For a number of years, I’ve been drawn to the tiny house movement. Just over a year ago, I attended a weekend workshop to learn about tiny theory and practice, and to experiment with my own tiny house design. This was to inform a vision I have for building an accessory dwelling unit on our property, so that we could provide some housing infill in our neighborhood and generate some rental income for ourselves.
The heart of the draw of tiny for me is its simplicity and its incredibly creative efficiency of design. Spaces and features can be transformed to serve multiple uses, and every cubic foot and inch has been considered for its best effectiveness and to serve a priority living need. Nothing is wasted. Despite many styles, the result (in appearance) is simple and charming. The result in lifestyle by “going tiny” however, is huge, because the dramatic reduction in house-related expenses yields a big, free life.
So, what’s this got to do with celebrancy?
Being a celebrant was the result of my choice to make my work in the world, rather than finding a job that someone else needed doing. Being a celebrant - my brand of celebrant - is transforming my vision and passion, into paid employment. And the tiny thing about it, at this stage of its development, is the money it makes. I don’t expect Vermont Celebrants’ gross revenue this year to exceed even 10% of the last salary I drew, which was a comfortable middle class salary.
However! As a result of this decision to make my own work, my days have never provided me more variety than they do now. In my work, which is ever-brimming with creative opportunities, so much is at stake! Everything I do matters. I get to decide Yes or No on all matters; I get to manifest the look, feel, and sound of my brand and observe folks’ response. It’s mine, so it’s all on me.
Granted, I do not have to live on my income alone; it’s combined with that of my spouse. But she and I had grown used to a lifestyle afforded by two similar-sized salaries. Financially, we had been comfortable, but building Vermont Celebrants has meant major belt-tightening and finding creative ways to save and stretch our dollars. For the time being, for example, we’re on a “vacation diet,” and are acutely aware of our (now, occasional) choice to go out to dinner, or to the movies. $20 or $40 is worth a lot more to us now than it used to be.
One of our household-cost-saving changes was for me to become a Worker Member at our local food co-op. I now volunteer four or more hours a month at one of a number of mission-aligned nonprofits in exchange for 12% off our groceries. All summer, I weeded and mulched in community gardens filled with young fruit and nut trees. Now, I volunteer at a food shelf, and soon will be “rescuing” food from grocery stores that would otherwise go to waste, so that food-insecure folks can enjoy it for free. And I’ll be delivering groceries to home-bound clients, too.
What I had not expected from this volunteering was the huge and satisfying bonus it adds to my life! I’m meeting more people and contributing to the health and contentment of my community. I’m getting exercise out in the beauty of Vermont. My life is richer for it, and I’m not just saying that; I feel it in my energy and my attitude on a regular basis.
Tiny living is about paring down to the essentials — the things that matter most — and allowing the extraneous accumulation of everyone else’s expectations to slough off and blow away on the wind. And when my days are filled with a variety of these essential goodies, then I experience a brightness, gratitude, and contentedness that I would not trade for mere money.