Last week’s article touched on some of the advantages to owning a tiny house such as becoming debt free due to lack of a mortgage payment and living a minimalistic lifestyle. Daniel, the focus writer for this blog, wrote an article (seen here) that also spoke on minimalism. It is funny how things like that work out. It is my belief that the idea behind the tiny house movement carries more weight than living in a small home. It also affords us an opportunity to really look inside ourselves, fighting to determine what is really most valuable in life. Will possessions make us happier? I do not believe so. Will having the biggest house on the block make us happier? I do not believe so either. In a world driven by materialism and clutter, being thankful for what we have, without striving for more material items, and making use of the space we have, undeniably opens our minds to a more simplified and fulfilling lifestyle.
Sandra Cisneros once said, “but I deal with this by meditating and by understanding I’ve been put on the planet to serve humanity. I have to remind myself to live simply and not overindulge, which is a constant battle in a material world.”
After saying all that, how does that tie into the tiny house movement? Well, I am glad you asked! Here are some advantages of owning a tiny house:
1. Clutter free
When moving into a tiny house, one quickly learns that all the junk they have been saving over the course of a lifetime simply will not work. Daniel recently challenged us over the course of 30 days to get rid of one non-essential item each day as to free up space and remove clutter from our lives. I cannot wait to see how much space I’ll have after these 30 days.
If you are the type of person that likes to hold on to things like I am, then owning a storage shed might be a good option for you. These can be found at Home Depot or various other supply manufacturers. Owning a tiny house affords you an opportunity to reduce clutter and make space for more valuable items as well as for living space.
Image by: Lincoln Barbour (An example of a tiny house on foundation interior)
2. Time
Time is of the essence. You have heard this term before, yes? Having no mortgage or a small payment on a tiny house will afford you an opportunity to work less and enjoy time with your loved ones, and friends. Not only that, but having no mortgage payment would also afford you new opportunities to pick back up those childhood dreams you once had and make them a reality. We all want more time, don’t we?
3. Self-sufficiency & solar energy
Image by: www.tinyhouseoverthehill.blogspot.com
This is where solar energy comes into play. Now, I know that solar energy may not work well for everyone, due to geographic location and less exposure to direct sunlight, but for the majority of us, it will work.
“The most modern systems use a method of sun exposure to generate electricity via semiconductors. Simple, direct exposure to the sun and its heat generate electrons that are then captured into the system and translated into electricity. The design can be used for a variety of things as small as powering a mobile phone to as large of a system as that needed to power your home.” – solarenergy.com
Many tiny house owners live an off-grid lifestyle, in terms of how they cool, heat, and operate the electronics in their home. For an in-depth overview of solar panels, how to determine how much power and energy are needed, as well as a complete overview of an installation process, visit this tiny house blog.
Another resource of information for powering a tiny house with solar energy can be found here. For more information on tiny houses, as well as plans, videos, blogs, and more, visit these websites: www.thetinylife.com – www.tinyhouseblog.com – www.tumbleweedhouses.com
Hi Vincent. Great article and great points. My husband and I bought a tiny house when we moved to another state and started over 16 years ago. The plan was to live in it for a couple of years, fix it up (it was built in 1886 and the fixes had been increasingly horrid throughout the decades) and then buy a “bigger” house. Well, a series (and by series I mean three) very serious medical emergencies for both of us kept us in this house. But we love this little house. It is a Victorian, but a very tiny one. Only one of us can be in the bathroom at the same time. But we don’t want to move. We have, however, being the matriarch and patriarch of our family, become the depositories of the family heirlooms and the stuff our adult children left when they grew up and moved out. We also gathered our own amount of junk. The appliances we no longer use (A bread machine? Really?). This year is our year of getting rid of “stuff.” We are taking each month to work on one room (including the basement and the garage) and we are selling and giving away anything and everything we can. We want to be left with only what we use or what has significant meaning or beauty. Ahhhh. We will be able to breathe.
Thanks so much, Linda! A bread machine? What even is that? haha! That’s so cool what y’all are doing. I’m sure you’ll both feel a huge sense of peace when your home is more clutter free. 🙂
Ha ha…a bread machine is a huge appliance…too big to put on a counter. You have to store it somewhere. You put ingredients in, and then it kneads the bread and automatically bakes it for you. All loaves come out looking exactly the same…very small. No one buys these things anymore that I know of. ;o)
Really great information here, Vincent. I am just in the throwing away mode right now. If I could get rid of everything and start over, I would. As far as small places to live, we have always lived in smaller places. Besides lower expenses the main positive are more of a family feel that you can’t get when you are far away from each other, which we love.
Thank you, Adam! That’s so true. I read an article about a tiny house owner who said the same thing about her home having more of a family feeling seeing as how they were in such close quarters. I can’t wait for that!