I see that more people have been clicking on my Small Houses Resource Guide post. It would be great if the mayors of our cities would take an interest in providing small housing options for people who do not want or need a large house, but who do want to feel like they have a house and a piece of land to work on and grow food.
I know, I know, we are all supposed to live in apartments, if we can’t afford big monstrous homes. That’s our punishment, right?
When did housing your body get so complicated? Lots of people only need one room and can only afford it. But does that mean they should be cramped into an apartment slum? Think about it; land that is just going to waste somewhere. Lay some plumbing and a road. Some street lights. Then divide up lots. 25’x25′ or 50’x50′. The people can move in with just tents, if the climate permits, and then move around in the space to find neighbors that they are comfortable with. No assigning and locking people in. Too George Orwell. When they find their spot and keep peaceful for a trial period (about a year)… then they get to meet with charities who can help them build their safe, affordable, snug home. Whooo ray for us, we helped stop homelessness.
Category Archives: Welcome to the Small Time
Glad that more people are interested in the small time…
Kind Carpenter Helps Homeless Men Get Back On Their Feet…
Ideas to help are all around. We just need the courage to implement them.
Georgia native Brian Preston lost his remodeling business, his house and the family cars when the recession hit back in 2008, but he never lost hope. The resilient builder came up with a new plan – to make furniture from reclaimed wood like dismantled barns and shipping palettes. He needed employees to start his venture and he found his first in an unusual place – living in the woods behind a shopping center. The homeless man had a story similar to Brian’s – he had been in the housing business and lost everything when the recession hit.
“I swore I would never come back,” Curtis said as he went again to the woods where he lived in a tent for ten months. He remembered the day he left the site for good: “It took me four trips to get all my stuff outta here.”
Curtis can now afford to rent…
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The Big Guys Are Against Micro-Housing
More housing units, less space, cheaper cost. What’s the problem? In this economy, micro-housing makes a lot of sense.
http://realchangenews.org/index.php/site/archives/7748
Related articles
- Big trend, little apartments: Councilmembers announce a ‘microhousing’ meeting (westseattleblog.com)
- Livin’ Small In The Big City With Micro-Apartments (nyulocal.com)
- Micro-Units May Be The Future Of Boston Housing (boston.cbslocal.com)
- Micro homes: the future of affordable housing in Vancouver? (globalnews.ca)
- More Micro-Apartments! City Seeking Developers For New Sites (observer.com)
- New York’s New Micro Apartments (engineering13.wordpress.com)
Now, I Must Tackle My Clutter Habit
Since it does seem as if a place of my own is in the works and at some point I will be indoors, I must confront a really bad habit of mine. I’m a pack rat. Love to save the paper. All kinds of sentimental junk. And it is all jammed in storage. Guhhhh.
I’m going to have to be strong and cull the pile… don’t want to be tripping over junk in my new place. I have been looking through some books to help me, here is a list of a few:
It’s All Too Much. (the book and workbook) by Peter Walsh
Throw Out 50 Things by Gail Blanke
Winning the Clutter War by Sandra Felton
All very good reads. I wish they had made a class about clutter-busting for those of us in the shelter. It is so important to get into the mindset of keeping your place clean and neat from day one so you can feel like you are in your home and it is comfortable and relaxing.
Here are some blogs that tackle the subject of clutter:
Here is a blog for those who are living in homes and who want to find ways to give away their excess. (Keeping a pile of clothes in your car and offering them to a homeless person or dropping them off on the street where they can be “found” is a neat idea.)
I think I”ll pitch that clutter buster class to the local homeless shelter (heck, I might even teach it… soon as I clear up my mess).
Related articles
- Time To Get Rid Of The Junk (gibsongirl247.wordpress.com)
- Clutter (imusthavethisthing.wordpress.com)
- How to de-clutter our environment and mind in ways that will bring about a greater sense of balance (eagleman6788.wordpress.com)
- Less Stuff Equals More Calm? How to De-Clutter (news.health.com)
- 2 died trying to escape cluttered Illinois home (kmov.com)
Housing in the small time.
South Beach community garden, Miami, Florida (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Did you ever stop to think about how much space you really need? My first real apartment was a huge one bedroom that I struggled to furnish. The next year I moved to a converted attic studio and lived there for six years. Tight at times, but just right. I’ve been looking at the book Tiny Homes by Lloyd Kahn. Great place to get ideas on how to pare down to the basics. Lots of the homes are sold as kits and the manufacturers are listed in the book.
Wouldn’t it be great if someone started a Small Time Housing Project with these inexpensive mini homes. In this economy, why keep trying to sell people homes they can’t afford and forcing them to buy stuff to furnish it just to keep the place from looking like an empty cave?
And while we are at it, put a community garden some where on the property (instead of a chemically laden pool facility) and a shared car that people can rent by the hour to do shopping (like Zipcar). Housing for the future!
Related articles
- Goodwill To Build A Community Garden In Low-income Neighborhood (wspa.com)
- Vancouver seeks new locations for community gardens (blogs.vancouversun.com)
- Zipcar Completes Integration of Spain’s Largest Car Sharing Service (prnewswire.com)
Welcome to the ‘small time’ (also known as downsizing for survivial)
This blog post is about downsizing, in style. Some of you who read my blog may not be homeless, just interested in homeless issues. Well, here is an idea that I’d like you to help spread: Living a downsized life can be smart and satisfying.
I know, everybody is shouting that in the recession, but we really need to take the message to heart. For almost a hundred years humankind has been seduced by mass advertising telling use to buy our way to happiness. What has happened? Many are experiencing homelessness as a result of that mindset (as well as other less severe, but still troubling, maladies). So, if you are homeless or just struggling like most other people, follow posts under my ‘Small Time’ banner and see what kinds of great ideas there are out there.
For my first money saving tip:
Save loads of cash by making your own simple, effective skincare products (they’re also EBT friendly…shhhh!). This blog has loads of good information:
brainsections 