The Sense and Sensibility of Tiny House Living

You love to look at Tiny House pictures. They’re so cute!

You picture yourself nice and cozy by a tranquil lake, on the road enjoying freedom and independence, or having one parked on a nice piece of property somewhere, to enjoy as a holiday house. You share photos, likes, pins and comments on all things that Tiny Houses represent. You love it!

Inevitably however, someone will ask you the BIG question. Would you actually live in one? That question feels as if a bucket of cold water was poured over your head. You answer; “well…. maybe, but…” then you change the topic of conversation. It may even feel like you were insulted. The pattern of admiration stops dead in your head when the possibility of making it real is confronted.

It’s intriguing why something which represents so much of what we long for, is also something we’re not actually prepared to have. It seems at first glance, that all the perceived benefits of a Tiny lifestyle still don’t outweigh the perceived loss of whatever we value, when compared to our existing lifestyle.

Perhaps it’s time to look at this paradox a bit closer. Let’s start with the assumption that people who have actually made the transition to “Tiny” did in fact, consider all the factors – and still went ahead with it. As far as I know, there aren’t too many who have regretted it. That said, Tiny living is not for everyone, so we’ll keep to the realities of choosing Tiny. The ecological benefits of a reduced footprint and using recycled materials are self evident, so I’m not going to include those factors here. That’s a book in itself.

Let me start by saying that I was completely surprised when I read the research report compiled by Ryan Mitchell www.thetinylife.com/what-is-the-tiny-house-movement. His study of Tiny house dweller demographics actually confirmed the opposite of what we thought. It also validated my own personal belief in the sensibility of Tiny living. In a nutshell, Tiny House dwellers have less debt, are less stressed, are much more likely to be financially independent and are on the whole better educated. So, they’re not dumb-dumbs. 

As a former banker, builder and currently a financial software developer and film producer, I’m a practical guy.

My wife and I also went down the Tiny House Path, starting with admiration as “gawkers”, doing a lot pushing and shoving of pretty pictures around the net. One day, we were asked the BIG question and everything changed. We were forced to confront the possibility because we actually had a need to solve our housing situation. So we made the decision to build, because after a lot of banker type analysis, it clearly made a lot of sense. However, if I’m honest about it, it wasn’t for altruistic reasons that would make me look good. When we decided to build one, the decision was based on a combination of immediate need and future plans. 

Our entrepreneurial endeavors required the investment of everything we had, so we were in a situation where we needed a house and didn’t want to pay rent or a mortgage. Within those parameters, what were our options? Having been mortgage free before, it wasn’t appealing to do that again. Despite having enjoyed (and I do mean enjoyed) the excesses and frivolities of large and comfortable living, we were forced to accept that we must downsize. The word “downsize”, became a point of dark humor for us, since downsizing doesn’t usually mean to a home “smaller than a Hollywood bathroom”. In our case, it meant downsize our expectations.

Frankly, we had two concerns, and both were selfish and reflected our inner fears at the time.

One, how do we explain to friends and family, that this is a step forward instead of a fall from the ivory tower? Second, are we going to end up in a “shed on wheels” with no possessions and live like Gypsies?

Nevertheless, the other choice was to wait or rent and we weren’t about to pay someone else’s mortgage! The more we looked at this option, the better it got and to our great surprise, we started to care less about what everyone else thought. We knew it would be the right decision for us. 

Now that we were emotionally free to look at this option from a purely practical perspective, we were ready to answer the question — what did Tiny house living mean to us?

