--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Our houses are such unwieldy property…" description: "\"Our houses are such unwieldy property that we are often imprisoned rather than housed by them.\" — Henry David Thoreau" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8da/henry-david-thoreau-20_houses_our-houses-are-such-unwieldy-property-th_569465.jpg" --- # Our houses are such unwieldy property that we are often… ![“Our houses are such unwieldy property that we are often imprisoned rather than housed by them.” quote by Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8da/henry-david-thoreau-20_houses_our-houses-are-such-unwieldy-property-th_569465.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8da/henry-david-thoreau-20_houses_our-houses-are-such-unwieldy-property-th_569465.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8da/henry-david-thoreau-20_houses_our-houses-are-such-unwieldy-property-th_569465.jpg) > “Our houses are such unwieldy property that we are often imprisoned rather than housed by them.” [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Material possessions can become burdens that restrict freedom rather than provide comfort. **In simple terms:** Things can trap us instead of sheltering us. Key Takeaway Simplify to regain freedom. Themes materialism freedom simplicity Mood reflective thoughtful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - urban living - home ownership - decluttering - financial planning Key Concepts existentialism minimalism Questions to Reflect On - What belongings limit your freedom? - How can you make your home a sanctuary? A Different Perspective Even minimal possessions can become oppressive if not mindfully managed. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Property](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/property/) ## Related quotes > [“Our houses are such unwieldy property that we are often imprisoned rather than housed in them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/our-houses-are-such-unwieldy-property-that-we-are-often-imprisoned-3/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [“We are all poor in respect to a thousand savage comforts, though surrounded by luxuries...for our houses are such unwieldy property that we are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/we-are-all-poor-in-respect-to-a-thousand-savage-comforts-though/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [“our houses are such unwieldy property that we are often imprisoned rather than housed in them; and the bad neighborhood to be avoided is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/our-houses-are-such-unwieldy-property-that-we-are-often-imprisoned-2/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [Books of natural history aim commonly to be hasty schedules, or inventories of God's property, by some clerk. They do not in the least…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/books-of-natural-history-aim-commonly-to-be-hasty-schedules-or/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [By avarice and selfishness, and a groveling habit, from which none of us is free, of regarding the soil as property, or the means…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/by-avarice-and-selfishness-and-a-groveling-habit-from-which-none-of/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [I would remind my countrymen, that they are to be men first, and Americans only at a late and convenient hour. No matter how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/i-would-remind-my-countrymen-that-they-are-to-be-men-first-and/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [I look upon England today as an old gentleman who is travelling with a great deal of baggage, trumpery which has accumulated fromlong housekeeping,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/i-look-upon-england-today-as-an-old-gentleman-who-is-travelling-with/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [Furniture! 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As if the architects and builders would live in all the houses they built! Or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-fowles/the-sky-is-absolutely-empty-beautifully-pure-and-empty-as-if-the/) [John Fowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-fowles/) > [I don't like haunted houses or anything like that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-burrow/i-don-t-like-haunted-houses-or-anything-like-that/) [Joe Burrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-burrow/) > [One of the first houses we lived in was like out of a fairy story. We had a stream that ran through our garden,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emilia-clarke/one-of-the-first-houses-we-lived-in-was-like-out-of-a-fairy-story-we/) [Emilia Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emilia-clarke/) > [I think of novels as houses. You live in them over the course of a long period, both as a reader and as a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-krauss/i-think-of-novels-as-houses-you-live-in-them-over-the-course-of-a/) [Nicole Krauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-krauss/) > [Houses are like the human beings that inhabit them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/houses-are-like-the-human-beings-that-inhabit-them/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) ## More by Henry David Thoreau > [If ever I did a man any goodof course it was something exceptional and insignificant compared with the good or evil which I am…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/if-ever-i-did-a-man-any-goodof-course-it-was-something-exceptional/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [Our inventions are wont to be pretty toys, which distract our attention from serious things. They are but improved means to an unimproved end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/our-inventions-are-wont-to-be-pretty-toys-which-distract-our/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [“Men say they know many things; But lo! they have taken wings, — The arts and sciences, And a thousand appliances; The wind that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/men-say-they-know-many-things-but-lo-they-have-taken-wings-the-arts/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [I am not afraid of praise, for I have practiced it on myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/i-am-not-afraid-of-praise-for-i-have-practiced-it-on-myself/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [“All voting is a sort of gaming, like checkers or back gammon, with a slight moral tinge to it, a playing with right and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/all-voting-is-a-sort-of-gaming-like-checkers-or-back-gammon-with-a/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [“This spending of the best part of one's life earning money in order to enjoy a questionable liberty during the least valuable part of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/this-spending-of-the-best-part-of-one-s-life-earning-money-in-order/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [As for doing good; that is one of the professions which is full. 