A lot of you may be wondering why two relatively sane people would decide to move into a 200 sqft. tiny house on wheels. You know, sometimes I ask myself the same thing.
A large incentive for the tiny house movement revolves around environmental reasons; environmentally conscious individuals are looking for ways to reduce their footprint on the earth. Others are looking to simplify their lives and free themselves from useless possessions. I wish we could say those were our primary motivations and that we only had noble intentions, however, that isn't really the case. Don't get me wrong, both Aimee and I care deeply about the environment and we do want to live simply but those weren't the driving forces behind our decision to build a tiny house.
Our primary motivation was financial. For years, we had been dreaming of getting ourselves a nice piece of land and homesteading. We wanted a peaceful and quiet place to live and raise a family. We also wanted the ability to grow most of our own food so we could afford to eat the highest quality, untainted food. This meant we would need at least a few acres and the time to garden and raise a few livestock.
SourceUnfortunately, before coming to the decision to build the tiny house we found ourselves stuck. Real estate in Canada, as some of you may know, is insanely expensive, especially considering the relatively low population density and six months of winter. Real estate wasn't always overpriced but the loose economic and immigration policies the Canadian government has been engaging in for the past two decades have caused a relentless property bubble.
Aimee and I had been saving money and shopping for land for a few years with no luck when we had a particularly bad set back. A failed career change for myself and a couple of large unforeseen expenses nearly wiped out our entire savings. One night, we sat down and came to terms with the fact that what we were doing wasn't working. Land prices were still climbing while our savings were stagnating. We felt like we were trying to push a huge boulder up hill but if we stopped to rest it would slip from our grasp and roll back down the hill.
SourceSure, Aimee and I could have afforded a modest house or half duplex in the city, complete with a big fat mortgage, but that wasn't the lifestyle we desired. We were both opposed to debt, especially excessive debt, but we also didn't want to compromise on the quality or size of our homestead land either. What made matters even more difficult was that we were looking for raw land which, in Canada, generally requires at least a 50% down payment. We had considered an acreage with a house but our price range and the debt we were willing to carry severely limited the size of land we would be able to buy.
When we looked at our finances there wasn't a lot of fat to trim; we were already living pretty frugally. Neither of us drove new vehicles, we didn't have any debt, and we didn't blow a ton of money on dining out or entertainment. Our biggest expenses were high quality organic food, rent and utilities.
We certainly weren't going to switch to low quality food just to save a couple bucks; we both agreed that health is more important than money. Sure, we could try to cut a few more coffees, the rare dinner and a movie or perhaps even our gym memberships but that would only save us few hundred a month at best. Meanwhile, the types of properties we were watching were going up by about $10k each year. That direction just simply wasn't going to work. We found ourselves frustrated. Our family income was on par with average and we weren't spending much outside of necessities. So why couldn't we make any forward progress?
One night, I had an epiphany, I thought if we could just get rid of our rent and utilities we could increase our savings by 3 to 4 times. Perhaps, in hindsight, this wasn't the greatest idea but here we were scrimping and saving and going nowhere fast. After a short discussion with Aimee and watching one particular YouTube video on tiny house living, we started to think we could live the tiny house lifestyle. At this point, we had nothing to lose.
That sounds great. I’m into the minimalism
Although it wasn't a main factor in our decision to build the tiny house now that we are living in it we are definitely getting used to not having as much stuff. Without the room to store a bunch of junk we are more conscious about our consumption and purchases.
Ah, minimalism is what I was searching for. Thank you @cdubendo. I was replying to @canadianrenegade saying "Decluttering / Reducing / Simplifying", but minimalism is the word I was actually searching for as I saw a documentary about Joshua Fields Millburn & Ryan Nicodemus a while ago and was fascinated by how rigorous they are.
Maybe my dream of a tiny house life will become true once.
If you haven't done so, follow @markwhittam. He and his family are trully living the real live in their Steemy tinyhouse!
Love this article, as I can relate. Congrats on geeting rid of rent and utilities and living more Abundantly! We too love in a tiny home, but never had a dream of it, it sort of evolved. Look forward to part 2.
The interesting thing is that years before I met Aimee I had a dream to live in a tiny house but I never pursued it. When Aimee and I decided to do the tiny house thing it was more because we couldn't think of a better way out of our situation. Thanks for reading!
