Filed under: Small housing ideas
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.
Here is a book that I recently purchased (I have mentioned my weakness for books). It is written by Gregory Johnson who is the founder and director of resources for life.
If you choose to purchase this book, you would be supporting my blog by using the link below.
In this book Gregory covers many of the usual issues I have come across when researching living in a small home. I also believe that he has come up with some very original ways to look at things you may already be thinking about, and some things that you might not think of yourself until you were faced with it.
Thinking about living a more simple life? Thinking about living in a small apartment or house?
This book is not going to answer every question one might have, but I would suggest it is like a list of camping supplies written by someone who has camped many, many times for someone who has never camped before.
I wish to particularly praise his use of the word and concept of outsourcing. How it may have negative images, but is often overlooked on a personal basis. There are many such examples: the local library, Netflix, car sharing, public spaces such as parks, gyms, and the list goes on and on.
I found it aesthetically pleasing, enjoyable to read, and contained so many resources that I have barely begun to explore them.
It’s interesting how different people can be from each other, and yet we are still all basically the same.
I have to start with a story first, but I promise to keep it brief.
My wife and I are both sitting on the couch, each with our laptop (yes we are just that nerdy, however, my wife is clever enough that I would consider her a geek, while I am stuck at the nerd level). Anyways, I’m trying to find a CD with no luck at all. I’m checking all the sites I know. I’m using Google to try and come up with any used CD store with a presence on the web. I explain how this is an out of print CD that I just have to have.
The fact that I cannot find it just makes me want it more and more. It is becoming the holy grail with each passing minute. Minutes are turning into quarter and then half hours. I think it was about 2 hours into the search that my wife turns to me and asks “are you ever going to give up?” After a couple hours of searching for this CD, I would now trade my kingdom for it. How do I explain to her that I have barely begun the search if that is what it takes.
With a sigh, she tells me to go to Amazon UK, and I will find it listed there. She had found it in 5 to 10 minutes of realizing what I was looking for, and knowing I was not finding it. She thought it would be a brilliant Christmas gift, but I just wasn’t going to let it go.
So, what’s the point ……… Great question …… she keeps finding articles that I really enjoy, or are on exactly what I am trying to find articles on, but me being me, I take 10 times as much time to find stuff on the web.
Here is an article she sent to me …..
http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1812185,00.html
The above is a link to an article that mentions both Dave (the 100 Thing Challenge guy), and Peter Walsh (the expert organizer / getting rid of junk guy / the Walshinator).
It’s great to see these guys getting promoted ….. they are changing lives ….. I know they are mine, even though I have just begun the journey.
There you have it!!!!!
Filed under: Small housing ideas
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?
Filed under: ----- My 100 Thing List
I’m going to try and pace myself on this list – while there were obvious exclusions before (such as the camera that took the pictures of my CD collection), and still are, I want everything on the list to be thought through. Are there changes I would like to make? Am I sure it is something that will be part of the life I want? And I want to try to take pictures. If you are like me even a little bit, there is something about pictures that add to the reality of what you have read.
The list of the Rucksack Guy’s 101 possessions (you’ll have to scroll down) is made more powerful to actually get to see what is included. And in his case, I was particularly impressed to see it all packed into 2 bags. Then to see it all laid out, and either be curious about an item, or maybe even judge his decisions against what you would have to add or subtract. The realization that, WOW, that wouldn’t even require all the space in the trunk of my car to hold those 2 bags.
I believe I mentioned before, that one of the most inspirational pictures I have ever seen is of Gandhi’s possessions when he died. To be such a powerful leader. He could have had many possessions. I’m certain he could have lived a very rich lifestyle, yet that was not what he believed in. If only leaders today in our very own government even followed his lead (even at a 5% level) this country would be a very different place.
Obviously I am far from living as simple as Gandhi did, but I do hope to make huge changes to reach a more sustainable lifestyle that could be enjoyed by all.