Specifically, what did it mean to us today, and in terms of what we wanted to do with our lives in the future? We quickly came up with a few reasons:

• Living mortgage free: This is no small reason. Whether you build it over time with cash on hand, with corporate sponsorships, or with recycled and donated materials, the end result is the same. A house you own.
• No significant maintenance expenses: The cost of keeping a regular home heated, cooled, maintained and paying property tax is a significant monthly expense even if you don’t have a mortgage.
• Dramatically reduced storage space: Initially, this was a big negative. I had a serious case of stuff-itis. However, as we focused on building our business, we liquidated most of our stuff to invest in the company. We discovered that we didn’t actually miss 90% of it. In every moment, we pretty much had what we needed or wanted. We found our needs and wants evolving and we started developing different patterns. This happened organically, was not forced and did not emerge as a compromise of lifestyle. We’re changing but we aren’t minimalists.
• You can have all the comforts you need: Yes, you can live Tiny, with a single burner, composting toilet etc., but that didn’t appeal to us. Despite living Tiny, we didn’t see the need to let the pendulum swing to the other extreme. We were prepared to downsize, but saw no need to live under excessively austere conditions. So we built in all the trimmings — like a proper bathroom, a full propane stove with an oven, a proper fridge, a full size bed on the main floor that converts into an office, and more. Since we were giving up space, we wanted to ramp up comfort. Basically, we wanted to have a luxury home on wheels. Our view was that we should pack as much living comfort as we could on our 20ft trailer.
• It’s a real house: For us, it was really important to have an aesthetically pleasing house. It had to look like a real house from the exterior, so when we pull up in front, it’ll feel like we’re walking through the front door of our little house. I’m home, happy and proud. So what’s a real house? By our definition, we were more than happy to give up 5″ per side of interior width to accommodate a proper eave to hold exterior soffit lights and for the stonework. We were also prepared to give up wall space to allow for more windows — and for design symmetry. The house, from the exterior had to scream “come in!” and from the inside had to feel open to the environment.
• It’s not an RV: Technically, it could be certified as an RV, and that’s good for travel. However, if it’s built like a house, looks like a house, can be maintained and upgraded like a house — than it will retain its value like a house. You probably won’t see a doubling in its value, but it’s also unlikely you will lose money on it like you would on an RV. My wife is a real estate broker, so we went with her definition of what she considered a “house”.
• Mobility: Now that’s a real bonus. Having the ability to relocate or be on the move if you’re self employed like we are (and always be at home) is a benefit which cannot be overrated. Not for us anyway.
• More active lifestyle: Whether you’re traveling or not, the propensity to engage in activities outside the home increases dramatically. The space is small, so you’re likely to spend more time outdoors. The smallness of the home brings you closer to nature in a subtle, natural way.
• More control over your life: The combination of all the reasons listed above paint a picture of freedom and control over your life and your destiny.

For us, Tiny House living offers a solution which meets our needs today and facilitates what we’ve planned for the future.

I certainly can’t say that this is the only way to go, and that it’s a comprehensive all-in-one solution for everyone. In fact, I can’t say with absolute certainty that we will live Tiny forever. What I can say, is that it works for us now, and having gone through the process of evaluating our lives when considering Tiny living, we will forever make choices from a different mindset.  A mindset that takes into consideration broader life factors, which we had not considered as being interdependent before.

So, let me leave you with this. Tiny house living represents an industrious, responsible lifestyle, with no real downside. Try it. Remember, if you change your mind at any point, within 24 hours you could be back in your comfort zone of mortgage, debt, bills, long work hours and stress. My guess is that once experienced, you won’t want to return. 

To quote Henry Ford “Whether you think you can or think you can’t – you’re right.” So could you live in a Tiny House?

• More control over your life: The combination of all the reasons listed above paint a picture of freedom and control over your life and your destiny.

So, let me leave you with this. Tiny house living represents an industrious, responsible lifestyle, with no real downside. Try it. Remember, if you change your mind at any point, within 24 hours you could be back in your comfort zone of mortgage, debt, bills, long work hours and stress. My guess is that once experienced, you won’t want to return. 

To quote Henry Ford “Whether you think you can or think you can’t – you’re right.”

So could you live in a Tiny House?

Written By: Donat Plenter for Tiny House Magazine Issue 15