Building a Community One Trash Can at a Time

We sold our house in California in after I retired in 2023 and bought a newly built townhome in Oregon to be closer to our daughter. 

It's a compact neighborhood of 40 one-car garage townhomes on lots that are, as my daughter so elegantly stated, "The size of a Ritz cracker." We did that intentionally, as we are embracing a more minimalistic lifestyle. We don't want a lot of stuff, and a cracker-size lot forces you to think compact.

A neighborhood this tight comes with narrow streets, limited places to park and, though we consolidated down to a single car, the same can't be said for the majority of our neighbors. Cars are parked in every nook and cranny. People have a adjusted and it only becomes a problem on trash day.

Which is where this life lesson begins: