This morning's blog post prompt comes to you from the BBC article linked here:
http://www.bbc.com/capital/story/20150420-why-small-is-the-new-big-thing
This is not a new phenomenon. The tiny house movement (although small) (pun intended) has been around for many years. The idea of paring away the excess in one's life is appealing to many folks and for the obvious reasons - smaller digs means a smaller rent/house payment, and less clutter in one's life may lead to less stress overall. People are discovering that the accumulation of stuff and the required space to stash it in is not necessarily desirable. I think this is a good thing.
So how small is too small?
I had dinner a couple of times on my mission with a family of five (!) that did their living in a space that was no bigger than my office. Eating, sleeping, homework, watching TV... all within about 100 to 150 square feet. They did have a little lean-to which is where they did the cooking and washing and other bathroom activity (ahem). But believe me when I say it was tiny. And really, perhaps not enough.
Dude in the article had about 300 square feet. That's decent.
I've been working on my truck camper. I will post pics soon - it's nearly done - and it's 8' x 18' (144 square feet). It is also pretty cramped, but has everything you might need - little bathroom, closet/storage space, a little fridge, etc. It's got room to sleep four, but if I were to consider living in that kind of space full time, there would have to be more space. Just too many people and all of their stuff...
I also like the idea of living in a downtown area. I know this appeals to many people as well, but the rents in these areas tend to be very high. Smaller spaces mean more affordability. I looked at a place in downtown Salt Lake City - a high-rise apartment complex - just for giggles. They have spaces that are two stories and are over 3000 square feet. The cost - well over $1M. That's out of my price range. But maybe if they decreased the size to 300 square feet, the cost would go down to $100K, which would be much more doable.
Space is valuable, and it's nice to have a studio space in my home where the kids and I can go work on projects, play on the computer, and have a work space to get messy (even if it's not...) ;)
http://www.bbc.com/capital/story/20150420-why-small-is-the-new-big-thing
This is not a new phenomenon. The tiny house movement (although small) (pun intended) has been around for many years. The idea of paring away the excess in one's life is appealing to many folks and for the obvious reasons - smaller digs means a smaller rent/house payment, and less clutter in one's life may lead to less stress overall. People are discovering that the accumulation of stuff and the required space to stash it in is not necessarily desirable. I think this is a good thing.
So how small is too small?
I had dinner a couple of times on my mission with a family of five (!) that did their living in a space that was no bigger than my office. Eating, sleeping, homework, watching TV... all within about 100 to 150 square feet. They did have a little lean-to which is where they did the cooking and washing and other bathroom activity (ahem). But believe me when I say it was tiny. And really, perhaps not enough.
Dude in the article had about 300 square feet. That's decent.
I've been working on my truck camper. I will post pics soon - it's nearly done - and it's 8' x 18' (144 square feet). It is also pretty cramped, but has everything you might need - little bathroom, closet/storage space, a little fridge, etc. It's got room to sleep four, but if I were to consider living in that kind of space full time, there would have to be more space. Just too many people and all of their stuff...
I also like the idea of living in a downtown area. I know this appeals to many people as well, but the rents in these areas tend to be very high. Smaller spaces mean more affordability. I looked at a place in downtown Salt Lake City - a high-rise apartment complex - just for giggles. They have spaces that are two stories and are over 3000 square feet. The cost - well over $1M. That's out of my price range. But maybe if they decreased the size to 300 square feet, the cost would go down to $100K, which would be much more doable.
Space is valuable, and it's nice to have a studio space in my home where the kids and I can go work on projects, play on the computer, and have a work space to get messy (even if it's not...) ;)
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