Bloke downsizes from a £250k three-bed house to a shipping container – and now saves £700 a month

A BLOKE who swapped his comfortable three-bedroom house for a shipping container says he’s never been happier - and now saves £700 a month. 

Jay Adler, 30, lived in a £250,000 house in Cheltenham, with his then-wife, while working nine-to-five in an office.

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But after his marriage of eight years broke down in July, Jay took the opportunity to overhaul his lifestyle, and quit his job in marketing. 

He moved into a 20ft - 8ft shipping container, on a decommissioned farm just outside of town, and spent £3,000 transforming it into a cosy home. 

He fitted the container with a kitchen, insulation, a bed and TV, and he even added a 6ft x 4ft shed where he put his bathroom. 

Now Jay’s living expenses have been slashed from £1,025 to just £325 a month, saving him hundreds. 

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He said: "For everyone, 2020 has been a bit crazy.

"Splitting up with my partner was my catalyst for change and living simply was always something I wanted to do.

"I had a house, a wife and an office job, as well as a very standard life. I never really signed up for that, it kind of just happened.

"My marriage ending was such a big change already, that living simply was just the next step.”

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He found the container and sought permission from the landlady to move in, and after she said yes he packed up his entire life to fit into the 14st ft space.

But it wasn’t his first taste of shipping containers, as Jay had previously opened a pub, called The Outdoor Inn, inside two shipping containers. 

After opening last March with his business partner, Matt Nolan, 30, Jay hopes he will be able to run it full-time after the pandemic is over. 

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He admitted this inspired him to look at the unusual space for a home, saying: "When we were working on the bar, I saw how convenient and useable shipping containers are.

"After that, using one for a home seemed to be the perfect fit."

Jay reckons it was a smart time to move, as his living expenses are now so low in such an unstable time, saying saving £700 a month is “certainly welcome”.

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While he may have downsized his home, Jay still enjoy the trappings of modern life including WiFi, electricity and running water. 

He said: “It's not 100 per cent off-grid. The location itself would be, but I do have a water feed from the farm and I do have an electricity supply, which is constantly running.

"I still drive to work in a company van, but I have stripped a lot of unnecessary stuff away and that's brought me real joy.

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"The things that I have in the container serve a purpose.

"I do have to take my clothes to a launderette in town but, basically, I have everything I need to live comfortably.

"Music is one of my big passions. The record player in the shipping container takes up a good amount of space, so that shows the importance it has in my life.

"In normal times, I'd be going to gigs and festivals, so this is the closest I'll get to that for a while."

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And while he loves his new set-up, he admitted not everyone was quite as enthusiastic. 

He revealed his sister, homemaker Leanne Jennings, 29, wasn’t sold on his new lifestyle. 

Jay admitted: “I think she had an image in her head that I was in the container with nothing inside. You know, maybe a mattress on the floor with no electricity.

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"When she saw photos of it, I think she was relieved to see that wasn't the case at all."

And after swapping a house for a container, Jay said he’s never going back to bricks and mortar.

He said: “There is definitely something to be said for simple living. I think people can, to a degree, become obsessed with material items and possessions and the way society is, it becomes a big part of your life.

"It feels like there is never an end to it, you always want more.

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"Yet, when you strip it all back, you can find yourself really enjoying yourself by living simply.

"I walk a lot more than I used to. I read a lot more and listen to way more music. In fact, I have ended up doing far more of the things I really enjoy.

"I'll definitely be here for the foreseeable future - I love it."

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