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You may depend on it, that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/in-proportion-as-our-inward-life-fails-we-go-more-constantly-and/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [I had three chairs in my house; one for solitude, two for friendship, three for society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/i-had-three-chairs-in-my-house-one-for-solitude-two-for-friendship/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [The still youthful energies of the globe have only to be directed in their proper channel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/the-still-youthful-energies-of-the-globe-have-only-to-be-directed-in/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [Concord's little arch does not span all our fate, nor is what transpires under it law for the universe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/concord-s-little-arch-does-not-span-all-our-fate-nor-is-what/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [The lumberers rarely trouble themselves to put out their fires, such is the dampness of the primitive forest; and this is one cause, no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/the-lumberers-rarely-trouble-themselves-to-put-out-their-fires-such/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [“When he has obtained those things which are necessary to life, there is another alternative than to obtain the superfluities; and that is, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/when-he-has-obtained-those-things-which-are-necessary-to-life-there/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [Wealth is measured by the level of experience in all aspects of life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/wealth-is-measured-by-the-level-of-experience-in-all-aspects-of-life/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) [Explore all 3,376 Henry David Thoreau quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) ## More Houses quotes > [Houses are like the human beings that inhabit them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/houses-are-like-the-human-beings-that-inhabit-them/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [I think of novels as houses. 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Or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-fowles/the-sky-is-absolutely-empty-beautifully-pure-and-empty-as-if-the/) [John Fowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-fowles/) > [“All up and down the street the houses looked like any others—but inside them were people who might be happy, or taking refuge, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/celeste-ng/all-up-and-down-the-street-the-houses-looked-like-any-others-but/) [Celeste Ng](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/celeste-ng/) > [My room may be a mess but I know everything where some things are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ewshy/my-room-may-be-a-mess-but-i-know-everything-where-some-things-are/) Ewshy > [“A thousand years or more ago, When I was newly sewn, There lived four wizards of renown, Whose name are still well-known: Bold Gryffindor…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jk-rowling/a-thousand-years-or-more-ago-when-i-was-newly-sewn-there-lived-four/) [JK Rowling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jk-rowling/) > [My nan was a nursery maid. Most people weren't in big houses. They were maids of all work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-waters/my-nan-was-a-nursery-maid-most-people-weren-t-in-big-houses-they-were/) [Sarah Waters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-waters/) > [Americans who visit Tuscany or Umbria love the landscape: the silvery olive groves, the fields of sunflowers, the vineyards, the stone houses and barns.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-lewis/americans-who-visit-tuscany-or-umbria-love-the-landscape-the-silvery/) [Anthony Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-lewis/) > [My main home is in Morecambe Bay on a little island called Roa, where there are 13 houses, a lifeboat station, a boat club…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-myers/my-main-home-is-in-morecambe-bay-on-a-little-island-called-roa-where/) [Dave Myers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-myers/) > [Once I tried to make a standardization of staircases. 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And don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marguerite-duras/and-modern-houses-don-t-have-passages-either-for-children-to-play-and/) [Marguerite Duras](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marguerite-duras/) Browse all 395 Houses quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Our houses are such unwieldy property that we are often imprisoned rather than housed by them.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Henry David Thoreau" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/our-houses-are-such-unwieldy-property-that-we-are-often-imprisoned/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Houses" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/our-houses-are-such-unwieldy-property-that-we-are-often-imprisoned/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8da/henry-david-thoreau-20_houses_our-houses-are-such-unwieldy-property-th_569465.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8da/henry-david-thoreau-20_houses_our-houses-are-such-unwieldy-property-th_569465.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8da/henry-david-thoreau-20_houses_our-houses-are-such-unwieldy-property-th_569465.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Our houses are such unwieldy property that we are often imprisoned rather than housed by them.” — Henry David Thoreau", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Henry David Thoreau", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Our houses are such unwieldy property...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/our-houses-are-such-unwieldy-property-that-we-are-often-imprisoned/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/our-houses-are-such-unwieldy-property-that-we-are-often-imprisoned/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```