Professor Dumpster is home after a year spent living in 2x2m bin
UNIVERSITY lecturer Jeff Wilson moved into a bin for a year. He has now left his 2x2m living quarters — and says it wasn’t rubbish at all.
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JEFF Wilson became known as Professor Dumpster after he moved into a bin for a year.
The environmental science lecturer has now left his unusual, 2x2m living quarters — but he says it wasn’t rubbish at all.
Prof Wilson, from Austin, Texas, claims he was liberated by living in the cramped dumpster on campus at Huston-Tillotson University.
“I wanted to test the absolute limits and see what it did to my life,” he told news.com.au. “I was happier, and better off, not only after the experiment was over, but during as well.
“Having less space clears a lot of noise in your life. I spent more time in the community and on campus. I cut my commute from 30 minutes to 30 seconds, and my rent was almost nothing. I found myself thinking outside the box from within the box.”
Prof Wilson came up with the Dumpster Project with the help of students and experts, renovating the garbage container to create a tiny, sustainable home. And it certainly brought him closer to nature.
“In the middle of the Texas summer it got to 45C or 46C, and down to -3C or -4C in winter. I didn’t have heating or air conditioning for six months, so that was pretty rough.”
No matter how freezing the weather, Prof Wilson would have to slip into his thermals and dash across campus to use the toilets and gym showers.
“At first, I had no electricity or water,” he adds. “Getting 20 litres of water up a 1.2km hill, you think a lot more about your water use.”
Stealing wi-fi off the neighbours was less arduous.
When he started the “ridiculous” experiment, Prof Wilson sold all his possessions within in an hour on Facebook, hawking off every item for $1. He moved into the dumpster — which is one per cent of the size of the average American home — with just a rucksack full of things.
His girlfriend and young daughter wouldn’t stay overnight, however, so he had to spend a few evenings away from his unorthodox conversion over the 12 months.
“I’m living with my girlfriend now and it feels so huge,” says the 6ft 1in professor, after moving out earlier this month. “I think about space a lot, and the stuff I have. I still only have four shirts and three pairs of shoes and I feel really comfortable with that.
“Once your things are gone, it’s like going to uni for the first time or travelling the world. It’s very freeing. You learn about the things you don’t need — an ice machine, a fridge-freezer, a clothes dryer.”
So what item did he miss the most? “A real bed you don’t have to fold up.”
Now, the professor has canned his dumpster adventure and is embracing other kinds of housing. He is trying to design a house that fits into a parking space, but still has a bathroom and looks attractive, to see how a crowded city could save on space.
His next project, 99 Nights, will see him stay overnight in 99 different Texan properties, from a caravan to a mansion, “to see what makes a home a home”. And these days, no one would dare trash his ideas.
Find out more on The Dumpster Project’s website.
Originally published as Professor Dumpster is home after a year spent living in 2x2m bin
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