In the April 2007 Domino Magazine pp 150-155.

Por Fin Nuestra Casa Container Homes !!!

Wow, here's a builder from Albequerque, Brian McCarthy, that was inspired from a Ciudad Juarez trip to go for housing from sturdy metal freight containers!

He named his company Por Fin Nuestra Casa, or PFNC for short. Here's PFNC's website. Their media page has two youtube videos, and one video has an interior tour of the container. And here's a CNN article about them.

Here's a pic of a detached unit's inviting exterior, with blue door and flower box!

And here's an interior pic. The containers have about 320 square feet of space--a bit bigger than the smallest hotel rooms, and the size of some studios in our cities:

And here's their awesome concept of a stacked configuration--I would love this! Living close to neighbors, but with my own little unit to retreat to:
Thanks Mr. McCarthy! This is inspiring!

NYTimes article on families with children choosing to stay in the city

This New York Times article about families living in Manhattan one-bedroom apartments has some wonderful descriptions and ideas. It says the number of families with children deciding to stay in Manhattan rather than move to the suburbs as the children grow up is increasing.

This was a walk-in closet in a 700 square foot West Village apartment. It now contains a twin-size murphy bed for the older child, with play space underneath when the murphy bed is put away. Amazingly, it also contains a washing machine, which is covered when not in use! The younger child is still sleeping on foldable portable bedding at the foot of the parents' bed. So, in 700 square feet, four people sleep and both parents have work offices--wonderful!

Japanese Homes and Their Surroundings By Edward Sylvester Morse

I discovered this book while browsing my town's art museum's giftshop. It is called Japanese Homes and Their Surroundings, and written by Edward S. Morse. If you google Ed Morse, we find he went to Japan at the end of the 19th century, recording marvelously with words and pictures the living environments of Japanese people at that time. It was published by Ticknor and Company in Boston in 1886.Just flipping through it, I was stunned to find this passage regarding clutter.

One of the surprising features that strikes a foreigner as he becomes acquainted with the Japanese home is the entire absence of so many things that with us clutter the closets, or make squirrel-nests of the attic,--I speak now of the common house. The reason of this is that the people have never developed the miserly spirit of hoarding truck and rubbish with the idea that some day it may come into use: this spirit when developed into a mania converts a man's attic and shed into a junkshop. The few necessary articles kept by the Japanese are stowed away in boxes, cupboards, or interspaces beneath the floors (pp 195-6).

With all the clutter-clearing, organization, and simplification movements over the past few years, I've very much enjoyed and been inspired by the works of Julie Morgenstern, Don Aslett, Karen Kingston, and Michelle Passoff, among others. Through all this immersion in the clutter-clearing and organizing literature, I'd come to the impression that clutter appears more and more as societies become wealthier over time, and have more disposable income to spend on clutter. So I thought North America in 1885 would not have clutter because we were poorer back then and didn't have all the material wealth of today. I was very much surprised to read Mr. Morse's comments on "squirrel-nests" and the "miserly spirit of hoarding truck and rubbish" and the "junkshop," as he wrote this more than 120 years ago, before the rapid increase in wealth!

Here is Ed Morse's wikipedia page. An online biography of Morse has been written by the great great grandson of Morse's lifelong friend, John Gould, and is available here.

Japanese Homes and Their Surroundings is available in its entirety through the magic of google books! It has also been reprinted by Tuttle Publishing over the years if you want a hard copy. You can get it from them or from amazon. Here is a clip from the page he mentions Japan's lack of clutter, showing one of his beautiful line drawings of a stairway storage unit. There are many other descriptive line drawings of this quality in Morse's book. The lower left-hand cubby contains portable lamps, and directly above that are floor cushions or futon bedding.

This book was a wonderful discovery!

Casulo Apartment in a Box

Here is the Casulo Website.

Another Lynn Shahan Gem

You are the only person in the world who has your particular thoughts and feelings. Another person can be made aware of them through conversation or shared experience, but no other person can truly absorb them. That we ultimately exist only unto ourselves is, I think, an indisputable concept and one which, when acknowledged, makes for a better acceptance of our "on-our-own" status (p 186).

Shahan, Lynnn. Living Alone and Liking It. New York: Stratford Press. 1981.

Organized Storage in Laura Ingalls Wilder Days

This drawing by Garth Williams of a neatly organized pantry reminds me of the Japanese Interiors books which explain the importance of closets and storage rooms in Japanese homes, where items are carefully stored and taken out only when they're used, minimizing clutter in the main living areas.

