Living in a Tiny House

Hey MadMatters!

As most of you know, Jim and I are still trying to figure out what to do with our property in Geneva.  During my hours and hours of digging through the interwebs, I kept finding people talking about living in "tiny houses".  I've looked into this option before, somewhat.  Watching a documentary titled "We The Tiny House People" counts as research, right?

Anyways, the whole idea of downsizing and living in a tiny space was quickly dismissed.  However, upon revisiting this concept, it's actually making more and more sense to me.

What are my common gripes about our current home?  Well... there is always a sink full of dishes to do.  There is always a pile of laundry in the bedroom.  My decorative items haven't been dusted in months.  The floors need mopped.  We just don't have the time.

Yes, even in our modest 1,150 square foot house, it's becoming apparent that it's too much for two people with full-time jobs to keep up on.  But does it have to be this way?

If you are anything like me, you have a few shirts that you like to wear constantly, maybe one or two pairs of jeans that you love, and the rest is just stuff to wear when the other stuff is dirty.  You don't think to wash laundry because you have a whole closet full of clothes still.  So you wear these clothes that I've started calling "the others", and you are uncomfortable ALL DAY!


But what if you only had a couple shirts and a couple pairs of pants?  Well, I bet you'd be more likely to wash those clothes, since the alternative is to go to work naked.

This translates through to the kitchen as well.  What if we only had 3 or 4 of everything instead of the 8, 12, 24 that we have now?  I bet it would take a lot less time to do dishes.

Less floor to mop, less knick-knacks to dust... this is sounding better and better.

But is it really feasible to live in such a small space?  I don't know.

I watched a video about a woman who built a tiny house for herself as a social experiment.  She was going to live in this house for one year and write about her experiences.  It only took her a short amount of time to decide that she would never live in a full-sized house again... because she didn't need to.  So she stayed in her tiny house, which allowed her to save more money than she had been previously.  With this money, she bought a piece of property in Hawaii and built a tiny house there as well.  And it looks AMAZING!

Here's her tiny house in the jungle, in HAWAII!  She uses a water catchment system that is plumbed to the house.  The house has solar panels on the roof that powers everything she needs.








Since she chose to elevate her tiny house, she has amazing views, right from her bed.  Best of all, it only cost her about $11K to built!





Tiny houses are now on my radar as a solution for Geneva.  Even if we don't live in it full time, I think it would be nice to have a little "home away from home" in the woods.  Just a place to relax, get away from everyday life, and not have the normal stresses that come along with a traditional home.

What do you think?  Could you live in a home like this full time?  What about part time?

Hopefully, time will tell.

Until next time guys,
K-LUVYABYE!