Fancy living out of an SUV?
With all your worldly possessions safely tucked in the boot, you would be at liberty to go where your heart takes you.
I RECENTLY read about am an w ho’s been living out ofhis SUV for the past year. And no, he isn’t an unemployed person who’ d be sleeping under a bridge if it weren’t for his vehicle. He’s a successful young executive who’ s taken to living by the side of the road simply because he enjoys the minimalist lifestyle. Indeed, he claims all his world ly possessions are stored neatly in the boot ofhis SUV.
No more paying rent. No more utility bills–he shower sat his gym and uses public toilets. And no more buying stuff he really doesn’ t need .
Can you imagine if this w ere to catch on with other single people? If you’re a workaholic, it would be like w inning the lottery. You could park your vehicle outside your place of work one Monday morning, and refuse to leave–ever.
Likewise, alcoholics would be forever parked outside a convenient pub. I mean to say, why stagger all the way home just to vomit over the cat w hen you can stagger into your vehicle and vomit over the sheep sitting on the front seat.
In the morning, when you wake with them other of all headaches, you w ill realise that your sheepskin seat covers look abit messy. But you won’ t care, because getting rid of them will fit right in with your minimalist lifestyle.
Ofcourse, living in an SUV could also get abit scary, especially w hen the neighbourhood peeping Toms, stalkers and other perverts discover an inhabited car in their street. They might be inclined to drop by uninvited one evening, just as you’ re wriggling into your sleeping bag.
As you strain your ears, you might wonder if the noise outside is the wind whistling down the street or someone’s heavy breathing.
And what if someone were to steal your SUV while you’ re at work? The newspaper headlines the next day might scream :“Man steals home and abandon sit at side of North-South highway .”
On the plus side, car dwellers usually say it’s liberating to be free from all the unnecessary stuff that most of us accumulate. Less stuff means less cleaning, less money spent, and less stress trying to keep up with the latest trends.
Living in a car long-term is not for everyone. I know some w omen who couldn’ t fit their shoe collection into there ar of an SUV, never mind any ofthe other stuff they own.
Shoe fanatics aside, I suspect most people would find it difficult to live with the barest of essentials.
The problem stems from the fact that many of us don’ t know the difference between “need” and “w ant” .
“I can’t live without my 12- step cleansing and moist uri sing system ,” someone might declare .“And don’ t ask met ogive up my handbag collection. I’d rather die than do that .” And that’s just the modern male speaking.
When it comes to clothes, you might w ant to ask yourself if you really “need ” 30 pairs of socks, 20 bras, and 29 t- shirts.
Then there are the people w ho cling onto stuff for sentimental reasons.
“Where w ill I put my collection of garden gnomes ,” the avid gardener might whine, when you suggest the benefit sofa minimalist lifestyle. “Some of them w ere inherited from my father.”
“You can’t possibly expect me to give up my grand mother’s d inner set,” someone else might say. “Every time I look at one of her plates, I’m remind ed of her.”
That same d inner set probably never gets used. Maybe it’s not really your style, maybe it looks dated, but you cling onto it as if it w ere the Holy Grail.
When you pass on, one of your children will inherit it. They don’ t like it, but guilt w ill prevent them from giving it away. So they sta shit ina cup board, along with the other stuff they can’t possibly get rid of.
The d inner set is not your grand - mother. It’s just some stuff that used to belong to her. The memories you have of someone are not in a plate, or agard en gnome, or a hideous painting ... they are inside you. Take aphoto of a plate ( ifyou must ), donate the dinner set, and enjoy the freed om.
Ofcourse, ifmy grand mother had left me a Picasso, I wouldn’ t take a photo of it and donate to someone. If I really liked it, I would keep it. But ifit d id n’t inspire me in anyway, I’d sell it, and put the money to good use. Maybe buy a luxury SUV.
But I think I’d pass on the sheepskin seat covers.
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