some thoughts on joining the Little House movement

The "little house" movement has been around long before we decided to downsize.  In fact I remember well when the coffee table book was first released.

The Not So Big House: A Blueprint for the Way We Really Live  

by Sarah Susanka,  (Apr 1, 2001)

I was fascinated by the concept and the design commitment - and the smallness! I marveled at the tidyness, the lack of clutter, and big impact of design over stuff.  ( At the time we were running The Briar Rose B&B - and could not imagine living without all the stuff we had collected to fill the rooms of the 3-story house....and I mean FILLED)  .

Since then the Tiny House movement has exploded with countless books, magazines and designers. the Not So Big Houses became smaller and some are unbelievably tiny.   Many "believers" live in actual houses, but a significant number live in alternative housing - like our neighbors in Pemaquid, or disaster-prepers who are ready to hunker down for the next zombie apocalypse  - or folks like us who are opting for full-time RVing - and are living in a home we can haul anywhere we want,

We shifted our life from about 2400 sq ft of space to just under 300sq ft, (plus our tiny tiny storage unit).  reducing, de-cluttering, purging and endlessly organizing.   It's really surprising what you can live without (like the iron & ironing board) - what necessary things aren't so necessary (like walls of books, or the cuisinart) and those special items that weigh more in sentimental value  than actual  physical weight or price.  

I never planned to become a part of this "movement", but feel now that we are very much at the center of it all - and liking it very much.  But...... I will confess we've started talking about a somewhat larger RV....  maybe 34 feet???  After all there are 5 of us living in here, and three cats do come with a bit of baggage of their own!  Three feet is an ocean when you live in a space this small.
Oh, and by the way, those Little House books/magazines are often in libraries (no space required) or can be read in e-book format or on-line.....  thinking small.