Category Archives: Uncategorized

Preparing for Smaller Living Quarters

By Claire Posted in downsizing, Simpler Living, Small-House Living, Uncategorized Tagged ,

I read an article that suggested if you’re planning to downsize to a tiny house, you should reduce the possessions in your current home to the bare minimum so that you’ll be acclimated to living in a tiny house before you get there.

On one hand, I can see where that’s true. Living with the bare minimum is going to be a necessity for you. On the other hand, I don’t think anything can really prepare you for going from a large house to a small one. You just have to jump in with both feet and do it.

Once you get there you’ll quickly realize that not all of your furniture will fit, and that you don’t have as much storage as you once did. That’s not a bad thing, though: it’s like being given guidelines for how much you can keep. You can only fit so much in and the rest has to go. So bring in your favorites and keep everything else out in the garage, or in a storage unit if there’s no garage, and then filter through everything.

There’s also no way to prepare for the feel of living in smaller quarters. In some ways, it will be tough. When you’re used to a large kitchen, a small kitchen feels almost claustrophobic at first. You’ll need time to learn to work in it. If you’re used to a huge bedroom, your new cozy one will also feel different. But since most of your time in there is spent asleep, it quickly becomes a non-issue.

Ultimately, these things can’t be experienced until you’re actually there, so I don’t think you can really plan for them. If you’re heading for a tiny house, you might consider renting one first to see if it’s for you.

Disappearing Comments

By Claire Posted in Uncategorized Tagged , ,

I haven’t been here at WordPress.com for all that long, and I don’t think I’ll stick around.

I’ve found that when I comment at someone else’s blog, my comment disappears. This has happened several times, and it’s very disheartening, because I like to respond to thoughtful prose with thoughtful comments, and it’s hard to recreate what I commented after it disappears.

I checked to see if this happens to other people, and apparently it does. But as you can see here and here and (quite cleverly) here, no one has a solution.

It’s too bad, because I like the rest of WP.com. But I’m no techie, so I think I will look into other options before long, because blogging is no fun when you can’t form community with others.

 

 

One Way to Overcome High Housing Costs and Low Pay

By Claire Posted in Debt-Free, Simpler Living, Small-House Living, Uncategorized Tagged ,

As the economy gets harder to live with in some areas, people are coming up with unique ways to survive financially. School buses are often the choice of those who want to work with their hands to make a portable home for their family, so that they can go where the work is without leaving their family behind.

I think we will see more of this as long as incomes fail to keep up with living expenses.

Where has Beauty Gone?

By Claire Posted in Uncategorized Tagged , , , ,

 

Vera placemats

The current downsizing trend isn’t just a result of the lousy economy (even though that’s what forced me and my family to downsize). I think the buying boom of the previous 40+ years has disappeared because there just aren’t enough beautiful things to buy.

I think about this when I go shopping for linens, as I did the other day. I needed some new washcloths as ours had gone all stiff, probably from my elderly dryer getting too warm for modern washcloths with their very specific washing instructions that including washing and drying on cool; my dryer doesn’t have a cool cycle, and we take hot showers, so modern washcloths are pretty much doomed once they get here.

While looking for the 4/$5 washcloths, I saw the towels, sheets and curtains; boring, all of them. They’re either in solid colors or bland prints. Gone are those pre-21st century days when I struggled to choose between bright floral prints (like those by Vera), tiny Laura Ashley-type stripes, and bold geometric designs.

I assume much of what we find in the stores these days is the result of uninspired, crank-them-out-as-fast-as-you-can far Eastern manufacturing. Once, designers grew up studying art and color theory, but now I’m thinking the prints come from the choices on some design software. Boring! No wonder I can hardly remember the last time I was tempted to buy something in a store. In fact, when department stores send me one of those “Get $10 worth of our stuff free” cards, I usually can’t find anything I want and come out empty-handed.

Young people have grown up in a world where everything looks the same. They have no idea of the choices we once had. It probably doesn’t matter, as so many of them are loaded down with student loan debt, and they pay so much in rent and to keep a smartphone going that they don’t have money left to go shopping anyways. I suppose the plus side is that it’s easy to live a minimalist lifestyle when you don’t see much you want.

But I think we all lose when beauty disappears.

Laura Ashley bedding

Vintage Laura Ashley bedding