Tiny living

[av8torcrj]

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[nayeli]

I lived in an RV for a number of years and it was one of the most freeing and enjoyable times of my life. There was a run down 1000 sq/ft house on the 50 acres I bought 15 years ago and the plan was to patch it up as a place to stay while building a larger home. That larger home never materialized and we are living happily off the land, mortgage free, in the older but now comfortable home. In my book, less really is more.

I wish we had more land =) Sometimes I wish we had a bigger house but thats because we are TTC and not for us. I think its all about the simple stuff =)

 

[Arielle]

I have visit a friend that by technical definition is "homeless". He has a wonderful litle set up that is a tent made of tarps and one "room is walled with plastic to be a huge window letting in the light. THe set up is ingenious in the simplicity. At the picture window is his desk to write and read with a wooden chair and his cooking area carefully constructed for safety while cooking in a small chimney style fire. I envy the simplicity of his living-- in his free time he is at the library -- reading and learning more. Even after a lifetime of living of the land farming, he is still learning. A delight to visit with.

 

[Double Kindness]

When my bf and I first moved in together we lived in a tiny 340 sq ft home. We were tripping over each other, but very silly in love happy.

We only lived there 6 months before we bought our current house 5.5 blocks from where we used to live, our place is not that much bigger really, just 780 sq ft living space, but just the 2 of us, 54 chickens, 6 ducks, 2 greyhounds, 2 rabbits lol on over .5 acre. We have several detached buildings, a barn with a separate 14' tall indoor greenhouse growing area and a 2 car garage, an unfinished basement that I store food, and a full sized washer and dryer and another indoor greenhouse area.

This is not as small of a house as we used to have, but it's quite modest and we do a lot here, my bf has a huge metal workshop and is a mechanic also and has his huge gold dredges in there and my kiln.. we're adding 3-5 beehives and 24 cortunix quail in the spring and a moonshine still, we have essential oil extraction equipment, it's my test run at sustainable living until we can pay off the house, sell it and move off the grid. Atm we have over 60% equity built up in just the 9 years we've been together, we're completely debt free except our mortgage, including 3 vehicles and a motorcycle. I'm 41, my bf is 38 this month, my kids are grown, 2 24 year olds and a 20 year old. It is possible with hard work to do anything I believe. I haven't had a job in 9 years and spent 3.5 YEARS in the hospital until 2 years ago, so life has thrown us set backs.

 

[nayeli]

When my bf and I first moved in together we lived in a tiny 340 sq ft home. We were tripping over each other, but very silly in love happy.

We only lived there 6 months before we bought our current house 5.5 blocks from where we used to live, our place is not that much bigger really, just 780 sq ft living space, but just the 2 of us, 54 chickens, 6 ducks, 2 greyhounds, 2 rabbits lol on over .5 acre. We have several detached buildings, a barn with a separate 14' tall indoor greenhouse growing area and a 2 car garage, an unfinished basement that I store food, and a full sized washer and dryer and another indoor greenhouse area.

This is not as small of a house as we used to have, but it's quite modest and we do a lot here, my bf has a huge metal workshop and is a mechanic also and has his huge gold dredges in there and my kiln.. we're adding 3-5 beehives and 24 cortunix quail in the spring and a moonshine still, we have essential oil extraction equipment, it's my test run at sustainable living until we can pay off the house, sell it and move off the grid. Atm we have over 60% equity built up in just the 9 years we've been together, we're completely debt free except our mortgage, including 3 vehicles and a motorcycle. I'm 41, my bf is 38 this month, my kids are grown, 2 24 year olds and a 20 year old. It is possible with hard work to do anything I believe. I haven't had a job in 9 years and spent 3.5 YEARS in the hospital until 2 years ago, so life has thrown us set backs.

How do your neighbors feel about all the animals? 1/2 an acre isn't that big.
I think its a good dream though. I like simpler living.

 

[Double Kindness]

The property next door has been abandoned 5+ years, the neighbors are happy and even have taken care of my flock while we went camping. It's an older neighborhood and we have been here a while and the neighbors like us in general anyways, but fresh eggs on occasion are a definite bonus for everyone.

My roosters don't crow very loudly due to a de-crowing surgery, he's semi-quieted. However my clean faced ee sounds like she's a dying cat when she does her egg song.

