If you’ve been reading this blog for a while, you’ve probably noticed something.
I am very drawn to the ideals of voluntary simplicity.
This is one of my interests passions obsessions. I have an aesthetic sensibility that leans strongly toward minimalism, and the fact that this isn’t very apparent where I live causes me mental and emotional stress.
I’ve come to realize that’s just one more facet of my perfectionism.
Despite the fact that I own less than the average person (I share a rented apartment and basically live out of my bedroom), I still feel like I have too much stuff, and I’m always trying to whittle it down even more.
But I’ve got nothing on this guy.
I’m officially in awe of Jay Shafer and his 96-square-foot home.
Actually, he has since gotten married and had a child, so they’ve moved into a 500-square-foot home, with his little one pulled up next to it. Still pretty darn small, though, since the size of the average home in the U.S. was a little over 2,300 square feet as of 2004, according to the National Association of Home Builders.
Jay now creates plans and builds tiny houses for others through his Tumbleweed Tiny House Company, and says that the demand for them is growing. (In fact, his house is featured on Yahoo’s front page today, and the server is so busy I can’t even get through to the site now.)
On the face of it, these little homes look like the ultimate in simple living.
But that ignores what the foremost proponents of voluntary simplicity say. For example, the front page of The Simple Living Network tells us that “…simple living is not about poverty or self-inflicted deprivation. Rather, it is about living an examined life—one in which you determine what is important and enough for you, and discard the rest.”
I like that a lot.
Jay Shafer has examined his life and figured out that he can live in extremely tiny houses. Me? I’m kind of claustrophobic, and a house I could walk through in ten steps or less would drive me nuts. Even if I were to succeed at something like The 100 Things Challenge, I’d still need some physical breathing room around me.
And then there are my books. That’s the one area where I have trouble minimizing, because I do read them again and again. I’ve long since gotten rid of the ones I don’t—and even some of the ones I do. I just ended up buying those again.
I think those of us with overly self-controlling and perfectionistic tendencies need to be careful not to (*cough*) over-complicate voluntary simplicity. Or any other movement.
As I often like to say (apparently agreeing with Julia Child in the bargain), “Everything in moderation–including moderation.”
Because the one area where we really do need to be minimalistic is in our methods of self-flagellation. We’re too good at that already.
It’s far too easy for us to tell ourselves that we must meet some arbitrarily created “simplicity standard,” such as living in a wee little house or owning a certain number of things.
But simplicity and minimalism are really about finding your own answer to the question of what is enough for you.
I find that walking this line is a challenging balancing act. What about you? How do you determine what’s truly necessary in your life? Please share in the comments—I’m very interested in hearing your thoughts and experiences!
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
Two years ago, my partner Joe and I “downsized” from 2 houses to 1 sailboat. The video reminded me of living on the boat (especially the part about the bed being hard to make) – and was probably similar in square footage. I surprised myself by how quickly I adapted to the tiny space. (Although it did feel squeezed and cluttered sometimes.)
Because space on the boat was *so* limited, we had to carefully consider each and every item we brought on. Where would it fit? What needed to leave in order to make space? And ultimately, was it really necessary?
We just moved into a 900 sq ft condo – and it seems luxurious and spacious in comparison. Before our sailing adventure, neither one of us would have thought 900 sq ft to be adequate. Now it seems absolutely perfect. We also carried the habit of carefully considering purchases with us, so we’re not filling the space with clutter.
We’ve traded the stuff, the mortgages, and the house maintenance for freedom.
I love your perspective about finding out what’s enough for *you* – like so many other things, the extreme view can be a turn off. For people just starting to discoverer the joys of simplicity, shedding the stuff that weighs us down sounds appealing…trying to pare down to fitting everything you own into a backpack just sounds impossible.
Patty K recently posted..Taking action on the stuff that scares me
great post Michelle! I loved the video, and the piece about leading an examined life. It is not about ‘doing without’ – that’s an impoverished view of the world. The examined life has abundance to it, and it’s also about being AWAKE and paying attention.
I am taking a year without clothes shopping and it really has been an emotional experience, all about waking up to something that I hadn’t examined before.
Thank you so much for this excellent post!
@Patty – How interesting that 900 sq. ft. now feels like luxury to you! (My living spaces have never increased much in size, so I wouldn’t know what that feels like.)
Also that your careful purchase-decision-making habits have remained even when you moved into the larger space. Do you find it’s a conscious effort to maintain that outlook, or has it become spontaneous?
@Jill – Yes, it’s all about, as clichéd as it sounds, inner abundance. And I’m not sure someone can imagine what that’s like until they’ve experienced it. I’m not trying to sound superior there, because I’m no expert! But I’ve gotten some taste tests of the simple, inner-directed life, and they’ve been yummy.
)
And talk about trying to understand someone else’s point of view! I dress mainly for comfort and i’m pretty frugal with my expenses, so going a year without buying clothing for me isn’t a big deal.
So to understand how huge that must be for you emotionally, I’m comparing it to a year of my not buying any BOOKS. And all I can say when I think about that is “More power to you, woman!” Wow.