America has an affordable housing crisis. So let’s put Americans who are renowned for their savvy and entrepreneurial spirit to the test. While there isn’t a quick fix to this problem, there is one solution which I hope municipalities and NIMBY’s (Not In My Neighborhood) will embrace. A new proliferating movement called TINY HOMES , could be a stopgap to house the homeless, seniors or people who can’t afford to pay over 30% of their salary for housing. There are charities and communities throughout the US building these TINY HOMES, which measure less than 500 square feet, but come with many mod cons.
For those who are environmentally conscious, some TINY HOMES are built from surplus shipping containers, an alternative to traditional building materials and have a starting price tag of $44K. These containers can be delivered and assembled in as little as 10 weeks.
As someone who lives in a 1300 sq. foot space with two dogs, I wanted to get a taste of what it might be like to live in a TINY SPACE. I invited my BFF Mavis Pepperwhite and two of my artistic girlfriends, whom I have known since high school and college, to transform my 10’x5’ bathroom into living space.
Mavis never ceases to amaze me. While she and Angela were staging my bathroom, I sat in my bar area with Sherri singing and drinking wine alongside a singing machine. (Think karaoke machine but on a cheaper scale for kids.) It took about a 1/2 hr. for them to fill my bathroom with all the necessary accoutrements for this wheelchair princess. Angela lifted me like an Amazon warrior and gently placed me into the tub. The bathtub served as my main hangout and place to sleep. Unfortunately, there wasn’t any room to place my wheelchair. If we had more time, we’d figure out how to suspend it from the ceiling.
Watch my video to get a real sense of what it was like to squeeze into TINY HOME digs.
In the video I stated I would try to stay in my bathroom for a few hours to test out this 50 foot sq. space. Well, that didn’t end too terrifically. I couldn’t bear sitting in such a small space and nature came a callin’. Realistically, I need a minimum of three small homes connected together to survive. One house would house my hats, the second house exclusively for my shoes and the third container would be where I sleep, eat and shower. And come to think of it, a fourth house would be necessary as my entertainment space for staging creative productions to post on my blog and Instagram.
The wackiness and creativity didn’t end after staging our TINY HOME. We pulled out some paper bags and sketched faces with eye holes so we could wear them. Isn’t that what sensible people do after drinking a few bottles of Riesling? I chose to draw my fashion idol, Iris Apel. I was delighted with my effort since this art school grad hasn’t sketched in years. It was like riding a bike! After I posted a Facebook video of our paper bag masterpieces, friends suggested creating a sketching MeetUP. Good idea. Drawing is akin to meditating and relaxing, something we should all set aside time to do.
Our night concluded with cleaning up the mess, scrubbing a heavily encrusted fondue pot and watching Saturday Night Live. As I have mentioned in previous posts, when my friends and I stage something at my house, I need an entire day to recover from the pain of laughing for many hours straight. The following day, I’m sequestered in recovery mode. And speaking of January resolutions, my main fitness routine continues to be indulging in fondue, drinking wine, being creative and laughing for hours on end until I feel my heart and brain will explode. This 2019 you should try out my regime. Adulthood is so over rated.
