I am totally obsessed with tiny homes. My best friend youtube and I spend hours watching what other people are building for themselves.
Why Build a Tiny Home?
- Leaving the rent trap
- Portability
- No available housing in your area
- Off grid availability
- Down Sizing
- Simplify Life
- Pay off your housing in 1-2 years
- Just done with huge houses and cleaning
Tiny Homes Not Just for Ultra Green Folks
With the exception of a few items “things” do not thrill me. I want time, relationship and experience.
Cleaning and maintaining a house is also not my joy. If you are like me manipulating your stuff to create order in your living space just makes you cranky.
Once thinking that more space might solve this issue my husband and I built a 2400 square foot house. Not the answer! More space, more stuff, more work.
My House Needs to Work for Me
At this age with two kids only 8 years away from leaving home I want more time with them. My house needs to work for me rather than me working for my house. This is true both financially and physically.
As a kid I remember a few friends families who spent their Saturdays working on the yard and pool. Yuck! (Now if gardening is your joy please, please don’t stop.)
A smaller living space means a forced reduction of stuff and a planned reduction in cost.
Less Debt More Options
Are single family homes still the American dream? Very few people are able to buy a house without a mortgage. Most financial gurus agree that a mortgage is “acceptable” debt.
Is any debt really acceptable?
Infusing the family cash flow with $1000-1500 a month from a lack of a mortgage or rent would mean what to your family?
- A Parent at Home for kids
- Leave a job you hate explore one you love
- Pay off other debt
- Cook, Play, Read, Bike
- Save for (college, retirement, travel)
- Start a Business
Create a Home Just For You
When we built our 2400 square foot house we had limited design control. Maintaining a tight budget kept every detail at bare minimum.
Not a cookie cutter market, the tiny home builder or customer spends a lot of time reflecting on how they live and what is important. Is it wood that makes a house warm and cozy for you? Is it lots of light? Do you need a large kitchen or a soaking tub?
Often hand carved or build out of recycled materials a tiny home offers opportunities that are too pricey on a larger scale.
Scraps and left overs off large home building sites are prime materials for a smaller space.
Then comes the real test.
How do I Down Size My Stuff To Fit My Tiny Home?
Heather and Paul a couple who builds Tiny Homes in Oregon gave themselves two years to clear out their storage units after building a personal Tiny Home. Heather said “After living without that stuff (the things in storage) for over two years it was easier to get rid of it.” See the teams first tiny home build here.
Maybe that is why it is called a “Tiny Home Movement”. It is a life style change as well as a housing option. Each sweater, book or cookware you keep is beloved and multifunctional.
For most tiny home dwellers it is a process. Down sizing without a major catastrophe does not happen over night. A temporary storage unit maybe the answer as you detach from all your stuff.
Is A Tiny Home Right For You?
As a family we are asking these questions right now.
- What do we really want from our living space?
- What do we want to trade in work, time and care taking in order to have a larger house?
- Are we willing to do the research to have a tiny house?
- Is there a tiny house we could rent to see if we like it or not?
- Do we live in location that a tiny house is possible?
- What is the resale value of a tiny home?
- Can we talk with other tiny home dwellers to see what they learned?
- Will a tiny home really give us a debt free life style?
Build a Virtual Tiny Home with Google Sketch-up
Stop dreaming and build your tiny home virtually! Google sketch-up is a free design tool that lets you dream in 3D. Their new tiny home on wheels version lets you set up exactly what works for you! Take a look at this tutorial.
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