The tiny house movement is booming.
But, before you go off and purchase yourself the smallest space you can squeeze your whole
life into, there are a few items you might want to consider.
Here are the best and worst things about tiny living.
"This is kinda awesome…How long are we here?"
Utah residents Meg and Dan Stephens live in a house that's just about 150 square feet.
But homes that have a tiny footprint can have big impact on the environment.
According to Deseret News, the Stephens family designed their home so that it can run on
less than 20 amps of electricity, which, according to Dan, is "a standard exterior outlet."
Another tiny house owner, Ivor Berry told the publication that he designed his 120-square-foot
home to be "completely self-sufficient for about a week and a half."
No electricity, no water no problem!
At least for a week.
"It actually runs on a biofuel made of 80 percent coffee grinds…this entire home is
powered by coffee.
Kinda like me"
Even if you were to build a tiny home with conventional, non-green materials, it would
still make less of an impact on the planet than traditional construction.
Tiny homes require fewer building materials and are environmentally friendly compared
to "regular" homes simply because they are you guessed it tiny.
While tiny home owner Susan Parrish ultimately feels that sharing her micro home with her
partner has made for a closer relationship, the experience hasn't always been fun.
She admitted to HuffPost,
"Sometimes everyone needs a little personal space, and that's hard to find in 323 square
feet.
[…] If [my partner's] watching a movie that I don't care to see, I go lay in bed and read."
Even using the bathroom can be a challenge in a small space.
The YouTubers behind the channel Live Light with Wildland Organics admitted that the quote
"pooping privacy, or the lack thereof" is one of the worst things about tiny living.
"The truth is hearing each other's poop sounds is a daily affair.
Poop sounds."
Luckily, they've come up with a solution.
“Whenever one of us feels a rumble in the jungle, all we have to do is say, Hey Alexa,
play the poop playlist."
In an interview with Tiny House Crafters, Justin Gibbs revealed the reason why he and
his partner, Danielle, chose to embrace the tiny house movement, citing,
"Strides towards financial freedom with an understanding of fiscal responsibility; these
elements blended with a desire for more independence in how we choose to live."
But the couple aren't the only ones who have realized the financial freedom that comes
with living small.
Just six months after moving into her 250-square-foot tiny home, Alexa Nota recognized how much
money she was saving, telling Travel Well,
"When comparing rent and utilities in our previous rental home to the equivalent expenses
in a tiny house, we cut our costs more than in half."
She also revealed that most additional expenses will be paid off in "less than three years."
Compare that to your traditional 30-year mortgage, and tiny house living is much easier on the
wallet.
"I think tiny can definitely accommodate a simpler life, a much more curated life, where
you actually have more freedom, more wealth, more money to do whatever you wanna do"
Think about your future.
If you plan to have children or think that you'll be caring for your parents someday,
you might scour listings for homes with more bedrooms than you currently need.
But tiny houses aren't exactly known for having extra space.
Jenna Spesard revealed on her site,
"As I evolve in my life and I start to think about having children, I just don't think
I could do it in my current Tiny House.
In a regular foundation home, you could potentially expand.
My house is limited by the size of my trailer."
While she admitted that she knows other tiny house dwellers who have children, she recognizes
that those families specifically "designed their homes for that purpose."
"Family time is 100 percent of the time.
Hate cleaning your entire home?
What if you were to shrink your house to, say, 250 square feet?
Alexa Nota explained,
"It takes us about 20-30 minutes to organize, fold and put away laundry, sweep and do dishes,
compared to two or so hours to complete the same tasks in our previous homes."
And Susan Parrish revealed to HuffPost,
"Cleaning the house takes minutes, and that makes more time for our adventures."
But not all chores are such a breeze.
Mobile tiny houses are designed to be used without tying into a waste management system,
per AOL and many tiny home owners rely on composting toilets.
Since there's no sewer or septic system to whisk the "contents" away, homeowners are
tasked with doing it themselves.
Allen Johnson told Travel Well,
"Emptying the toilet is of course not something I look forward to doing.
You have to deal with a lot of s--- in life, and sometimes it's actual s---."
Jenna Spesard also revealed that composting toilets can lead to some awkward conversations,
saying,
"When I have guests over, I have to explain how to use the toilet.
What's the last thing you wanna do at a dinner party?
Discuss toilet matters"
Despite tiny homes' growing popularity, it can be hard to find a legal place for such
a house, according to PBS NewsHour.
Some towns specify that homes must meet minimum square footage requirements, while others
require the units to use public utilities.
And it's not just city officials who fight the tiny house movement.
After developer Kelvin Young mapped out a housing development of tiny homes in Charlotte,
North Carolina, neighbors asked City Council to interject, nervous that their property
values would tank, according to The News & Observer.
Young told Fox Business,
"You can't compare a house that's built in 1959 that's 1500 sq ft to a house that's 700
sq ft new construction"
For those who own tiny houses on wheels, it can be equally difficult.
Alexa Nota revealed that zoning officials demanded she move her tiny home, which is
classified as a recreational vehicle, after she appeared on an episode of Tiny House Nation.
Although she claimed that it wasn't a "big deal" at the time, she added,
"What's more challenging, however, is that we won't always be classified as an RV as
different municipalities' codes are all different."
"When people are thinkin about going tiny, they really need to think about what's important
to them, what they have to offer to the world, and what the world has to offer to them"
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