Tiny Houses

There's a new trend in housing: Tiny houses.

 

Some facts about tiny houses:

• They are usually built on a platform with wheels so they can be moved easily
• Space-efficient:storage is tucked away everywhere
• Sometimes they are solar-powered
• They can be built by the owner or someone else
• Tiny homes have features like any other house, only on a smaller scale, including washers, air conditioning, bathrooms, electricity
• They can be as tiny as 65 square feet up to about 900 square feet (the size of a 1960s rambler is about 1100 square feet)
• They are kinder to the planet: They use less materials to build, less electricity or gas for fuel, and create less waste

Here's some facts about housing costs--quite eye opening:

 

 

Advantages:
Less stuff: How much do we really need?
George Carlin about stuff:  http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=george+carlin+stuff&&view=detail&mid=0C9D83F33FC270ECA0790C9D83F33FC270ECA079&FORM=VRDGAR

 

• Smaller spaces are cheaper to heat and air-condition
• Minimal outside and inside maintenance
• Less stuff = less to clean up
• You'd learn to be better at food consumption--not a lot of storage
• You could live by the advice of: Make do, use it up, do without
• Deciding what to wear would not be a problem
• Cleaning house would take very little time
• They discourage consumerism, the habit of obtaining more to impress others
• As such, a tiny house confirms that 'things' aren't going to make you happy
• You will value and take care of those few things you really want to have
• You could stay in one place or move whenever you wanted to
• If your neighbors bother you, you can just move
• If you know someone with land, you could park your tiny house there and pay no rent
• You may be able to use campground hookups to temporarily park your home
• You won't need any yard equipment: Lawn mower, snow blower. A shovel for snow, maybe. There's nowhere to put them anyway.
• It is your own home, as opposed an apartment
• Would you rather have a tiny house that's affordable, or a big house you can barely pay for?

Here are some ways a tiny house makes better use of minimal space:

 

 

 

 

 

Disadvantages:

• If you like to have a lot of stuff, that would be a problem
• Close quarters can make it hard to live with someone-or not
• With a roommate, you'd have to agree on what stuff to bring into the house
• Often, the bed or one of the beds will be in a loft with very little headroom
• Permits to park your tiny house can be difficult to get
• Also, hookups for water or electricity might be a problem sometimes
• You would not have a garage. This could be a problem in a state with a long winter.
• You would need a P O Box to use as your address, perhaps one in several areas, in order to receive mail.
• Having an established doctor might be an issue

 

 

 

The first thing you'd have to do if you were considering a Tiny House, is to pare down your belongings to a bare minimum. This is, of course, hard to do if you already have a 'regular' sized house or apartment. If you are still living with your parents and/or in an apartment, it might be easier.

 

 

Here's one company that builds them or sells kits so you can do it yourself. Check out a few of their models:

 

https://www.tumbleweedhouses.com/tiny-houses-for-sale/elm/

 

Here's a video tour of a tiny house:  http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=tiny+houses&&view=detail&mid=53E82D2E3E86D9D24DE953E82D2E3E86D9D24DE9&&FORM=VDRVRV

 

Here's a tiny house that's pretty fancy:

 

Here's a little community of Tiny Houses in Portland, Oregon:
http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=tiny+houses&&view=detail&mid=3079CC125D1AC8CB28443079CC125D1AC8CB2844&&FORM=VDRVRV

 

Besides the obvious advantage of saving money on a house, imagine what they could do for the homeless: Wouldn't it be better to have somewhere safe, warm, and dry to sleep at night? A place where you call home, no matter how small? Check this out: People building tiny houses for the homeless:

 

http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=tiny+houses&&view=detail&mid=73E437E9D273CBD100B073E437E9D273CBD100B0&rvsmid=F142E7126782E063C3DEF142E7126782E063C3DE&fsscr=0&FORM=VDQVAP

 

 What do you think? Could you live in a tiny house? Would it be rewarding to you? Does it make you re-think traditional housing?