COLUMN: Downsizing trend prompts decisions about stuff

If there were any doubt America is the land of extremes, the recent trend in downsizing homes is proof that once again the pendulum is shifting in a big way.

Many local builders have made their living building enormous trophy homes in the Flathead over the past couple of decades, and I’ve always thought it’s such a waste to have some of those homes — many of them second or third homes for the affluent — sit empty except for a few weeks out of the year. Times are changing, and this kind of conspicuous consumption seems to be on its way out.

Less is more these days, and that goes for homes, too. Fortune magazine recently observed that “when tiny house-themed reality shows arrive, you know the movement is more than a passing trend.”

I’m not ready to pack up and move to a 600-square-foot tiny house, even if it is the most energy-efficient space known to man. I don’t want to have to crawl up a ladder in my golden years to sleep in a microscopic loft or have a bathroom the size of a postage stamp. I’ll keep my three-bedroom rambler, thank you very much, because I like my space, modest though it be, and I like having a “man cave” in the basement where my husband can hole up for hours on end.

This downsizing trend has prompted a lot of discussion about how much stuff we really need, and what we can do to pare down our possessions. I read an article recently that itemized the 10 things you should save for your children. High-school speech trophies and grandma’s china aren’t on the list.

I’m all for casting off unneeded stuff, but it’s much easier said than done. An older reporter who worked at the Inter Lake a few years ago confided that she had boxes upon boxes of newspapers from throughout her career. She still schlepped the many heavy boxes every time she moved.

I have a couple of boxes of old newspaper clippings of stories I’ve written through the years, and that might be one of the things I’ll hang onto to pass on to my kids. Future generations almost certainly won’t recognize a “hard copy” of a newspaper on actual newsprint.

It’s difficult to know what our children will treasure when they’ll be sifting through the boxes of stuff we’ve left behind. Some of my most treasured possessions, other than photographs, are the notes and handmade cards my daughters crafted in grade school. Would they save them or toss them?

I have a box of Dad’s trophies from accordion competitions through the years. Should I pitch them, or will his grandchildren and great-grandchildren find them worthy artifacts?

One of my favorite treasures is a fluted plate made from the original etched window glass of the old Lutheran church where I spent so many hours as a child. I’m thankful the church ladies had the wherewithal to find a company that created such keepsakes from old church windows. But I wonder if this is something my children will keep for my sake.

The underlying benefit of this downsizing trend is that it makes us consider what’s worth saving now rather than later. Whether I opt for sparse or superfluous amounts of stuff remains to be seen.

Features editor Lynnette Hintze may be reached at 758-4421 or by email at lhintze@dailyinterlake.com.