The American Dream Home (Spoiler Alert: We Don't Own It.... Or Do We?)
True Story. I am not a minimalist. Don't be shocked. Over the years, I have read a ton of books about organizing, decluttering, making room for more by having less. I went through a phase when I was a teenager (thus procuring me the nickname "Buddha") when I tried to get rid of everything. I remember reading some novel in which the main character's sister did this, and the parents ended up just sneaking all of her stuff up into the attic. In the story she subsisted on something like three pairs of socks and a pair of jeans. It didn't work out for her. It didn't work out for me. I was fantasizing about living out of a backpack, kind of like a hitchhiker. Doesn't fly for a southern girl. In what kind of world do you not hang on to your mother/aunt/grandmother/someone you met once's....something.
If you've been a reader for a while, this might not sound like anything exciting or new from me. "She's reading a new organizational book, she's hoping it will be the key to transforming her life, etc." So I'm done with that. I'm going in a completely different direction. I'm embracing NOT being a minimalist. Still reading?
When I started really going through stuff this summer, I packed up bags and boxes with things to give away. And I smiled when those things disappeared from our foyer, hopefully going to make someone else's life better. I pledged to do this more often and I plan to stick to that pledge. When I returned to school, I cleaned out files and drawers from the past year, put stuff out to head to new homes, found teachers whose belongings I had somehow ended up with. And that's a beautiful thing. Starting the school year "fresh" is important to me. But equally important is finding what you need. I love that I saved most of my books from childhood and can find one at the drop of a hat. I love knowing that we have enough pens to outlast the Bic company.
My feeling is that our lives are full. We live in a time in which people are available literally twenty four hours a day. In which we are never without means of communication. Car phones considered luxury devices have now become cell phones that are standard devices. My nieces have phones, and they are in elementary school. While I can't imagine why an elementary aged child needs a cell phone- after all, a parent should always know where they are- I also imagine that this is their normal and am confident they are not the only ones with them. Our lives are packed with appointments, activities, TV shows, new books, magazines, emails, along with the day-to-day necessities of living. No wonder we collapse into a bed at the end of the day, our minds already whirring with the dizzying prospects the next 24 hours will bring. We actually have enough excess that we have a need to get rid of it- don't believe me? Check out the gyms at 5:30 p.m. on any day. Check out infomercials at 5:30 a.m. on any day. We have so much food we have to burn off the extra calories! We have so much clothing we give it away! We have so much money we pay to fly to third world countries! Wow!
Which brings me back to the stuff. It's everywhere in our lives. Part of this is what we have come to accept as the norm. According to this blogpost, American homes in 2012 were an average of 2505 square feet. In 1973, that number was just over 1600 square feet. Here's the census link: http://www.census.gov/construction/chars/pdf/medavgsqft.pdf
Think this:
Currently, this is what I'm seeing a lot of:
See the differences? If you're really interested in 1970s homes, click on the ranch house image to be taken to an article about what we can learn from them (energy efficiency, bigger isn't always better).
Ironically we are living in a house right on the cusp of the American average. And so far, we love it. I love having a guest room and a nursery, having usable common spaces, and having small things, like a mudroom and a foyer. But when I'm cleaning it, it's definitely a different story. That's when I remember how much easier it is to keep an apartment or condo clean. And then I watched a documentary this summer about truly tiny homes- less than 500 square feet and often on trailers due to restrictions on building sizes in many cities and states. It's called Tiny and it's a cool look at tiny houses. I mean, really tiny houses. And people living "off the grid". Lifestyle is not really for me, but I loved learning about it.
Each time we talk about the enormous number of projects that are left within our home, I get antsy and a little stressed and a lot excited about the possibility that comes with owning a home you think you're going to be in for a long time. The prospects seem endless. But with each project there is a price tag. Often it is a large price tag. The not so big price tag is the one that comes with taking a look at what you already own and deciding if it can be used, repurposed or it is time to let it go to a new home. I'm so thankful I was able to do a lot of that over the summer. And I'm thankful I found so many home blogs to get addicted to. Because with all that crazy free time I have, I'm going to do so many of the projects they claim will bring that special something to my own home (sarcasm, yes?). Fortunately I'm aware that for us what is realistic might not be placing breakable items anywhere near a coffee table or ground level. Ever. Again.
