Comments on: 5 ways to downsize a nation

By: Jacq

Jacq — Sat, 17 Dec 2011 14:26:44 +0000

My husband and I have been living in a 300 sq ft RV full time for 3+ years now. Last couple of days we have been thinking of purchasing a piece of 2 acre land to build two small houses on (one for us and one for my in-law), and keep 70% to 80% of the native vegetation.

Then we found out that the township only allows homes to be at the minimum of 1,800 sq ft and has to be built on slab and no modular structure. We wanted to build the new home with upcycled shipping containers… In America, this task should not be this hard, especially in a rural community…

By: thistinyhouse

thistinyhouse — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 21:50:27 +0000

Right on Erin, congrats on buying your “small” home!

By: Erin

Erin — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 21:33:15 +0000

Rando – Wouldn’t that be awesome here in America!!! But you’re right, we can only imagine.

I also think that a retailer shouldn’t be able to build a store within so many miles of another one. I mean, do we really NEED five fast food joints on every corner, three grocery stores within a block, etc. It makes me sick when I watch older homes, that were unlucky enough to have a busy street build up around it, get plowed down so another strip mall can open up in my area. As if we need more of those.

I bought a 950 sq ft home last year, which is huge by comparison to the tiny homes – but tiny by most American’s standards today. Most everyone I know just thought it was ridiculous to think me, my 10 year daughter and 2 cats could live in such a ‘small’ space. Obviously we function just fine our small-ish home and is plenty spacious to us! I tell everyone that will listen…

“If 2 people can’t live in over 900 sq ft…it’s not that the home is too small….you just have too much stuff!”

By: Rando

Rando — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 17:00:12 +0000

I especially liked number 5, “don’t build at all.” In metro-Atlanta (which is way-way over-developed) no vacant lot is safe!! A friend was stationed with her husband in the U.K. and in the tiny hamlet where they lived, it was strictly forbidden to build any new structure unless there was no existing structure available for refurbishing. Can you imagine that here in the U.S.? The contractors would go crazy! But, just think … if we repurposed old buildings for new (re)uses, there’d be no derelict buildings anywhere! We can only imagine.

By: thistinyhouse

thistinyhouse — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 04:52:39 +0000

Welcome, good luck and please share your experiences with us here in the blogosphere!

By: flyingsofa

flyingsofa — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 16:39:41 +0000

I have just purchased a genuine tinyhouse (444 sq ft!) and had no idea there was such a strong movement for it in this country already! I am so glad to have found all of these wonderful online resources to help me as I settle into my new smaller space. I am not downsizing dramatically, but from a 750 sq ft apartment, single with 2 dogs and look forward to all the challenges and joys of living small.

By: Mokihana

Mokihana — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 03:31:42 +0000

We have just had our weekly Community dinner with the family of three who share their land (8 acres) and their home (we use one of their bathrooms and plug in an extension cord to their garage and pay between $30-44 dollars a month for utility share). We are at the age when many Americans in past lifetimes would be RETIRED. Instead we are REASSEMBLING. It’s a verb that more realistically describes what we have found a necessary and grace-enhancing version of the American Dream’s Retirement. The ideas you site are good. Add to that equation that reality that many folks throughout the planet do not OWN nor truly choose not to OWN and would rather be TRAVELLERS.

We have been led to the TRAVELLERS and Gypsy life by EI (Environmental Illness), living simply and sharing land and space are three practices we use every day. A family walked by our VardoForTwo this morning … the young woman smiled and commented on our home, her father looked at our vardo and then quickly at The Big House across the driveway from where we camp. Like a cartoon in New Yorker Magazine what would you say was the caption?

Small is what nearly every BEING on the Planet experience as enough. Perhaps America is being given a chance to get real.

Aloha, Mokihana

By: thistinyhouse

thistinyhouse — Fri, 15 May 2009 20:45:15 +0000

Hi Jesse: Thanks for writing in and I’ll be checking out your blog too.

NBC’s Today Show did a segment this week on downsizing — saying that 2000 square feet is the minimum comfortable home for a family of four. I question this number as we’ve seen lots of comfortable well-designed spaces much smaller.

Good luck with your move!

By: Jesse

Jesse — Fri, 15 May 2009 15:40:55 +0000

I’m in the process of preparing for an international move…where I’m going it is exceeding rare for a family to live in a house bigger then around 1000 sq ft. I’m moving into an ~540 sq ft, 3 bedroom flat.

The concept of 2 people “needing” 2500+ sq ft seems, well foreign…

By: Friday Tiny House Roundup - May 15, 2009 | Coming Unmoored -- Life in a Tiny Floating Home

Fri, 15 May 2009 11:05:47 +0000

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