Wanting more of less

     Looking for more sustainable ways of living has been an interest of mine for many years. Since moving to Taos in 2000 I’ve lived in a straw bale house, an adobed Airstream trailer, a hand built cabin with a composting toilet and river rock shower, a caretaker cabin with an outhouse and an earthship

    I’ve been an avid follower of the tiny house movement since I stumbled across it a couple years ago. In 2007 the average size of a single family home in America was 2, 479 square feet. Most Americans spend 1/3 to 1/2 of their income on housing. That translates into working for 15 years  just to pay for shelter. This begs the question do we own our stuff or does our stuff own us?

     The tiny house movement questions the assumptions behind this norm. Most tiny houses range in size from 100 to 400 square feet. Carrying a mortgage is the exception not the rule for tiny house owners. Many people are taking a DIY approach. With some ingenuity and recycled building materials, it’s possible to build and own a tiny house for $10,000. Amazing to have house that costs less than your car!

    Last week I learned about the Wildwood resort in Washington State. The resort community consists of tiny lakefront cottage with a price tag of $324,000. Yes at this price these folks are missing half the point of the tiny house movement. However the existence of a tiny cottage resort is an indication that less is making its way into the mainstream.

    After perusing the Wildwood website, I saw Verizon’s current “more everything” commercial. The ad includes the lines –“No one ever stomped their foot and asked for less. Because what we all really want is more.” Funny, even in my life I can think of a few people who are doing exactly that….me included.

    Initially I found the Verizon ad disturbing and sad and then it made me laugh. The tiny house movement is gaining momentum. A&E has even announced a new series with a projected July launch date tentatively titled “Tiny House Nation.” Given the contrast between this and Verizon’s commercial, is it possible enough of us have begun to want less that corporate giants are feeling a bit insecure?

    I feel hopeful that maybe, just maybe, our conspicuous consumption has begun to run its course.  

    The tiny house movement is about more than living in smaller spaces. It’s about re-examining our social and cultural assumptions. It’s about learning the difference between having what we want and wanting what we have. It’s about simplifying externally and internally.

     Maybe, just maybe, we’re starting to understand that if we’re not content now we’re not going to be content with more money or a new iPhone because it’s not about stuff.

    Since January when I unexpectedly lost my apartment, most of my stuff has been in storage. I don’t own much. The sum of my worldly possessions takes up a third of a room sized storage unit. I have a pretty good sense of the difference between my needs and wants. Living without most of my stuff has refined that even further. I’ve been surprised both by what I miss and what I don’t.

     The first thing I missed was music in a form other than earbuds in my ears. So I bought myself a set of iPod speakers for my birthday. I miss the rest of my shoes but I can dig those out of storage. I miss my poetry books.

    After the first couple weeks I stopped missing the bulk of what stayed in storage. During the two weeks where I did miss other things I discovered that what I missed was the convenience of having what I’m used to having and not the things themselves.

     Being inconvenienced and a bit uncomfortable sparked my creativity. Instead of grabbing X to go do Y, I had to find another way. Yes, that was a bit of a pain in the butt. Many things I was used to doing on auto pilot required thought. Some mornings even making coffee took longer.

     As the weeks went on I noticed a new level of creativity spreading out in my life. The need to use creative problem solving where I’d been functioning by rote altered my default mode of thinking. I found myself turning toward different more sustainable ways of using what I have.

    We all need some measure of comfort. But the line between having enough comfort for nesting and growth and the place where comfort becomes a form of sedation is hair thin and very individual. Too much comfort and convenience lulls us into amnesia.

      I was a little too comfortable. Comfortable enough to lose some gratitude for what I do have. Comfortable enough to numb my creativity and talk myself into believing I needed more stuff. I don’t.

    This more creative way of thinking and being has crept into the way I work with clients, my artwork and my ability to be the observer of my actions. This is what I truly want more of.

    When I had more stuff, I had more wants. Having less shifted my wants away from objects and toward something more authentic.

          I’m much clearer on the difference between immediate and long term or bigger picture wants. Most of my immediate wants are impulsive. I see something appealing and I want it…kinda like a crow with a shiny object. Those want are fleeting. They fade in hours or days even if I acquire the shiny thing. Satisfying an immediate urge often detours me away from my deeper wants.

     So far my adventure in having and wanting less has brought me more creativity, more freedom and more clarity about what’s really important to me. That’s not something that any amount of money or things could have brought me.