Little House Cookbook. p 9.

Ah Ching's Room

This is Ah Ching's room in the movie "Bishonen." He's reading cross-legged on his single bedding, while his crush, Fai, is perusing the bookshelves. Notice the clothes hanging on the left wall above the bed. I've seen this type of "wardrobe wall" in some single occupancy Japanese rooms.

It's so cool how a small space can be simultaneously enjoyed by two close friends comfortably. And if it's a prelude to romance, that's even more exciting!

Laura Ingalls Wilder Log Cabin

Look at how clutter free this place is! Combined kitchen and living area. Table seating made of a tree trunk section. Only what is necessary: fire, bedding, tablespace, butter churner, spinning wheel. What an ideal!

Walker, Barbara. Illustrated by Garth Williams (Laura's Husband, I think!). The Little House Cookbook. New York: Harper Trophy. 1979. p 13.

ISBN 0-06-026418-7

"Thoroughly Enjoying Living Alone" in Japan!

This Apartment Therapy post on Living Alone in Japan is fantastic! I learned that:

• mooks are "magazine books" (lavish magazines devoted to a topic in more depth--more like a book, but bound like a magazine!)
• 107 square foot studios (6 tatami mats) are possible and stylishly livable for one person!

I must try finding copies of these magazines at the local Japanese bookstores. These ideas are exciting because they:

• may reduce costs such as utility bills
• express "a room of one's own" and independence . . .
• use the city as one's living space
  

Philosophy Behind Cooking for One

I can't remember how Lynn Shahan's Living Alone and Liking It came into my life, but it was years ago as a teenager. I always remembered certain pleasurable moments reading her book, kind of just like she describes in the last paragraph I've quoted below. I eventually gave the book away in one of my clutter clearing sessions, but it was a happy feeling because I imagined the pleasure someone else might get from her uplifting yet simple prose.

As I thought about starting this blog, I remembered Living Alone and Liking It fondly, and was luckily able to find it at the library and locate this passage that made an impression on me so long ago! Thank you Lynn Shahan!

During my first year of living alone I did not believe that it was possible to cook a decent meal for one. I spent the first six months frequenting fast-food outlets. When I could no longer down another fast taco or hamburger, I survived on canned soup and TV dinners. Although this was a step up, the food was so bland that I began to lose interest in eating. I lost weight, caught frequent colds, and suffered all the agonies of an improper diet.

Nevertheless, perhaps because I was raised in a large family, I was stuck with the notion that cooking for one was a virtual impossibility. In my mind it simply could not be done, so I ignored the idea for quite a while. Other "loners" I knew were dining out regularly, and this reinforced my conviction.

By the end of that first year, however, my attitude began to change. One afternoon as I was working around my apartment, I was overcome by a craving for something good to eat. As I contemplated empty shelves and an empty refrigerator, I became angry and decided at that moment that I would attempt to master the art of cooking for one.

I made a list and went to the supermarket determined to stock my shelves and refrigerator with cooking supplies. I had fun on that shopping trip. As I acquainted myself with specialized sections of the supermarket, I realized that I did not have to buy in quantity. This allowed me to be a bit more creative in my selections and made the adventure a more personal one.

From the butcher I purchased specific items to build meals around: one pork chop, a quarter-pound of bacon, and a T-bone steak. In the produce section I picked out a tomato, an apple, two bananas and a potato. Adding to a growing menu, I chose milk, some orange juice, cereal, and a carton of cottage cheese. My last purchase was a small German chocolate cake, my favorite dessert. At the checkout counter I realized delightedly that it would be mine to savor from the first bite to the last! Feeling proud and satisfied, I headed for home with a week's supply of groceries.

For some unknown reason that week is planted indelibly in my memory. I think it might be because I felt that I had made another significant stride along the road to living alone successfully. I will never forget the anticipation I felt prior to each cooking experience and the feeling of smug satisfaction once it was completed. It felt so good to be prepared to cook instead of wondering where the next meal was to be had. That feeling perpetuated itself and, as the years have gone by, I've come to enjoy cooking for myself in a way I never imagined was possible in the beginning (pp 133-134).

Living Alone and Liking It by Lynn Shahan. New York: Stratford Press. 1981. ISBN 0-936906-02-2