That said, here is my update …..
- Wedding ring
- Glasses
- Watch
- Eames rocker
- Buddha – small wooden
- Compaq 17″ laptop
- Kodak digital camera
- 8 G nano i-Pod
- iHome clock/alarm/charging dock/speakers/with remote
- CD collection – currently at 49 – current picture below (goal to keep at 100 or less)
Filed under: ----- My 100 Thing List
Here’s my list so far as I’m ready to publish for public eyes (more updates as I go)
- Compaq 17″ laptop
- 8 G nano i-Pod
- iHome clock/alarm/charging dock/speakers/with remote
- CD collection – currently at 49 – current picture below (goal to keep at 100 or less)
I’m working on my 100 Thing List from a couple angles. I’m trying to identify what is easily and quickly seen as something I don’t need. Like 3 extra calculators that I never use – beyond the one that I do use.
Three calculators into the donate box – not worth the time trying to sell for the 25 cents I would be lucky to get for each one.
Then I am looking for overlap / reduction / best quality / lower cost (compromises will have to be made sometimes). Today my Bose SoundDock for my i-Pod, and my zen alarm clock (which my wife hates) will be prepared to go on auction on Ebay tomorrow night. The iHome will be used by both of us as an alarm (it has dual alarm). It will also be used to pop both of our i-Pods into to charge, and will serve as speakers (replacing the Bose). I have to admit that it does not come even close to the quality of the Bose, but then again, I don’t listen to my stuff very loud. Since I listen to things at a reasonable level, this is where the lower costing iHome sounds just fine.
So, I am replacing 2 alarm clocks, and a speaker system with 1 item. It will take up less space, and cost less to replace if needed.
My CD collection is reduced mostly to those that I listen to the most. Some I’m just not ready to let go of yet. I have 357 CDs for sale on Half.com (as of this writing – I listed them at prices that made sense at the time, and when I get to the point that I have pretty much everything that will end up being listed, then I will just start lowering the prices every week until they go – remember, I am trying to reduce debt as part of my simplifying my life, so getting the most I can for my stuff is important – plenty will also be donated to our local charity thrift store we go to), and have kept 49. I have actually just purchased 2 more used CDs yesterday, but do not know yet whether I will end up simply listing them, or keep them – I am pretty sure I will be keeping at least one of them.
Right now my limit on CDs will be 100, but the goal is to keep it much lower if I can. I want to have room to bring new music into my collection. Music comes and goes, and this is something I enjoy.
The reason to have a set limit is to keep myself from simply listing it as a collection that has no boundaries. It’s like others I have read using collections almost as a safety net, and completely forgetting the spirit of doing this in the first place. Can you reduce what you have/need/consume? If you think the idea is stupid, then you must be happy where you are at. If you are not happy, then this is something to think about. By the way – in many ways I am very happy with my life, but there are things I would like to change. Or more correctly put, there are priorities in my life that I need to identify, and make room for them, it’s the things that I decide don’t matter that must go!
My purpose for this path is to find some freedom. Freedom from all this stuff that gets paid for by trading hours of my life for them. Freedom from spending time looking for lost/misplaced stuff. Freedom from the extra housework time because there is so much STUFF everywhere. Every person must decide for themselves what their rules are, but it is important to remain honest with yourself.
How many possessions do you have? Do you have stuff you don’t need or really even like? Do you have 10 can openers in your kitchen, or 4 calculators like I did? Have you ever wished you could turn many of the items in your home into the original money you paid for them?
Join me ~ let’s share ideas ~ what’s working for you? what’s challenging you?
Filed under: ----- My 100 Thing List
I am ready to start posting my 100 thing list, which will be headed with the same title every post. This way you can simply select the category “my 100 thing list”, and see my most recent update to my list, as well as view the lists as they were in chronological order.
I will also add photos as I go along. They will be included to give a visual of what I currently have, and to show what I have stripped away.
