My favorite cable network is HGTV and my favorite shows are the House Hunters (all versions), the Flip or Flops and tiny house, which is a House Hunters versions.
Tiny House's buyers intrigue me. Most of them want to simplify their lives and downsize. Many of them say doing so is very freeing.
Indeed, living in a tiny house isn't for everyone, but it does hearken to Gospel Simplicity even if those downsizing aren't Catholic. Perhaps Gospel simplicity or at least the desire for it is a part of natural law, written in our souls?
Not too long ago, religious who vowed poverty lived very simple lives--maybe two or three habits, and a set of lay clothing, etc. Their closets would be very small and quite empty. Not so much today. I have a priest friend, not in vowed poverty, who has closets of clothes he never wears.!
Look at the new homes built today compared to the ranch style of the 1950's--closets the size of bedrooms if not larger are now the norm and bathroom as big a living rooms too! What's up with that?
Can you live in a Tiny House? Do you have tiny house Gospel simplicity written in your soul or at least a desire for it?
6 comments:
Since 1973 the average house size in America has gone from about 1700 sq ft to about 2700 sq ft.
At the same time, the average household size (number of bodies) has declined from 3.1 to 2.54.
At the same time, the number of rentable storage units, in which one can store one's "extra" furniture, under air conditioned conditions if one wants, has ballooned.
Houston, we have a problem.
several thoughts
1 single, maybe, married, not a chance, every spouse needs some space of their own, besides the bathroom
2 what does this say about the idea of married couples having children, maybe a baby, but not much more, the whole idea seems to have an underlying tone of "childless, modern, selfish, aren't we being green,"
3 that being said, imho, there is one hell of a lot of room between these politically correct cracker boxes and the idiotic McMansions to build a nice home.
My neighbor brought up 2 boys and 5 girls in a post WW2 Montgomery Wards prefab barely 1200 sq ft plus basement and later an attached garage, they thrived. We reside in an old farmhouse here on the farm, (I'm a 5th generation farmer my son will be the sixth) we purchased this farm when we married, previous family housed at one time mom and dad, their son and daughter in law, and their 12 children and a spinster aunt in this house, I have NO IDEA where in heavens name they put them all. 5 kids and at times we felt crowd
I like these things. The idea of linking to a more thoughtful life is good, too.
Father McDonald, as you enjoy HGTV, perhaps the following would interest you:
"In 2010, the Wranglerstar family decided to turn our backs on a comfortable city life and become modern day homesteaders. Our adventure starts in the rugged mountains of the Pacific Northwest. Have you dreamed of stepping off the treadmill of life? Join the Wranglerstar family as we blaze a trail for all those who dream of becoming truly independent from the mythological American dream."
Here is a video from Wranglestar...the family uses old-fashioned implements to cut down a large tree.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6boMcIsFnuM
Pax.
Mark Thomas
Here is the Wranglerstar Channel.
https://www.youtube.com/user/wranglerstar
Pax.
Mark Thomas
It has always been interesting to me to compare that typical 1950's-1970's ranch style house (with the 8 foot ceilings and open car ports) to the style of (then)middle class housing found in older neighborhoods of cities/towns built from the 1880's--1930's. These older homes may not have been energy efficient by today's standards but I really love the big central front halls, high (12-14 foot) ceilings, transom windows, wide wooden trim and floors, and long windows. The ranch house, though very practical, is another one of those simplifications/cheapenings of the post-World War II world that I don't really care for.
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