Over the last few days the idea of being a tiny houser who lives in an ever commercialized and material world has been on my mind. This is because Steven Harrell wrote to me with the tidy heading “cultivating contentment” after he published my last article at Tiny House Listings.
I know it will sound funny but this is not a subject I normally consider. Truthfully, I think a lot about being a tiny houser, but I don’t really think about consumerism much. I don’t listen to the TV, I don’t buy magazines… except for the Tiny House Magazine, I don’t read the newspapers and I am unscathed by billboards. I am on line but this is because I have a job to do, and limited time on the internet. I do not notice ads on the computer unless they pop out at me and these I quickly squish. Too, I am not a shopper, I buy what I need, when I need it preferring to spend my pin money on Tiny House improvements, art, getting out to see live music with friends or having a meal out. It is not that I am opposed to shopping. I have to do it too. It is just, for me, shopping is something one does… like brushing your teeth, making your bed or doing your laundry. In other words I see shopping as a task, not a hobby.
Ironically, the same day as I started thinking about this topic, over lunch it was mentioned that one of my loved ones is quite a shopper… indeed a person who sees shopping as a hobby and all spare moments are spent looking through racks at second hand stores and discount bins. It made me cringe, to tell you the truth.
“Saving money” is something that one often hears from the shopper. It is my belief that the only way to save money is to keep it in the bank (or in a can buried in the woods if you prefer). Growing as much of your own food as you can, paying less for your housing and keeping your utility charges low are also money saving ideas. Okay… I know this is a loaded thing to say, but in terms of shopping, both new and used, it is all just increasing your pile of crap and using precious planet resources.
So, here it is, if you are considering a tiny house of your own and you are a shopper, you have to get this under control. Just so I am clear, when I say “under control” I mean stop all superfluous shopping now. You will need to do it soon if you are serious about being a tiny house dweller, so why not practice? You will need to find a new hobby, and this may cost you something… have you always wanted to play guitar? Paint? Make balloon animals? Decide what your new hobby is, research it, and go to one store to get it, the one that you have found will be the place with the best deal. Start doing this new hobby whenever you feel like shopping.
The truth is, if you do this, you will have to thank Steven for posing this question to me, because one when one lives in less than 400 square feet (in my case it is 93.75 plus the toilet room which is 9 square feet) then you must consider each of your items as important to your life because they each take up your very precious living space. I am going to beat you over the head a little now… remember, one lovely squishy pillow from store X will take up space on your sofa or bed and this will mean that you lose .5 of a seating space. What is more important to you, a squishy pillow or a place for grandma to sit in when she comes in from Colorado for her annual sojourn? More stuff (no matter how small) means less space to enjoy and not just for grandma, but for you, every. day. of. your. life.
So, cultivating contentment turns out to be more of a request on my part, for you to stop consuming items you don’t need.
If you are up to it, I have an exercise you can do with all your new found spare time… Imagine you have had a fire and lost everything. What are the 100 items that you need and wish still had? These are the things that best represent you and will be the items that make living in a tiny house so blissful that you won’t ever wish for that squishy pillow again.
If you are already not a shopper, I know this is a bit repetitive, but you could print it for your shopping addicted friend and mail it to them.
Laura Moreland is a contributing writer for Tiny House Listings. She lives in a tiny woodland cottage near Kingston Ontario with a pack of dwarf dogs. Her woodsman ensures that she never accept apples from old ladies. You can learn more about Laura through her website “Tiny House Ontario” here.
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