"One professor left his home for a 36-square-foot open-air box, and he is happier for it. How much does a person really need?" asks James Hamblin at The Atlantic. That professor, Jeff Wilson of Huston-Tillotson University, was recently living in a 2500 square foot home in the University's town of Austin, Texas. But after a divorce and other life-downsizing, he found himself contemplating a bit of a research experiment—living in a thoughtfully converted 36 square foot dumpster on University grounds.

While many of the takeaways from his new life are predictable (he feels more freedom with fewer possessions, for example). One of his most profound "discoveries" is related to community. Without many of the private facilities that are "musts" in modern American life, Wilson finds himself connected to his community and neighbors in new ways—including at the humble laundromat. "'What if everybody had to go to some sort of laundromat?' Wilson posited. 'How would that shift how we have to, or get to, interact with others? I know I have met a much wider circle of people just from going to laundromats and wandering around outside of the dumpster when I would've been in there if I had a large flat screen and a La-Z Boy.'"

Possible Preaching Angle:

Striving for community may be as simple as downsizing a bit, with an open mind to discover the people around us.