Green Minded Wallet

There is a block that I have to walk (sometimes run) down in order to catch the bus into school. There are six houses on the block. Today a new ‘for sale’ sign went up which means that three of the six houses are now for sale. What’s more, two of the other houses sprouted ‘for sale/for rent’ signs last year (both were rented). Now I happen to know that the two houses for sale are not distressed sales (at least not yet), but there were young people who bought into the neighborhood despite being in school and not planning to stay for more than a few years. I don’t know much about the third house for sale. The two houses that rented this fall have been rental properties for a while. Still it’s a lot of turn over for one block. I wonder what the people in the sixth house think? What happens if one of the rental houses goes up for sale again; I wonder if it would scare off potential buyers?

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So when I got back from my Christmas trip back east, I noticed that one of the ceiling tiles in my bedroom was soaked and sagging ominously. I promptly called my landlord and after a few phone calls I learned that I was in a queue as a small backlog had occurred due to the holidays. When I called back a few days later, I mentioned that I had also noticed a little drip in my bathroom sink and one in the kitchen sink as well. A few days later when the maintenance service man finished I ended up with quite a few new ceiling tiles, a new bathroom faucet, a new bathroom showerhead, and a repaired kitchen sink. It turns out that there were a few cracks in the aged bathroom appliances that caused them to run extra water, but I was just so used to them that I didn’t really pay it much attention. Anyway, they’re fixed now so I should be able to save a bit more water in the bathroom. It did make me feel a bit ashamed of the fact that I’m always looking for more painstaking ways to conserve but there were some really simple problems that could have been solved earlier with a simple phone call.

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The personal finance consequences of the poor choices made during the recent housing boom/bubble/souffle/permanently high plateau are often discussed in the media. Things such as personal savings wiped out to ‘feed the gator’, years of blemished credit due to missed payments, as well as high mortgage costs making it difficult for people to save are now frequently discussed as repercussions of the housing euphoria. While the financial impacts of the housing boom which has gripped America and large portions of the world are frequently discussed, few people are discussing the environmental impacts of this phenomenon, so I thought that I would list some here. These are a few of the negative environmental consequences of the housing boom.

1. Supply has far outstripped demand so that we have a large number of hastily built houses constructed with unsustainable materials and a large amount of waste. Have you ever seen a dumpster near a construction site?
2. Older working fixtures and appliances have been replaced with newer ones during so-called upgrades and flips. These discarded pieces often end up in landfills. Furthermore, many of the new appliances aren’t chosen with increased energy efficiency or sustainability in mind. Granite and travertine upgrades come to mind.
3. To increase profitability (and profit margins) given the high increases in lot prices, bigger homes were built. This results in the use of more materials and more energy consumption.
4. Destruction of vegetation, landscape, and microclimate occurred to make space for more homes. These types of changes can cause increased runoff and sedimentation (issues for water quality) as well as displacement of local animal populations.

I believe that there are more impacts, some which might not be discovered for years to come. Can you think of any others, or perhaps ways to mitigate some of the negative environmental outcomes we may experience because of our hastiness?

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Last week I wrote about some of the advantages of living in smaller quarters. However, I realize that it’s not necessarily as easy as it sounds. Some people have pets, like dogs. I am one of those people. So how do you determine the right size living space for you and your dog? Here are some of my experiences.

• It’s not about the name. I once had a good friend who insisted on telling me that having a dog in an “apartment” is cruel. Well, it can be, but it isn’t always. Dogs come in all different sizes and so do apartments. Furthermore townhouses, duplexes, and the like are often lumped with apartments and these can have nice-sized yards. Here’s an example: I live in a nice-size apartment (2bd+bonus room) that is the first floor of a turn-of-the-century (2oth) house. With a fenced-in area. There is also a dog run for the upstairs apartment. My neighbors across the street have a whole house, but no fenced-in area so they put their dog outside on a chain. I definitely think chaining a dog is a lot crueler than letting them run around in a fenced-in yard.
• Every dog is different. Just because you have a big house with a big yard doesn’t mean that your dog is going to be running around all day. Talking to people I am surprised how many put their dogs in crates and kennels while they’re gone. And I’m not just talking about puppies, I know five- and six year-old dogs who are crated. Why? Because they had separation anxiety issues. If you want to know what a dog with separation anxiety issues can do, I highly recommend Marley and Me by John Grogan. Even if you don’t care about doggie mental issues, I still recommend it for any dog lover.
• Every dog does not need a yard. There are a lot of wussy dogs out there. Seriously, I’ve known quite a few dogs that hate to be outside, they would much prefer to be curled up at someone’s feet or on someone’s lap than chasing squirrels outside. Also, some dogs are escape artists (I have one of those). These dogs can dig, chew, climb, or jump their way out of just about any fenced yard. For these dogs, leaving them unattended outside can be just too great a liability, so it’s better if they have limited time to run around freely, and instead great more of their exercise through supervised activities.
• Spend time learning your dog’s needs. Because every dog is different, the only way that you can really ascertain your dog’s needs is by being there for them. My dog loves people, and she loves being around other dogs. It doesn’t matter if she’s inside or outside, small space or big space she like to have company for a good part of the day. Also recognize that your dogs’ needs will change as they get older. My dog certainly moves around less now that she’s not a puppy, but she still has plenty of energy. She’s content to sleep inside and lounge around while I’m at school, but spends time outside in the mornings and evenings, sometimes playing with my neighbors’ dogs in their very large yard.
• Dogs love their owners. Most of them. I’ve found that having a big house, or big yard isn’t as important as spending time with your dog (same goes for kids). Paying attention to your pet can go a long way to bridge the gap of small space. Dogs often chew because they’re bored. Yes, they can get bored in 500 sqft, but they can also get bored in 2500 sqft if no one ever pays them any attention.

I don’t think that you can assign a rule of thumb to sizing, you just have to know your pet and be willing to make adjustments to your housing, budget, and lifestyle. But that doesn’t mean that you can’t make environmentally and financially sound housing choices will balancing your pet’s needs, it just means that you have to work a little harder.

Have you successfully had a pet in a smaller space? I would love to hear some advice and feedback (dissension is also welcome).

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According to the National Association of Home Builders, in 1975 the average square footage of a new home was 1,645. In 2005 it was 2434. And the average American family size has gotten smaller, not larger (from 2.94 persons per household to 2.57 during the same time period - US Census Bureau). While the homes may keep getting bigger on bigger, here are some reasons to live in small digs. Besides the fact that housing costs often increase with size, there are other reasons, quality of construction being equal, to consider a smaller dwelling.

• Lower utilities. If you live in a small place you will have less space to heat, cool, and light.
• Lower furnishing costs. Unless you plan on setting up mediation rooms you’re probably going to want to furnish all the different areas of your house. Oh, and decorate. Seeing as kids’ rugs at Target can cost a c-note, little decorative touches can add up fast.
• Less stuff. The more space you have the more space you have to put stuff. Have you ever driven by a three car garage and seen it completely filled with things that weren’t vehicles?
• Less space to clean. Less money spent on cleaning products, and less time spent cleaning that could be spent doing other things.

If you can think of others, let me know. I moved at the beginning of the year to a larger apartment in a new town. Even though my rent is lower, I definitely notice higher heating bills (despite having better windows). I spend a lot more time cleaning. And it gets to be really hard to fight the urge to fill-up some of the empty space with furnishings. Just think, if you go for smaller digs, the money you save could go to other things in life that you value.

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