect for storing visible and vertically, saving inches on surfaces and in drawers while adding character to an interior.
As ever with Whitney, I’m inspired by her 6 Slow Things and so grateful for the opportunity to share them here with our community.
You can find more of Whitney’s work on Instagram, via her website, her Substack Rightsizing, and find her book Small Space Style here.