Just when you think you have nothing to write about and you’re actually hoping the kids will do something naughty to inspire a column topic, the Today show airs a story about your sister.
Thank you, NBC.
Sometimes, extreme activities garner media attention. But my sister Laura and her husband Josh didn’t scale a skyscraper or hang upside down for three days in Central Park.
No, they did something even nuttier in a country where the size of the average home has reached the approximate dimensions of a football field.
They moved into in a 530-square-foot house.
They live in this tiny abode in Portland, Ore., comfortably and happily. It helps that they’re both skinny.
Of course, Laura and Josh did not build their minute domicile to attract the media.
Or so they say.
But after they’ve appeared in several periodicals including the Oregonian and Sunset magazine, plus not only on NBC Nightly News but now the Today show, I’m starting to question their claim that, in general, they shun the spotlight.
They even recently posted a video of their cats on YouTube!
I think celebrity has gone to their heads.
The media love Laura and Josh not only because they are articulate, intelligent and super cute, but also because they are doing a Good Thing.
They downsized from a large apartment to a two-story miniature house built with green materials so they could help save the earth. At least their corner of it.
Plus, it was the only way they could afford to buy a house in an appealing part of the city.
The adorable $143,000 house, which looks larger than it is, sits on a petite 20-by-20 footprint. Many windows and a vaulted living room give the house an airy, open feel, and a cool spiral staircase that leads to the bathroom and bedroom loft saves every precious square inch of space.
They built the house in Sabin Green, a co-housing community that features four homes on a 75- by 100-foot lot. Two homes are less than 600 square feet.
Nine Sabin Green residents share a courtyard, a newspaper subscription, Internet access, a large bike shed and garden tools. Together, they built a charming teahouse out of corncob that serves as a gathering place and guest quarters.
They eat dinner together once a week and meet regularly to decide community issues like trash collection. The group recently downsized to a single 30-gallon garbage can that gets emptied once a week.
Nine people. One can. Once a week.
They take sustainability very seriously.
That’s only one reason NBC and others want to broadcast and publish Laura and Josh’s story. With the economy tanking, interest is growing in small houses under 1,000 square feet that are cheaper to build and way less expensive to maintain.
My sister is a perfect ambassador for the small house movement. Knowledgeable, fun and tolerant of even people who live in McMansions, Laura doesn’t force her ideas on anyone but does a convincing job of explaining why living in a small house makes sense for her and Josh, and just might make sense for other Americans, too.
See their story at www.msnbc.msn.com/id/ 21134540/vp/27082925#27082925.
nnn
Emily Ford covers the N.C. Research Campus.