I recently read an old (July 2009) blog by Scott Adams called Cheapotopia. It triggered some thoughts.

First, I agree that engineers are not necessarily cheap, rather they are optimizers. And that that it is not only possible but desirable to simplify one's lifestyle as much as possible to maximize enjoyment and minimize complexity and expense.

But I disagree on the rest:

"... the era of ridiculous consumption is over ..."
What is "ridiculous"? What is "consumption"? Value is subjective and the answers vary from one person to another.
Whenever anyone says this, what he really is saying is that he disagrees with someone else's value choices or lifestyle.

"If we want universal healthcare, ... learn how to make do with less"
Here, "we" is the key word. If somebody wants better health care and wants to "make do with less" in order to attain it, that is his decision.
But to say "we", rather than "I", suggests something different. It suggests that one wants other people to give things up, in order to provide health care for everyone else. The difference is setting one's own priorities versus enforcing one's own priorities on others.

"... simplifying our lives, getting rid of the waste ..."
One man's waste is another man's value. Again the key word is "our". Everyone is free to define what is wasteful in his own life and get rid of it.
But the word "our" suggests something more than a personal decision. It implies defining what is wasteful in other people's lives and forcing them to get rid of it, which is an entirely different thing.

"... in Cheapatopia, no one would ever again hire a babysitter or put their dog in the kennel while they are on vacation. That sort of thing would all be done by neighbors, and you would know those neighbors well."
So long as people are free to live where they want, you cannot control who your neighbors are. You may know them well but that does not mean you share their values or approve of their lifestyle. In fact, if you don't, you probably won't know them well since you would have little in common.
In the real world, your neighbors may not like your dog, and you may not trust them with your children.