I encourage anyone who is doing something similar to let me know. Let’s create links to each other, share ideas, and create a community of simplicity.
How do you live a simple life? What I know right now, is that you start by getting rid of all the stuff that doesn’t serve you. Sell, give, donate or throw away everything that holds you hostage. Read “It’s All Too Much” by Peter Walsh, and Walsh that stuff right out of your house. Also, I would recommend “Walden”. Thoreau tells us to simplify, simplify, simplify. I will butcher this, but in Walden he writes about having a few stones on his desk, which he realized created more work for dusting his home, and that would not do when he still had so much dust in his head. Focus on what is important, and get rid of everything else you can.
Filed under: 100 Thing Challenge, About 2LiveSimple, Getting rid of STUFF!, Peter Walsh
I started this blog for a couple reasons.
1. To journal my path to a more simple life.
2. To connect with others that have similar goals, and to share ideas.
On the downside, I really haven’t been as regular with posting as I would like, and the process will continue to march slowly. And I have had very few visitors.
On the upside, I had one of my posts commented on by Peter Walsh. It was a complete honor to both myself and my wife. He is a guru to us, and I’m sure we will continue to read his book throughout this entire process, and thereafter to keep us in line from time to time. His book “It’s All Too Much!” has earned a permanent place in my library, and will be recommended often.
On my original quest to find others who are trying to strip down their lives (and I do mean strip down), I came across two people that made me quite curious.
The first was David Michael Bruno and his 100 Thing Challenge. He was doing exactly what I wanted to do. To really know what he had, and eliminate what he didn’t need. My only complaint was that I wished to have more updates from him on this. The good news is that he has started a new page for this, and appears to have posted a few times since I last checked. Here’s the link …..
http://www.guynameddave.com/100-thing-challenge.html
The second was a mention of the “Rucksack Guy”. Every link I found kept leading to a dead end. The concept was he has 101 possessions that could all be carried in a rucksack in a single load. What was even better, was that he was said to have photographed all his possessions. Well, I finally found a site that had his list and photos. Very cool, and inspirational. I wish I could actually make contact with him, and have the opportunity to ask questions. He would be a most interesting person to interview. Here’s the site I found …..
http://mcshug.blogspot.com/2007_10_01_archive.html
Just scroll down a bit if you don’t see it.
So, there are some updates on what is inspiring me.
Now, how am I doing with this challenge? I have been going back over my CD collection, and I think I finally broke through some barrier in my mind.
I used to have hundreds of CDs, and my collection has always been in flux. I will trade in CDs, and then get new CDs. My wife likes to laugh when I end up buying a CD that I had gotten rid of. The great news is that really doesn’t happen a lot, and it hasn’t been that big of a deal to replace something. I think for some people getting rid of stuff really triggers a fear response. In some ways I think that is what happens with me as well.
It’s bad enough to realize you will only get 10 cents on the dollar (sometimes if you are lucky), but then to think you may need to buy it back later is a very discouraging thought. My solution is to be far more careful when buying something in the first place. Works pretty well for me, but sometimes those impulses are mighty powerful.
I am revisiting my CDs, and now have them down to 71 at last count. While I am close to done, I still have a bit to go. Then I will of course move on to something else.
In my list of 100 things, I will count my CD collection as one thing (but MUST maintain at 100 or less). I know from reading other posts that many people either wish to criticize this, or abuse it. For me it is just what it is. I like books, CDs and DVDs a LOT. I have had over a couple thousand possessions at a time if you would have counted them at that time. For me, it is a great accomplishment to keep each of those categories under 100, and have them as 3 items on my list of 100.
I still wish I knew how many books David has on his 100 Thing Challenge. I am horribly curious.
Toodle Pip
I continue to use the principles of Peter Walsh as I downsize my life. I am also continuing to try to conduct my own 100 possession challenge.
I originally blogged about this on 5/4/2008.
Here’s the new twist in our trying to eliminate clutter.
