Small House is Big Possession

There is a small house for sale near where I am (temporarily) living.  Small houses (less then 900 square feet) are interesting to a minimalist because they are easier to maintain, as well as less expensive to buy and provide utilities for.  Also having less storage space available is good because the owner may not be inclined to buy things to fill up the space.  They are appealing for many reasons.  You can find a few “tiny house society” groups and websites online if you’re interested.

Anyway, as appealing as that little bungalow is to me, I’m not sure that I want to own a house at all.  It seems that renting an apartment is more closely aligned with my minimalist philosophy.  If my goal is to own fewer things, then why would I buy a large thing like a house?  Plus I am debt free now, and that status would change with a mortgage.  Some say a home loan is “good debt”, whatever that is.

One scary thought I had last week was about an old ironing board in my storage unit.  I offered it to a charity because I am trying to clear everything out of storage.  The iron board is an old metal one that belonged to my grandmother, so it has some sentimental value to me (like everything does).  But I’d be happy to donate it to clear the space.  Once this idea of maybe buying a house entered my head, I thought – “of course I’ll keep the ironing board, for the house”! As if owning my living space instead of renting it means I’d naturally return to a packrat mode.  That is scary, like a part of my brain is working against me.