Re: House Size (long response)

[Lawrence.H.Smith@williams.edu (Lawrence H Smith)]

essage-Id: <v01530504ad09db74b45c@[137.165.10.40]>

>37% since 1971, and are now around the 2000 sq. ft. mark.  One need only
>look at the mainstream building and design magazines to see that the number
>of 5,000-15,000+ sq. ft. houses for childless couples or two-child families
>is skyrocketing.  So, although larger SB houses for extended families can
>reduce net environmental impacts, most larger houses nationwide are being
>built for smaller families and fewer people--which is certainly an
>environmentally detrimental trend.

"Certainly"? I think not.

Proponents of the "smaller house is better" theory would do well to note
that the built envrionment is inhabited, and has envrionmental impacts on
the inhabitants.

Envision living with 4 other people in a 10' x 10' (~3mx3m) building - very
small, very efficient (body heat warms it!) very nasty. "But we didn't mean
that small!", you cry...well, it's just a matter of degree.

A thrust of Catherine's post which you're utterly ignoring is that of
having sufficient space to Live (as opposed to live) in your house - this
will be simpler if I get into specifics now and trust that folks can
generalize from there:

I play trombone. Having sufficient rehersal space to accomadate at least a
small ensemble (say 3-7 folks) without having to rearrange the sitting room
would be a good thing.

I like to cook. While all sorts of things _can_ be done in a small
"efficient" kitchen, there is no substitute for real counterspace and
full-scale sinks, stoves and other appliances if you cook seriously.
Sufficient pantry space allows taking advantage of sales, and reduces the
stress factor of being snowed in (or whatever happens in your area that
results in not being able to get out to the stores, or there being no
stores to get out to for some time).

I like to garden. See the above entry on kitchen, think canning & freezing,
storage for canned & frozen items, add root cellar and plant starting space
- quite preferably a greenhouse.

I'm taking up brewing. See kitchen again, think in terms of 5-10 gallons at
a whack, and add cool & cold storage space for things fermenting, and those
in bottles. Some people prefer an entirely separate brewing kitchen to
minimize the danger of contamination with various microscopic life forms
common in kitchens, or to minimize spousal friction.

So far I let other people make my wine, but I prefer to buy it while it's
young and age it at home, saving a considerable amount of money. Add cellar
space.

I like old-fashioned, ink-on-paper books. Lots of bookshelves, and a
distinct weakness for an actual library space. It'll probably be combined
with the sitting room.

My truck, motorcycle, bicycle, etc will all last longer and need less
frequent ecologically questionable replacement if they live in a nice, dry
garage. I'll also be a lot more comfortable working on them there, so their
life will be doubly extended by proper maintenace (can be done without a
garage, but more likely to happen at the proper time with one - it's often
cold & wet here).

I do woodworking. While a multipurpose tool (shopsmith) can be tucked in
quite a small space, it's still rather messy, and working with separate
tools in a dedicated, adequate space is much more convenient. Space to
store & season wood is also useful.

Electronics - again, benefits from (a smallish) non-shared space.

Guests - how many people can your house hold comfortably for a party? How
does this compare with the scale of party you'd like to have? Adjust
accordingly. How many can sleep over for how long before you want to throw
them out? How does this compare to what you want? Adjust accordingly.
Personally, I'm more comfortable with small gatherings, so I don't really
need expansion for party accomadation, but I'd like to be able to honestly
invite folks over for a month or more, which means (for me) separate guest
rooms with their own bathroom.

This sort of thing, specialized to your interests, can help to make your
house a refuge, a resource, a living spot, a center of activity - as
opposed to a place for sleeping, eating, excreting and not a whole lot
else. If all your needs can be met in a smaller house, that's fine, but
space is not inherently evil, and can be good for your mental helth...

There are also waste issues with smaller houses - no space to store the
things you'll need again, but not soon. Limited space also limits your
ability to get or find the things you do have stored. Many of these end up
in the trash (sometimes after not selling at a yard sale and not being
taken by the local thift shop - often not). Even if you can sell your
excess stuff, it's guaranteed that when you want to find, say, snowshoes
for an 8 year old, no-one will have anything truly suitable for sale at a
reasonable price. Capacious attics and basements (and barns) are useful.

Can I afford all this? Perhaps not. Certainly part of my interest in SB is
reduced capital cost with excellent insulation for reduced operating cost.
Do I feel that I'm ruining the envrionment? Far from it. I've conciously
made one of the most significantly positive ecological decisions possible -
neither adding to nor sustaining human overpopulation, the driving force
behind all other environmental problems.

-Lawrence H Smith, Academic Computing Specialist for the Sciences
 Williams College Center for Computing, 313 Jesup Hall (413) 597-3073
-lsmith@williams.edu      Cats, Coffee, Chocolate... Vices to live by.