Unclutterer

1. Posted by Living the Balanced Life - 01/19/2011

   The story about the Gen Y not wanting McMansions was very interesting. It makes so much more sense. Look at all the large houses that have gone into foreclosure. Who in the world needs a 4500 sq foot house? And common recreation and amenities, makes sesne as far as costs and resources uses. I think the recession and this younger generation will total restructure the housing industry for the future. And though it may be painful at first, it will be a good change.
   Bernice

2. Posted by PatGLex - 01/19/2011

   The article about beating procrastination with a stopwatch hit home for me. I frequently use a kitchen timer to get to things that have piled up — like the breakfast/lunch prep dishes that I can never get to when I come home after Job #2 at night. I’ll do 10 minutes with dishes, then 10 minutes doing another thing that needs to get done (like decluttering from a stored box, or a counter, or a shelf), and rotate between the two until they are finished. Frequently the job doesn’t even take that 10-15 minutes time span, and I wish I could get that into my brain that if I just do it when it needs to get done it takes less time!

3. Posted by Sue - 01/19/2011

   I, too, am happy to see what may be the beginning of the end of the McMansions, and maybe even the car-dependent culture. I just hope that Gen Y doesn’t change their minds when they start families.

4. Posted by Momma Yen - 01/19/2011

   I am a Gen Y and the article on the Mcmansions described my husband and I to a T! We only have 1 car and pay a little higher rent where we are at because I can walk to the library, store, and park from our apartment. And when we decide to buy a house we already have ideas of our “forever” house, and with 3 kids already, it doesn’t include more than 1500 sq feet. And the no soaking tubs, no formal living room…made me lol! That’s stuff we have talked about not needing! Great articles!

5. Posted by JustGail - 01/19/2011

   Interesting about the Gen Y and McMansions. I’m definately not a Gen Y, but sometimes I think that I’d love to retire somewhere warm and where I can walk to get groceries, see a movie, etc.

   As far as not depending on cars, it’s not likely to ever happen in rural areas. Even in the horse & buggy days, most people had their own horse & buggy. And today, many people living in rural areas need to get to town for their jobs.

   As for the books, I’d be curious what Peter Walsh has to say. Is he as anti-credit card as D. Ramsey, or more moderate like S. Ormond? The other 2 sound like check out from the library material (interesting read, but might not be purchase-worthy for me).

6. Posted by Don't have a McMansion, don't eat at McDonalds either - 01/19/2011

   The McMansion article is very good, thanks for the link. I was struck by the stats though. If there are more Gen Ys than baby boomers, why all the press (and younger generation hate) about how many baby boomers there are? Are the Ys the new baby boomers? lol

7. Posted by Amy - 01/19/2011

   What? No Unitasker Wednesday???

8. Posted by lucy1965 - 01/19/2011

   We’re Gen X, our son is Gen Y: we bought our present home 10 years ago because it was two doors down from his school, on a major public transit line and within walking distance of three grocery stores, two bakeries, an art house cinema and the biggest public green space in the city. His friends came over every day after school, and we were glad to be a second home for them (even if 13 teenagers in the family room do get a bit loud!).

   When he graduates from university in the summer, we’re selling up and moving to an apartment much like the one described in the article: neither of us want the upkeep of a yard, and we have better things to do than clean rooms we now tend to walk through to get to the parts of the house we actually use.

   We’re both lucky enough to work from home and use Zipcar and Light Rail to get around outside our neighborhood; that said, I agree with JustGail that those in rural areas — like my parents and brother — will always need access to cars: there is NO public transit of any kind in their town.

9. Posted by JustGail - 01/19/2011

   I forgot to add – towns in rural areas that do have public transportation (buses), most run from about about 7AM-7PM weekdays only. Outside those hours – call a taxi. Which is not exactly cheap, although that’s cheaper than owning a car if you only need to make a short trip occasionally. And sometimes calling friends or relatives for a ride is more expensive (not talking financially) than a taxi.

10. Posted by tmichelle - 01/19/2011

    I’m gen X as is my husband (but we’re close to the end). The article on McMansions describes us! We downsized to an apartment and never want to go back (ever). We’d love for our future home when we move to be an apartment/condo with almost everything they mentioned. I wonder if this is more of a trend in our era than a generational trend.

11. Posted by Naomi - 01/20/2011

    Erin, the “royal couple” link isn’t working for me. (You don’t have to keep this comment up; just wanted to let you know)

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