So what's not a "movement" these days, huh guys? We've got the "men's rights activists" and the anti-adoption crowd. People who hate people who move to the suburbs?and people of means who insist on eating from the trash.?What next, a movement to eradicate shoes? (Too late!) Let me introduce you to the next wave of frugal, self-imposed suffering available for our consumption: Wee houses! Yes, the next "big" thing is living in teeny, tiny homes in a message that says, "I'm a little bit better than you". Ready?
This guy lives in an 89 square foot house. His name is Jay Shafer and he owns a company that builds tiny homes for the modern, eco-conscious consumer who shirks debt and values personal freedom. His customers embrace a lifestyle of self-reliance, frugal living and one would assume listening to every comment and bodily function made by their family members. It must save so much time cooking from bed. Why didn't I think of this?!
Shafer's McMini-mansions (ho!) come ready to assemble in sizes ranging from the 65 sf model (the home is seven feet wide and eleven feet deep, boasting of 6'2 ceilings. Sorry, Shaq.) on up to the deluxe three bedroom models of nearly 900 sf. ?So basically, he builds body suits made of siding and roofs.?Wouldn't that be a sweet halloween costume?
These homes would be awesome in solving some housing problems. Wouldn't it be rad to pull together as a community and buy one or two of these to provide housing for a family in need? What if the city were peppered with little gingerbread houses in spare corners of public space? That would be so cute! Unfortunately, these wee homes are used by people out in communities with ample green space. Hippies don't have all the fun though. A man in NYC lives in a 78 sf apartment. He pays $800 a month in rent when most apartments in that area go for $3,600. ?(Altogether: dayum!)
Of course, true to human nature, one is never enough. Some patrons of the small house movement have several units built on the same property to serve as guest suites and work spaces - at least that's what they're telling us. If I had a 100 square foot house, I'd be satisfied for a day and then start getting more of them too. I'd give the kids each their own out back, ("Go to your house, missy!") then I'd have one for reading, one for internetting, two for dining and . .. ?oh, wait, then it would be just like having a regular house except there'd be grass instead of hallways. Human nature fail!
I kind of love where they're coming from, though. According to the?Small House Society?(yup, there's one of those) our lives can be just as abundant with fewer possessions and smaller homes. I love the idea of buying what you can afford and not losing your hair or pacing grooves in the floor from worrying about how you're going to pay the mortgage. Just don't have a house big enough to pace in and problem solved! (You'll have to get your nervousness out by developing Restless Leg Syndrome.) But seriously, why do we need all this stuff? I, for one, hate knick knacks. Every time my mother-in-law brings them over, they go right back out the door to be donated ?. . . so other families can be burdened by knick knacks. Ah! It's a vicious cycle of knick knackery.
And just do you know, some people embracing the small house movement are simply adorbs. Check out this sweet little lady and her fabric bunny shop.?I could be this lady. Go, Debs.
Here's the trailer for We The Tiny House People.
If you lived here, you'd be home! Provided you were on your computer at home. Nevermind.
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