Is living in a tiny home for you?
If I were approached by someone and asked this question, my first answer could be: It really depends…on you! But that is really a very over-simplified response. And truthfully, there’s more to it than meets the eye.
The Most Important Tip I Can Give
FIND A PLACE TO PUT YOUR TINY HOME…..before you buy!
You know how there’s usually that one “golden-nugget” TIP that in hindsight could have saved you from significant struggle and pain? OR hearing first from someone whose walked the path you’re thinking of trudging could have made all the difference. Well…it’s THAT simply!
I don’t mean to be so blunt, but truthfully THIS one step can save you so much stress and money. For many tiny homers, these are two high values that led them to tiny home living in the first place. Along with probably the most important value of all….
Freedom. They have a desire to save some money, own their own home, have the flexibility to take that beautiful home with them should the need arise. Simplify life. Escape the busyness of life. And so much more. Does that sound like you?
It just deeply saddens me to watch and read in so many tiny home Facebook groups just how many people buy FIRST and then scramble and ask that question after when they are in a bind. Their stress, anxiety, and frustration at a high. The amount of posts out there of “where can I put my tiny home, I need a place now, what’s the zoning rules and laws in xyz area…..” is truly heart-breaking.
So, please save yourself tremendous stress and challenges and FIRST find a legal space to put your tiny home before you buy.
Now, I am not going to sugar-coat it. It bothers me, too, that there are so few places that allow tiny homes, at least in the traditional sense of residential living and even rural communities…but they ARE out there. And it is my greatest hope and belief that it is coming, that there will be more and more specifically designed communities for tiny homes like the one I live in.
I think I lucked out, honestly. I happened to do a few things right. Things that I didn’t realize at the time were hugely important. First, I tried it out for size before making the leap. Meaning, I rented several different tiny homes for three months and REALLY asked myself the question, “could I ditch my old lifestyle and live tiny?”
Second, once I decided I could really get rid of at least 75% (if not more) of my belongings (yes, it’s necessary) and to buy a tiny home of my own, I did probably THE most important thing that oddly enough the majority of tiny home owners don’t do, which is to find a place to put their tiny home first.
THINK TINY LIVING IS FOR YOU?
Okay, so we called the elephant in the room OUT. And you are still ready to move forward and get into the tiny home of your dreams? Great! I love it myself! And so does my beloved dog, Tiki, as you can see in the picture above. We’ve found our groove so much that we are actually building a tiny home next to us as an air bnb rental and investment property. Who would have ever thought less than 1-year later, I’d be on to my second tiny home!
As mentioned previously, one of the things I did right (and I can promise there were things I learned later that hindsight taught me lessons), was that I tried tiny home living out for size. And you know, it took me two trials and 8-years to know tiny home living was for me.
Inevitably, what I found out was that no two tiny homes are the same. 8-years prior to buying my tiny home, I had flown to Washington (from California) for a birthday trip to rent and try a tiny home out. Well, I couldn’t get out of the tiny home quick enough.
My itinerary had a 2-night stay at a tiny home followed by several hotels and a Bed & Breakfast stay. After staying in a tiny home about 168 sq. ft. with a compost toilet and little to no comfort or aesthetic beauty, I couldn’t get out of there fast enough. Consequently, I was completely turned off on tiny home living. Completely!
Interested in renting one of our tiny homes, check out our luxury rentals.
Now don’t get me wrong, some tiny homers embrace the lifestyle because they love the simplest of living, that’s just not me. I am a Libra, I love beauty, feng shui, open light spaces, and comfort. Tiny home living doesn’t have to mean you give up all your conveniences and rough it. Not my style. If it’s yours, that’s cool! For me, tiny home living in style is my thing. I don’t want to give up my comforts or beauty, but I do enjoy a simpler lifestyle. There’s no way to NOT have a simpler lifestyle in a tiny home.
THE BREAKING POINT THAT TURNED ME TINY
It wasn’t until covid-19 lock down that tiny home living would come back into my thoughts. At the time, I was living in a condo and I was feeling extremely claustrophobic with over 200 adjacent condos and neighbors all “camped out” in our community. Forget being able to meditate and find a calmness anywhere in my home. What a blessing! The lock-down had finally helped me to break free from the sense of stuck-ness I had been feeling for many years in the city. It was the boot that I needed.
I remembered that there was a tiny home village 1.5 hours away in the mountains and I thought, “I need to get away. I need nature. I need to breathe again.” So, I scheduled a weekend get-away…and the rest is nearly history. Within weeks my condo was up for sale, I had rented a tiny home, and an entirely new way of life was to begin.
THE EASIEST WAY TO FIND OUT IF TINY HOME LIVING IS FOR YOU
Remember the two most important tips to starting the journey. While I strongly emphasized finding a place for your tiny home before you buy, if you really want to keep things easy and simply – try it out by renting a tiny home first. Feel into it, ask yourself if you can or really want to take the leap into tiny home living. If you don’t, it’ll have been a nice adventure and you’ll save yourself unnecessary time and energy of looking for a place to put one.
Interested in renting one of our tiny homes, check out our luxury rentals.
Stay tuned for the next post and I’ll share more about tiny home living and help you walk through the next steps to decide if living in a tiny home is for you and how to create a tiny home you love!