With 84 Square Foot Home, Woman Finds That Less Space Equals More Time and Money
July 31st, 2007
On Blogging Away Debt, I read about a woman named Dee Williams who lives in a house no bigger than a parking space. The story caught my eye for several reasons (beyond the initial shock that anyone could live comfortably in such a small space, much less choose to do so):
1. By living in just 84 square feet, Dee has more time and money. She has no mortgage and very low utility bills. Therefore, she only needs to work part-time and still has money to give to charitable causes.
2. She’s from the Pacific Northwest. She lives in Olympia and used to live in Portland. What can I say, I have a lot of regional pride.
3. Dee built her home. As a woman, I admire her success. She decided to build a small, green, functional house. She researched how to do it. She did it. What’s more inspirational than that? I think that kind of inspiration can be applied to any aspect of one’s life, even if you’d never dream of living in an 84 square foot home.
4. To build her home, she used as many second-hand materials as she could. Her electricity is generated by solar panels.
5. Not only does she have more money, time and environmental karma, she also seems to have more confidence. According to The Olympian, Dee said her decision to live in a small home is “empowering.”
6. Last but not least, this story reminds me that there are a lot of choices out there that work. When it comes to material possessions, there aren’t a lot of needs. Each person has to gauge the amount that’s right for them. Personally, I wouldn’t trade my home for Dee’s, but I respect her choice and her happiness.
To learn more about this story, visit katu.com (click on “Video” under the picture for the full report) or The Olympian.
Entry Filed under: Frugal living,Home
6 Comments Add your own
1. BoggyWoggy&hellip | August 1st, 2007 at 6:30 am
Wow! Here I am continually lifting up crap to dust and organize, all the while feeling frustrated that we have too much stuff…and not enough stuff! Isn’t is ironic?
2. gamefacepdx&hellip | August 1st, 2007 at 9:45 pm
It’s refreshing to hear about a story like this.
It seems like nowadays, tv shows like MTV Cribs are glorifying gigantic houses, where every celebrity mentions their formal living room that they never use, their huge collection of shoes that they never wear, and their big screen tvs that are turned on even when no one is in the room.
3. Simplify Your Life «&hellip | August 1st, 2007 at 10:37 pm
[...] dorm room was tiny. The average dorm room is 200 square feet for two people. Then I recently read a blog entry at Around the Sun about a woman who lives in an 84 square foot home. 84 square [...]
4. hubqueen&hellip | August 3rd, 2007 at 5:03 pm
Cosy little home! With the exception of it’s own water supply, self contained. Right now my partner is putting the roof supports in our 8×12 building out in the backyard. Made mostly of recycled materials ( wooden industrial packing crate pieces for walls, old windows and door), it will house our wood stoves and neat old pioneer type stuff. There is something about a small house that draws you in, a charm. Kudos to Dee!
5. dennis d&hellip | August 27th, 2008 at 7:59 pm
I like the concept, I have two plans that I drew up myself but my question to you is do you rely on your friend w the house for bathroom facilities? and… What about building codes… how do you / did you deal w those issues? Thanks dd
6. Kit&hellip | October 3rd, 2008 at 10:35 am
As a homeowner concerned with meeting the mortgage, I gave up my remodelled attic a year ago, to rent out. I moved into the basement apartment of my rental, 3 miles away. I stayed there 4 months, trying to improve it, so I could rent it out. I moved back home, but continued to rent out my upstairs, and lived in the basement. It’s partly finished, but falls short, and in midwinter is damp and cold. A year later, I’m still in the basement. I grew to like it, as it was pretty comfy during the summer months. I bought a wood stove for the winter. I rescued a dog from the Humane Society to reward myself for my sacrifices. The dog also keeps me warm…
Leave a Comment
Some HTML allowed:
<a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <strike> <strong>
Trackback this post | Subscribe to the comments via RSS Feed