2livesimple’s Weblog

On Monday we took a quick drive to an RV dealer my wife had seen as she drove by it a few times.

Most of the RVs we saw were not laid out well enough to actually live in.  Not that the space was not enough in some, but did not like how it was designed.

It was as if they found some space left over, and stuck a cabinet in it.  It didn’t seem to matter what the average person might need to store, just that a cabinet might fit there.  Any cabinet would do, even if it might only have space for a 6 pack of soda,  or 2 rolls of toilet paper.

I have to say that I was very disappointed with the quality in the majority of the RVs.  I know that many people trample through them, and may not treat them with the respect they would if they owned it.  However, I believe that is how you judge how something will age over time.

If someone tells you that a piece of furniture has had too many people sitting in it.  Say it is a floor model, and you accept that it has had more than its normal share of use, wouldn’t it really tell you how it would age over a longer period of time?

You know the cardboard pieces you tack on the back of most bookcases these days?  That thick paper board that is trying to look like a piece of wood, but fails horribly?  It was many times the bottom or back of a closet, and was sometimes terribly damaged.

If you could take 20 different RVs and pick and choose all the different items you like, and lay everything out, and then choose products that aren’t going to offgas and stink for a long, long, long time, then an RV might be an idea.  I know many people live in them, but I can’t even imagine how with what we saw.

Does anyone live in an RV?  Have you made any custom changes?  How is the insulation?  Do you have pictures?  Are you happy?  Anything you don’t like?

Here is a link to living in small houses from CNN. Included in the story is a video link that I enjoyed. I’m still thinking small, and my first goal is to get down to the proper amount of possessions that would allow me to live in such a small space.

http://www.cnn.com/2008/LIVING/wayoflife/10/22/tiny.houses/index.html

We have decided that we want to live with a smaller footprint, however, there has not been an easy solution to that wish.

As I wrote before, we first wanted to live in a tiny house (120 square feet), but found city restrictions (at least what we think we understand so far) to not allow us to live in our backyard in it since it would be mobile.

Then we thought let’s sell the house and buy something smaller.  Smaller gives a very small range of opportunities these days, unless you want to rent an apartment.

Now, we are considering renting out part of our home.

First, we would be downsizing by the amount of room we would be renting (2 full bedrooms, a full bath, and a hallway closet).

Second, we would be sharing the kitchen, dining room and living room.

Third, this would leave us with 2 bedrooms and a full bathroom upstairs.

We are not entirely sure how we feel about this, as this throws in another person into the dynamics of living.  We both feel that if we could find the right person, that it would not be bad, and in fact would be sharing resources of home and land.

Sometimes it is hard to think that we may be moving backwards.  Are we simply reverting to the days when you are young and can’t afford to live alone?  Or, are we maybe moving forwards, as land and resources become more limited?  Is this the future?  Smaller dwellings, or more shared living?

A neighbor of ours has a roomate, and finds it very rewarding by reducing his cost of living.  In fact, his roomate will soon have his fiance join him to live there as well.  She actually comes from Portugal, where she lives with her parents in a very small home (from what I have heard, I’m guessing 500 square feet).

Is it simply the American culture that demands large homes for everybody?  I’m certain there are large homes all over the world, but what is average?  I’m particularly interested in trying to find out more about what average square footage is in developed countries.  The little I know about living conditions in Europe, suggest a smaller home (such as Paris).

Is there a reasonable amount of space that is enough for a person to live in, and how would that be effected by adding a significant other, or children?

Tomorrow we are having an open house.

It is amazing how much you do when you are selling a home. All those things you have meant to do over the years. I have mentioned this before, but it just keeps hitting home.

We are determined that we will not do this again. When we find our next home, we will decide exactly how we want our home to be, and do the projects we intend to, and as they come up.

I have been reading some books on Feng Shui lately, and some of it is just common sense. Even if you do not go for that sort of stuff, think about some of the basics.

Having your home free of clutter, your home taken care of as if your environment matters.

We have done some very simple things lately (due to selling the house) that we should have done immediately on moving in. An example would be getting a small can of paint that matches a room. Doing small touch ups. Patching small nail holes. When you have a room not just cleaned in a dusting, mopping & vacuuming sense, but clear of stuff you don’t need and well maintained, then it is a room that can effect your emotions and your energy in a positive way.

How do you feel when you enter your home? Do you see things every day that you have on your to do list? I often realize after I do something that I probably spent 100 times more time thinking about it, and feeling bad about not getting to it, than it actually takes to do it. These are the types of things that rob you of energy.

As I have stated before, these are reasons to have a smaller home. A home that can be maintained with a smaller commitment of time, energy, and money.

That was my Morrisey inspired title.

We are getting ready to sell our house.

We went from an apartment that we were quite happy in, but the rent kept going up. Again, and again, and again, and again. It was nothing fancy, but other than the ever rising rent, we didn’t really feel were were missing out on anything. No yardwork, no maintenance, no need to do those home improvements.

Then we bought a 564 square foot condo. We loved it!!!!! It was pretty much like living in an apartment, but the rent couldn’t go up. However, we did think we would want to someday live in a larger place. We dreamed of a den, a craft room, and a larger kitchen.

We moved from San Diego, CA to Richmond, VA to be closer to family, and to get that American dream home that we couldn’t afford where we were.

Then came the 1900 square foot town home. Yaaaa baby, we had 4 bedrooms, 2 1/2 baths, and more space than we ever imagined we would have.

It didn’t take that long before 3 floors got old. One of us on the first floor yelling up to the other on the 3rd floor. Get up to the 3rd floor, and realize you need something from the first. Then there was all the crap. Give someone 9000 square feet, and they will fill it.

Now we live in a 2 floor house. I still don’t like the 2 floors. At 1500 square feet it is still too much space. Too many rooms to improve. Still too much crap.

HOW MUCH CRAP DOES ANYBODY NEED?????

Having a yard sounds great, and then comes the extra work. Spend more money, lose more time. Have more crap for your yard.

So, here we are. Trying to get rid of stuff. Getting ready to put our house on the market.

There are many things I still love about this house. Some things I will miss about this house. But how much is your freedom worth?

We are now looking at a place that is 570 square feet. I guess we had it right the first time.

So, I had stated earlier that we were looking into buying plans to build a 120 square foot home. We were really loving the plans for the Lusby on tumbleweedhouses.com.

But, if I can decipher the local regulations where we live, we would not be allowed to live in it in our backyard. That seems to be the common theme for those living in a house from tumbleweedhouses.com. One lives in his own backyard while renting his house out. Another lives in the backyard of a friend.

We then thought about looking for property to build on. While there are more than enough properties that we could buy, when you want to live in a specific area, your choices are limited.

In fact, we believe our choices are less than one (we are still checking on one possibility).

Next up ….. we tried looking for the smallest possible homes we could buy.

We want the smallest possible mortgage/rent without sacrificing the general area we want to live in. We found an efficiency approximately 330 square feet, and quite a few units that are about 560 square feet.

It is very frustrating to realize you have to spend 5 to 13 times more than you should need to to provide shelter for yourself.

You have grand thoughts. Freedom from societal norms are smiling at you. You think, $15k to $20k and you could build an amazing home. Have no mortgage, and really low utility bills.

The space would be limited, but it is exactly that limitation that would liberate you.

How did we get to the point where you have no choices for affordable housing? How can anyone think that anyone can live on minimum wage?