 

[speckledhen]

I've been looking at youtubes of tiny houses for awhile now and thinking on the subject. Personally, and don't shoot me, I believe that many who are jumping on the bandwagon will be selling them after awhile, or at least, they will not be using them as permanent living. They'll first buy some storage barn for all the stuff they can't cram into them then, they'll find that unacceptable and want some of their stuff back with them. There is no real storage in them other than for basic daily needs. You might say that is the point, but life isn't just looking at four walls. Most people need something else to occupy their minds and those things need a modicum of space. If all they do is check out library books (can't collect many of your own to keep in that space) to read and watch television and live alone or with a like-minded person, maybe they'll find it acceptable and stay in their tiny space.

For instance, you can divest yourself of all your possessions, but what to do with hobby supplies? I quilt and crochet. No room in 100-200 sf for that. My husband is disabled and I have health issues that preclude us being able to climb up to some sleeping loft. I love small(er) living. I had a 1400 sf house, then a brand new 2000 ft house and now, I have less than 1100 sf, plus about 800 unheated sf of basement storage for the two of us. There is no wasted space in this open plan house, no hallway, bathroom is a walk-thru one in between the two bedrooms. We could live with slightly less space, certainly, because our main bedroom is spacious (about 12x15) but where do I put my yarn? My fabric? My sewing machine table and supplies? My husband's violins, books and separate computer system? Do you see where I'm going with this? I don't want to just look at the walls and watch television and read (though I love to read).

If I didn't have all my husband's stuff and interests, yes, I could move down to much less square footage for me alone, but I still need room for my supplies to keep my mind and hands occupied. I would feel cramped in a tiny house for more than a weekend. And I still can't use a sleeping loft. It must have a bedroom on the main floor. There are people in my n'hood who live in 500 sf cabins year round, but some of those also have multiple storage buildings. I could do 500-700 sf for me alone. Good grief, come to think of it, my chicken coops are bigger than some of these tiny houses. We looked at some 800 sf log cabins with no basement storage when we were looking and found this house, part of an estate sale, but we decided they would be too short on storage space, coming from the size house we had previously. Still, my house is small enough not to encourage the sons coming back home to live, LOL.

I would love to put a tiny house on our extra 3 acres for visitors or for when one of us just wants to be alone for awhile, or just to rent out for a weekend, but that necessitates a well being drilled and a septic system dug, both big ticket items, so for now, that will remain a pipe dream.

I say all this because I think it bears some thought for people considering making a move to a permanent home such as this. The "what-if's" need to be addressed, to be truly thought through. There is a sort of romanticism involved in this, just like there was in the early 70's when folks started the back to the land movement and were buying property where they had to haul water from a stream and living without electricity or even solar power. That's not an easy life and many abandoned it or at least, tweaked their ideals a bit. It just needs a lot of thought and to look at not only the good but the downside of downsizing to that degree. I'm not saying it's bad, far from it, but people need to be real with themselves, is all. Pushing aside the doubts and not addressing the issues of living this small won't serve them well in the long run.

 

[iawoodchip]

Buy the lot. Build the tiny house, maybe on a trailer. Build a Hugh storage shed to keep it in so no one picks on you. When you decide that it's actually to small to live comfortably in, build a little more comfortable home, like 1000 to 1500 ft. home, and convert the small home into a chicken house. The need more room too. (just kidding)

 

[wyoDreamer]

, but probably quite honest also.

 

[cafarmgirl]

Buy the lot. Build the tiny house, maybe on a trailer. Build a Hugh storage shed to keep it in so no one picks on you. When you decide that it's actually to small to live comfortably in, build a little more comfortable home, like 1000 to 1500 ft. home, and convert the small home into a chicken house. The need more room too. (just kidding)

Great idea actually, lol. Saw one episode of that TIny House show where a mom and dad were moving into a TH with two small children, boy and girl, who were to share one tiny bedroom. Now really, how long is that setup going to last in reality? And then there's the idea of trying to live with teenagers in such a setup....no thank you! I think it's fine for a few, dedicated folks, but I think Speckledhen is right, lot of people jumping in that will most likely jump out pretty quickly when reality sets in.