Is that Aimee?! My Canadian bestie! Haha 😂
Great post guys! We also built a tiny home for a more frugile living lifestyle. I can't wait to read part 2!
Hey gurl hey! 👋 Yeah, we decided to share our mugs with the people. Thanks for reading, we're glad you enjoyed the article. How are you finding living in a tiny house? We definitely have our share of ups and downs. -Aimee
Yes, it is full of ups and downs. We like that we've been able to experience something completely brand new to us, and thar we are able to be debt free. We have reached a point that we would like a larger home, as long as we can remain debt free. Right now, since it is winter, my hardest problem is space and clutter...but it is nice to have a small area to heat!
Yes! Our feelings are mutual. We are definitely ready for more leg room, but don't feel like we need a large home. Having limited storage had taught us about not needing excess. But clutter is still a struggle, especially when it comes to tiny baby clothes, and blankets. If we weren't trapped indoors by the winter I think I would have an easier time with a tiny dwelling. And you're right, heating a small area is much easier.
I read that you guys had twins?! That's amazing!! Congrats!!
Thank you! Yes, we think our twins are pretty amazing too! Although, they really through us for a loop. They've forced us to get really creative with our space and expedite all our other plans.
Hey guys! I challenged you to a black and white photo challenge, just found out you've already been challenged before, sorry! Haha If you want to do it, this is the link to mine https://steemit.com/sevendaybnwchallenge/@freedomtowrite/day-1-of-black-and-white-photo-challenge
I was super interested in Tiny Houses for a while. I did a lot of research, watch a lot of Youtube videos. For now, a Tiny House isn't the right thing for us. I'm still really interested in the idea and I think they could be the solution to a lot of problems, both for individuals (such as reducing expenses) and for communities with housing shortages.
They are definitely not for everyone and we were never planning on living in one forever but I think they have their uses. Thanks for stopping by!
I've seen so many videos of people and their tiny houses in caravans, garages and other small areas. I love the idea of minimalism and would love to see how it works for you as storage may be a problem. Best of luck !
Storage is definitely an issue. Having a few sheds for seasonal stuff is a must!
Hi @canadianrenegade. I love what your writing. I myself have the strong dream of moving into a tiny house. One specific reason is very prominent. Decluttering / Reducing / Simplifying, call it how you want! With all the stuff that we collect over a life span, from my point of view, we get completely numb, overloaded and immobile. I sometimes feel really stuck in my life, just because of all the belongings we have as a family and that we have to take care of.
But this is just my very personal view on things. On the other hand I am a father of two kids and have a wonderful wife that is feelancing from home just like me. We live 24/7 in our home and fitting this life into a tiny home really does not work. I would have to be 4 tiny homes. One for my work, one for my wifes work, one for eating/living and one for all of us sleeping. Put all these tiny homes together and you have a full house again! LOL!
This is all very confusing for me but every time I see someone living that tiny life I feel very inspired. Thank you for sharing!
Hey no problem! The tiny home for us was never intended to be permanent, it was meant to be more of a stepping stone to get us to where we want to be. I think for single people or young couples it could work out great. We had twins recently, (not like you can plan that) and with the space restrictions it is challenging.
God! Are you serious? Twins in a tiny house? Your my heroes! All the best for you guys and congratulations! Maybe soon you need to add on ;)
Hey @my-permaculture! I just read your reasons for wanting to live in a tiny home and then realizing you would need so much individual space and what that would then be...I laughed! I think it is very wise that you already put that together.
We have been living in a tiny home for 4 years now, and the simplfying is amazing...but...it is a lot harder to live clutter free, unless everything has a home...that makes it hard to bring in new things that a family might need. Just something to also think about! Hopefully I didn't high-jack this conversation!
Hey @freedomtowrite. No you did't high-jack, but your right. One has to laugh about what I think... There is the strange feeling that we have to much things and space to take care of, yet, we need all the space. Maybe the solution is to reduce the things, as most of them we really don't need.
I think you're right. If your belongings are making you feel trapped, then letting those go is the solution. Maybe it feels like you need more of an incentive...like a tiny home...so less space = less clutter.
Very thought provoking and inspiring.
Thanks!
Excellent part 1