I recently purchased the plans for one of the Tumbleweed Tiny Houses. It is a fascinating idea and one that will work quite well if only we can learn to downsize.
Over the years, the houses that are being built have become enormous while the number of people occupying the house has dwindled. A large house, at one time, was only for the wealthy. Now it seems everyone MUST have a huge home with ever increasing debt and unhappiness as the result.
Look at the news. The number of foreclosures skyrocketed as the number of people who truly could not afford a huge home bought them and the result was losing not only the huge home but their credit and sometimes their family. Was it worth it? I doubt it. That huge home may have provided one with an acre of space but the time together as a family probably suffered because the adults had to be working to pay the mortgage, the taxes, the insurance and all the upkeep. And my goodness, one can't park a 1977 broke down vehicle out front so here comes even more expense for a new vehicle or at the very least a "pre-owned" one. It really is pathetic. We can't even call anything used anymore. It is pre-owned or gently worn or some such nonsense so we feel good about buying someone else's old stuff.
My mother shopped at the Salvation Army Thrift Store. We had a lot of other people's used stuff. And, yes I was embarrassed walking in there, but if anyone knew where my clothes came from, no one said anything. And not all of my clothing came from there, just the stuff I wore to play in. School clothes were bought on sale or I made my own clothes.
Anyway, back to Tiny Houses. My eighth grade field trip in school we went to New York City. It was my first trip. We went by train from Washington, DC to New York City. We then took tours of the United Nations Building and other sites. There was one time on the bus that stood out in my mind. Our bus driver took us through the Bowery. There really were drunks laying in the streets and spitting on windshields trying to get money for booze by "cleaning" the windshield.
I was stunned by the sheer number of them. They all seemed to be dressed in the same tattered suit. It was like a uniform for drunks. I was appalled and wondered why they were allowed to live on the street like that. I did not realize at the time how deep their problems were.
For several years after that trip I wanted to build something that would house all of these people who lived on the street or at least give them a place to stay in their own room at night. I knew nothing of the logistics connected with doing something like that. I just figured all those big vacant buildings we passed by could be used for that.
I never considered property ownership, the cost of rehabbing the buildings, building permits or politics. I wrongly assumed that everyone would want the same thing - a roof over everyone's head. I was not thinking about the millions of dollars and years it would take to accomplish something of that nature.
Looking at these Tiny Homes, my old dream was revived a bit. Living in a rural area in a state where trailers are not frowned upon, the thought again occurred to me that a person should not have to live or even want to live in a 2500 square foot home. What is wrong with wanting to live less cluttered and in a much smaller house? If someone can live homeless in a cardboard refrigerator box, why not put something on wheels with insulation and their own potty and some dignity with a whopping 77 square feet?
It is still a simplistic view of things. Not everyone is homeless for the same reason and some if told they could give up the cardboard home for a structure would still chose the cardboard one. Some would move in and bring in several friends. That would not bother me but would probably bother some housing authorities.
I can still see the little shanty towns that crop up in larger areas and underpasses replaced with Tiny Homes on wheels and when people get tired of seeing the poor, they can wheel their little homes away to another neighborhood that might be more forgiving. We have campgrounds that go unused throughout much of the year, why not have a tax break for those that allow Tiny Homes to park during the closed or slow seasons?
Jesus said that we will have the poor with us always.
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