We are seriously considering living in a home that is 120 square feet. That’s right, 120 square feet.
Go to www.tumbleweedhouses.com and take a look at the Lusby. This is the one we are seriously considering. I would LOVE to hear from anyone who is living in a home that Jay designed.
You can easily see how I would need to limit my possessions (my wife will have to do the same). I am currently working on a list of all I own. In each category I am doing a quick purge as Peter Walsh describes in his book “It’s All Too Much!”.
I then move on to something else. Then later revisit what I had purged earlier. It seems to me that two things are at work here: 1. Each time you revisit after a previous purge, you are confronted with a smaller task. 2. The break you take between the purges gives you a fresher perspective when you look at it again.
Next, I print out my current list (still don’t have everything on it – I think it would amaze the average person to do this exercise), and then I have my wife go over the list and draw a line through each item she would get rid of. I’m often surprised by what she would get rid of on the list. Sometimes it is liberating as I know she would be okay with me getting rid of something. It may be because I thought she wanted us to keep something. It may be because it is something she gave me, and I wouldn’t want to hurt her feelings. Sometimes it simply makes me really think about one possession or another, and other times I simply just think absolutely not. I think it is often those strong responses that speak strongest to me. You would actually have me get rid of the limited edition working replica Bat Signal that you gave me ….. No Way! And there you have it ….. it stays ….. it may not be a practical possession, but it does make me smile. First, I really love the old Batman comics (childhood nostalgia), and second, it was a gift from my wife. The challenge can be – How many of these items do you allow yourself to keep before they become a burden?
That’s my blogging for today – stay tuned – my 100 possession list to follow soon!
Filed under: Getting rid of STUFF!, Peter Walsh, simple finance, simple health
I’ve been a little removed from my normal routines in life as I have been dealing with health issues. Many doctors visits, and many tests. I will not cover it now, but I have come to the conclusion that good health is your most valuable asset you can possess (or if not an asset, at least a resource).
Today is going to focus back on uncluttering your life. I continually believe that it is clutter that complicates most things in life. Clutter causes more to be cleaned up, more difficulty doing the cleaning, more work hours to pay for all the stuff that clutters your home, to repair all the stuff in your home, insure all the stuff in your home, and maybe rent extra space to store all the extra stuff that no longer fits in your home.
If I could recommend one book to own, it would be “It’s All Too Much” by Peter Walsh. I’ve said it before, and I’m sure I will say it again. I have read a number of books that have spoken deeply to me, but this one calls me to action more than any other.
I have been systematically reducing all the clutter (with my wife’s help of course).
The latest task has been to go through all the contents in my file cabinet. Four drawers of statements, articles, manuals, and everything one could imagine.
Phone bills from five years ago. Manuals and receipts for items not owned for many years. Twenty copies of insurance policies that expired and replaced with new policy statement. Articles that I can not even fathom why I had saved in the first place. Home design ideas that no longer fit my taste.
That’s just the stuff that is simple to identify as absolutely not needed.
What do you do with the other stuff? I have adopted solutions put forth in “It’s All Too Much” by Peter Walsh (Big Surprise!!!!!). He has a way of cutting to the root of things.
You can buy all the organization stuff you could ever wish for, but how exactly does the average person organize, file and maintain 10,000 sheets of paper. More importantly, who would want to.
With Peter Walsh’s help I am shredding, and shredding, and shredding, and shredding and shredding …..
I am determining what I need, and an ongoing system (again courtesy of Peter Walsh) to keep the volume of paperwork in constant check.
It appears that what once took a four drawer file cabinet will now be contained in one of those small size plastic file container. The added bonus is that it is far more portable to move with me where I want to work.
I will share more details of what I have done once I feel I have taken it to where I wish to be.
Do you have any ideas? What do you do?
For anyone who does not know who Peter Walsh is, he has been on clean sweep, Oprah, and written a few books.