Mainly, what sorting through my stuff has given me is the freedom of knowing that I am passing things on to people who need them, I am literally decreasing the environmental impact of having things in my home, I am finding things I haven't seen in ages and realizing I don't need to purchase something new, and I am finding an energy in doing it I haven't had before. Today I will have to do laundry, dishes, cleaning, emailing, bill paying, and keep my baby healthy and happy. And if I succeed at those tasks each day I am living the American Dream.
If you've been a reader for a while, this might not sound like anything exciting or new from me. "She's reading a new organizational book, she's hoping it will be the key to transforming her life, etc." So I'm done with that. I'm going in a completely different direction. I'm embracing NOT being a minimalist. Still reading?
When I started really going through stuff this summer, I packed up bags and boxes with things to give away. And I smiled when those things disappeared from our foyer, hopefully going to make someone else's life better. I pledged to do this more often and I plan to stick to that pledge. When I returned to school, I cleaned out files and drawers from the past year, put stuff out to head to new homes, found teachers whose belongings I had somehow ended up with. And that's a beautiful thing. Starting the school year "fresh" is important to me. But equally important is finding what you need. I love that I saved most of my books from childhood and can find one at the drop of a hat. I love knowing that we have enough pens to outlast the Bic company.
My feeling is that our lives are full. We live in a time in which people are available literally twenty four hours a day. In which we are never without means of communication. Car phones considered luxury devices have now become cell phones that are standard devices. My nieces have phones, and they are in elementary school. While I can't imagine why an elementary aged child needs a cell phone- after all, a parent should always know where they are- I also imagine that this is their normal and am confident they are not the only ones with them. Our lives are packed with appointments, activities, TV shows, new books, magazines, emails, along with the day-to-day necessities of living. No wonder we collapse into a bed at the end of the day, our minds already whirring with the dizzying prospects the next 24 hours will bring. We actually have enough excess that we have a need to get rid of it- don't believe me? Check out the gyms at 5:30 p.m. on any day. Check out infomercials at 5:30 a.m. on any day. We have so much food we have to burn off the extra calories! We have so much clothing we give it away! We have so much money we pay to fly to third world countries! Wow!
Which brings me back to the stuff. It's everywhere in our lives. Part of this is what we have come to accept as the norm. According to this blogpost, American homes in 2012 were an average of 2505 square feet. In 1973, that number was just over 1600 square feet. Here's the census link: http://www.census.gov/construction/chars/pdf/medavgsqft.pdf
Think this:
Currently, this is what I'm seeing a lot of:
See the differences? If you're really interested in 1970s homes, click on the ranch house image to be taken to an article about what we can learn from them (energy efficiency, bigger isn't always better).
Ironically we are living in a house right on the cusp of the American average. And so far, we love it. I love having a guest room and a nursery, having usable common spaces, and having small things, like a mudroom and a foyer. But when I'm cleaning it, it's definitely a different story. That's when I remember how much easier it is to keep an apartment or condo clean. And then I watched a documentary this summer about truly tiny homes- less than 500 square feet and often on trailers due to restrictions on building sizes in many cities and states. It's called Tiny and it's a cool look at tiny houses. I mean, really tiny houses. And people living "off the grid". Lifestyle is not really for me, but I loved learning about it.
Each time we talk about the enormous number of projects that are left within our home, I get antsy and a little stressed and a lot excited about the possibility that comes with owning a home you think you're going to be in for a long time. The prospects seem endless. But with each project there is a price tag. Often it is a large price tag. The not so big price tag is the one that comes with taking a look at what you already own and deciding if it can be used, repurposed or it is time to let it go to a new home. I'm so thankful I was able to do a lot of that over the summer. And I'm thankful I found so many home blogs to get addicted to. Because with all that crazy free time I have, I'm going to do so many of the projects they claim will bring that special something to my own home (sarcasm, yes?). Fortunately I'm aware that for us what is realistic might not be placing breakable items anywhere near a coffee table or ground level. Ever. Again.
Mainly, what sorting through my stuff has given me is the freedom of knowing that I am passing things on to people who need them, I am literally decreasing the environmental impact of having things in my home, I am finding things I haven't seen in ages and realizing I don't need to purchase something new, and I am finding an energy in doing it I haven't had before. Today I will have to do laundry, dishes, cleaning, emailing, bill paying, and keep my baby healthy and happy. And if I succeed at those tasks each day I am living the American Dream.
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