So far I love the place in which I'm living......all 480 square feet of it (and that may be a stretch)!
But
it's perfect for me. I live alone. I have one room with enough space to
also have some living area for a couch, chair, TV, desk, bookcase,
stereo and two closets. I also have my own bathroom which looks to be
recently remodeled.
I share a kitchen downstairs with about
eight others who also have rooms in this building which was built more
than 100 years ago here in Asheville.
I have seven windows that
face three directions (lacking the east). There is absolutely nothing
that I miss from the time when I had my own bigger home probably at
least five times larger than the home I have now.
Oh yes, I even
have laundry facilities in the basement, at no extra charge. I can hang
my clothes out, if I prefer, or dry in the dryer. I have permission to
compost and to plant veggies just about anywhere I want on the
surrounding property. This I have done, choosing to plant lettuce,
spinach, radishes, carrots, zinnias (I know they're flowers, not
veggies), tomatoes, cucumbers and watermelons. My house-mate downstairs had a healthy
stand of strawberries in the spring.
More benefits of the place where I
live include free cable and wireless plus all my utilities, all
included in a reasonable rental cost. I am close enough to work that
all I have to do each day is go out the front door and walk a few
blocks to downtown. Within walking distance are the post office, a
number of churches and a temple, grocery stores, library, city hall,
banks, just about any place I may need to go ... on foot. I can go
weeks without ever starting my car. It's parked across
the street.
So, even though as a volunteer with a stipend, I
have to count every penny, my only expenses on a regular basis now are
food and rent.
Not being the best housekeeper in the world, I
find my new lifestyle quite agreeable to my character. I have very
little upkeep with my living space. I keep the bathroom clean for my
own sanity and keep the living space picked up. Not having my own
kitchen takes a huge burden off of me, since I won't have to worry
about cleaning the refrigerator or stove when and if I leave. The
kitchen is community property, as are the cooking utensils, pots and
pans and dishes. A person can travel lightly in this type of
arrangement.
Plus I still have my privacy when I want it. I'm
not forced to be social when I don't want to be, while I can be when I
feel like it. We have a huge two sides of the house front porch, which comes in handy this summer as I watch the sun set beyond my dinner plate..
I
feel that this living situation gives me an opportunity to live my
values of voluntary simplicity. I would like to measure my carbon
footprint if I could. I would wager that it has shrunk significantly
with my new lifestyle.
One thing I've noticed since I got to
Asheville is the seemingly wide use of timers on water heaters in
buildings here. Since I came to Asheville last month, I've lived in two
houses in which both owners seemingly turn off the water heaters at night with
timers set to turn them on in the morning. So we folks who like to take
late night baths, must change our schedules somewhat.
Living in a small space convinces me all the more that we humans, since there are so many of us, have no choice but to shift down in our lifestyle values.
If we can get by on smaller space, do it.
If we have too much stuff, let someone else have it.
If we live too far from the places we regularly have to go, move closer.
If our lives have too many appointments and meetings, chose only the most important.
Enjoy
a life of smallness. If that means living on less, so be it. If it
means living with more (money-wise), invest it where it will help grow
sustainability and green-ness, or give it to those who need it more
than you and will use it wisely.
Once again, I stress that a
life of voluntary simplicity is anything but boring. If anything, it
allows you to fill your life with adventure. Your life is freed up to
take long hikes, to enjoy metropolitan cultural events and sights, to
listen to music of all types (on the radio), to read thousands of books
(from the library), to meditate and worship in private or in houses of
worship, to visit, to study, to write poetry, a blog, in a journal.
Does this sound boring to you? It sounds like freedom to me....and exciting!
All
the while, I earn a bonus of being more environmentally friendly to
Mother Earth and staying more fit physically, mentally, spiritually and
emotionally.
And these are qualities and values I want to pass
on to my grandchildren whenever they see me. Join with me as I reach
for smallness. I really think through this process, we'll realize the
bigness of the world around us.
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