But the irony is that people have been taking up more and more space even as a lot of daily use items have gotten smaller and more efficient. The truth is that too many people fill their extra space with stuff they don't need, rarely use and sometimes don't even remember.
Excellent point. I this is the crux of the argument. The funny thing is, people were not generally buying bigger houses because they had too much stuff. They got too much stuff because they had the room for it in their house.
Jon's going to disagree, but here's a simple example. Let's say you live in a 1 bd rm apartment, how many sofas do you have? For almost everyone the answer is 1 or perhaps 0. Now, upgrade to a 3,000 sq ft McMansion with a den and a living room. How many sofas? The answer is probably 2, but it might even be 3.
People fill up whatever space they have. If every house in the nation with fewer than 5 people living in it were suddenly reduced to 1,600 sq feet, nobody would suffer at all.
People were rushing to buy McMansions with near-zero lot lines because that suits their lifestyle.
No, people were rushing to buy McMansions because they were the nicest homes they could afford that made them "look good" and put them on the housing equity elevator to the sky. People will undoubtedly telecommute more in the next five years than they did in the last five, but McMansions are already falling out of style. Just like granite countertops and stainless steel appliances.
Speaking as someone who has done some telecommuting, most families really do not need much special space for it. If everyone in the house is out for the day except for the one telecommuting, even a kitchen table is adequate (though you might want a comfier chair). If not, a small desk in the corner of any room that is generally not used during the day (bedrooms for instance) is ample space. If you work in a cubicle farm, you probably only have 16-25 sq ft of space for your cube. That's less than 1/4 of many bedrooms.
Either that, or you are right jon. We are entirely running out of space. In only 5 short years, we'll all be forced to live 20 to the room. Nobody will be allowed to lay down to sleep, as there will be no space. Did I mention that cars will be outlawed as they take up too much road space, and only walking in a tightly packed clump will be legal on most streets?
Coincidentally, I just saw this short piece on the crews that "trash out" foreclosed houses in southern California. It's just heartbreaking how much *stuff* gets left behind, then goes straight to the landfill when the bank wants the house cleaned out. So weird and sad.
Comments
Excellent point. I this is the crux of the argument. The funny thing is, people were not generally buying bigger houses because they had too much stuff. They got too much stuff because they had the room for it in their house.
Jon's going to disagree, but here's a simple example. Let's say you live in a 1 bd rm apartment, how many sofas do you have? For almost everyone the answer is 1 or perhaps 0. Now, upgrade to a 3,000 sq ft McMansion with a den and a living room. How many sofas? The answer is probably 2, but it might even be 3.
People fill up whatever space they have. If every house in the nation with fewer than 5 people living in it were suddenly reduced to 1,600 sq feet, nobody would suffer at all.
No, people were rushing to buy McMansions because they were the nicest homes they could afford that made them "look good" and put them on the housing equity elevator to the sky. People will undoubtedly telecommute more in the next five years than they did in the last five, but McMansions are already falling out of style. Just like granite countertops and stainless steel appliances.
Speaking as someone who has done some telecommuting, most families really do not need much special space for it. If everyone in the house is out for the day except for the one telecommuting, even a kitchen table is adequate (though you might want a comfier chair). If not, a small desk in the corner of any room that is generally not used during the day (bedrooms for instance) is ample space. If you work in a cubicle farm, you probably only have 16-25 sq ft of space for your cube. That's less than 1/4 of many bedrooms.
Either that, or you are right jon. We are entirely running out of space. In only 5 short years, we'll all be forced to live 20 to the room. Nobody will be allowed to lay down to sleep, as there will be no space. Did I mention that cars will be outlawed as they take up too much road space, and only walking in a tightly packed clump will be legal on most streets?
http://kcet.org/socal/2009/02/the-trashout-squad-1.html