Downsizing

I love the tiny house movement. I spent my adolescence watching nothing but McMansions get built. I spent time wondering why nobody was building houses like the ones from my childhood. Houses that were 1,200-2,000 square feet. Families are getting smaller so how much space do we need?

I subscribe to Tiny House Talk's email and often realize how easy it could be to live tiny. I saw this video of a couple who converted a bus into a tiny mobile home and it's absolutely lovely. (Although I do wonder how they have 'adult time' with minimal curtains.) It made me realize how simple it would be. In theory, I could do this.

I'd just have to give up a few different hobbies I really enjoy.

I like to cosplay. Nothing too intense but if you like to wear costumes, it requires stuff. The costume itself, accessories, possibly makeup. Makeup is another thing I enjoy. Even if I parsed down my collection, not that much would go. I enjoy being able to experiment with this lipstick, that eye shadow, this eyeliner and maybe this blush. I've maxed out on lipstick storage. It's too the point where I own enough stuff that I feel bad not wearing makeup some of the time. I want to be able to wear out some of.

I love to read and after my birthday, I will be doing a culling of my collection again but I can't imagine life without physical books. I stopped buying ebooks because I realized I rarely read them. I enjoy holding the story, feeling the pages, seeing the typeface, maybe catching a new/old book smell.

I want to own fewer things and cut back on my consumption but I'm not ready to give everything up yet. Living tiny is an extreme choice that reminds us we need to swing back to a happy medium between McMansion and micro-home. I love and admire the tiny lifestyle but it's not what's best for me right now.

Shopfession: Something Tiny and Something Showy

I was bad. There was a crack in the ice of my shopping freeze. I bought a book and tickets.

I procured Tiny Homes: Simple Shelter by Lloyd Kahn. I went to add it to my Powell’s wish list and saw they only had 1 copy left. My lack of impulse control means I bought it. With shipping and paying full price, I spent a grand total of $22.49. I love seeing the inside of tiny houses and it’s supposed to have a lot of photos. It feeds my desire to see how other people live and lay out their spaces but also how to make the most of a little space. Tiny houses are a little extreme for me but I’m not a Rockefeller so if/when I buy a house, it won’t be huge.

I also bought tickets to a live Welcome to Night Vale show. It's touring through DC at the end of March. It's on Saturday night a few weeks after my birthday. I bought myself tickets as a birthday present to myself and was promptly shafted a $17 processing fee to print tickets at home. At least this one was on an experience I can share with someone. So much for being good until April.

I have an update on my ModCloth dress. It wasn’t the forgiving jersey cotton I was expecting. It turned out to be more of a stiff poplin so I put in to exchange it for what should be the right size. We’ll see what happens.