Minimalism is Idealism

Hey everyone -

So, here's what's going on! Randy and I have decided we want to build our own TINY HOME to live in on while on and off the road! I'm super excited..and nervous.

I kind of had a little meltdown yesterday because we're trying to get started on planning height and length and width and figure out what size trailer chassis to buy and where to buy it from and what our budget is on the whole project. So you can see how even just the idea of this is overwhelming. I've always really enjoyed building things, but I really have no special skill set in HOW to build things. So this should be interesting. And, like HOW do you even begin to construct on paper what we want let alone build it for real??

First thing we have to figure out is where we are going to build this, and how long we are going to take to build it. It would really help if someone had a huge pole barn that we could rent for a few months, but since all our friends with pole barns don't exist, we're left figuring something else out. I'm not sure, since we want to kind of "build with a budget," how much we want to spend on simply the shelter we are going to be building under. Do we rent a warehouse for $1,000+ a month, or do we buy a makeshift garage shelter from Menards for $700+, or what?

So I guess we have to figure that out. Then we have to figure out when we want to start building it and when we want to have it built by. Then we have to figure out what we want the floor plan to be like. So much work! So here begins our journey also, for building our Tiny Home. It probably won't be all the time - just when we get stage by stage done.

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I guess we've been talking about this for awhile. We both know we love to travel, and we know that we don't want to get tied down with a house/mortgage just yet. We've been talking about buying a travel trailer, like an R-Pod, for awhile, but over the summer we stayed in a few trailers and they just don't really seem well made at all. At least, we could build one for less/about the same price that will last even longer and be better quality.

Tiny home living has always appealed to me. I don't need a lot of room - really just enough for me, my cat Damien, and Randy. I've never really been into owning a lot of material items; I think that owning a lot of things actually makes people more stressed. Think about it - you buy a house. You need things, both functional and just decoration, to fill the house. Then you collect things. Clothes, more furniture, boxes of miscellaneous items that even when you try to organize your stuff, all end up in the same box because they don't fit into a category but you can't bring yourself to get rid of them. Then there's knick knacks and momentos and that old vase Granny loved and the gross old cat toy your favorite dead cat used to play with and the broken toy you used when you were younger stuffed in the garage... It just gets to be a LOT of stuff.

Do we really need all that stuff? How much is too much? What's necessity and what's pleasure? Not to say you shouldn't have things for pleasure, that you shouldn't keep Granny's old favorite vase. Here's how I go through the process of deciding what to keep and what to donate/throw away:

(a) If it's clothes - have I worn it within the last season it applies to? I don't think "Have I worn it in the last year?" really works because what if it's a sweater dress that you love but couldn't wear because last winter was unbearably warm? So - have I worn it within a reasonable time frame? If not, donate it.

(b) If it's knick knacks - obviously, I keep some knick knacks. Little reminders of people or places I've been, thoughtful gifts people have given me - I keep. What I don't keep are the things that sit in a box for most/all of a year. If it has been a year since I looked at something, and within that year not remembering I owned it or even ever thought about it, it's gone.

People place so much on sentimental items. While I understand, like I said, little knick knacks or a family heirloom, with some things the memory is worth more than the item. Should I keep Grandpa's ancient, ugly-ass toilet paper holder or should I keep a photograph of him? Do we need that item to look at every single day, or can we live without it? Should I keep that old broken toy I used to love when I was younger on the top shelf of the garage, collecting dust, or can I accept there may be better ways to remember and memorialize my childhood?

Over the past couple years, I've really worked on keeping my life clutter free. The freer I feel, the better I feel. The last thing I am going to say is that I work for a caterer who specializes in events in high-end areas and neighborhoods. Million-dollar homes, $4K get together parties for golf buddies; you get the picture. I once worked a party in a house that, while I'd say it was beautiful, was so full of stuff that I couldn't imagine how stressed these people must feel. All their "show rooms" (I say that because the house had about 9 rooms on the main level, and only 2 people lived there) were designed like how an antique mall is laid out - everything is set up like a room on display but everything is for sale. What if these people ever had to move? What is the point of having so much stuff? I guess not everyone has my opinions, but I would definitely say I'm a minimalist.

Thanks for reading ~~