People | Offbeat Home

This is Offbeat Home's archive of People posts.

"Homeowner", "renter" or "squatter" – whatever the label, these occupants take the Offbeat wherever they go.

Most Recent Posts About People

As part of spring cleaning, I'm sifting through closets and trying to figure out what I need and what I've got too much of. As part of this process, I'm realizing that I've got an overabundance of certain objects … all of them gifts. See, Andreas and I seem to attract certain types of presents, and while each gift has been deeply appreciated and a great idea, I have several boxes full of duplicated great ideas that I'm now guilt-battling to say "I don't need all of these, get rid of some." When I looked at the gifts that just kept on coming, patterns emerged. Once I'd identified the gifts we got over and over again, I decided to start dropping hints about related alternatives…

Large parties are rife with what I call "fringe friends" — strangers, distant family, or people you don't know intimately. You might get invited to (or asked to organize) a wedding, reunion, baby shower, barbecue, work function, or camping trip. If you're shy, this can be a source of anxiety instead of fun. Large parties prove difficult for those who are shy, and are a true challenge for the introverted host.

Here's what has worked for me when hosting and socially navigating large parties.

I had a plan, and it was to get my cat to go to the bathroom outside. (My "outside" means our tiny balcony off of our living room.) This has LONG been a goal, but was only just accomplished with the help of a few key products and some training.

The caption on the video basically sums it up. The weirdest roommate ever: yourself.

I LOVE BIRTHDAYS. They make me very excited. Happily, I have a husband who, while less excitable, loves me for my super-planning tendencies. This is the birthday party I threw him this year.

In the recent foreclosure crisis in the United States, a disproportionate amount of women and racial minorities were the victims of subprime loans and mortgages with adjustable interest rates — statistics that speak to inequality in housing. For Anita Hill, there is a "sense of belonging that comes from being at home" – so what happens when one is without a home? Reimagining Equality reveals that these biases are historic in the American construction of what "home" means.

Rockethaus is pretty public. I run two blogs dealing specifically with homes, I tweet pretty much all the time, and I am also a normal Young Professional living in America. A LOT of my life happens online, publicly, where other people have access to it, even people I don't know terribly well. We talk about parties, problems, events, and projects, and we do a lot of it completely in the open. My mom would argue that it's dangerous for people to know where I live and what my habits are, but I prefer to think it's part of community building.

So last week, my partner got an amazing job offer in another state. He accepted the offer on Tuesday. Yesterday, he moved into his new apartment six hours away from our home.

We had to make quick decisions and plan a second Rockethaus household in the last few days, and I'm finding myself thinking about very different home topics: Safety! Security! How fast can I acquire more cats! Will I eat anything besides potatoes!

Yes, folks. I'm now entering a lifestyle known as "Living Apart Together." It's not as uncommon as you might think — hey, there's even a Wikipedia entry all about it — but it is new to me. Here's how the transition is going…