Erin Doman on January 27, 2016 22 Comments The tiny house movement is sweeping the nation. Chances are you’ve spoken about it with your friends or colleagues, watched something about it on the news or simply come across information on the movement while browsing the web. You might even find yourself considering whether such a small space is the right fit for you. If any of these signs apply to you, downsizing your space could be just what you need. 1. You Want to Save Money One of the first reasons people begin to consider downsizing to a tiny house is to save money. How much did you pay for your current home? If you’re like many Americans, your house is probably about $290,000, and that doesn’t even include maintenance costs or utility costs! Even if you rent, you likely spend a large percentage of your income on it each month. Factor in electricity, water, sewage and other necessities to run a large household, and the financial stress keeps piling up. How to Join the Tiny House Movement Here’s how you can live in a small space, and increase your sustainability without sacrificing the modern conveniences you’ve come to love. Learn More By contrast, building your own little house only costs about $23,000 — less than half of a down payment on a traditional home. When it comes to utilities, you’ll be using far fewer resources than you would in a 2,200-square-foot home. In fact, the average person who lives in a tiny home only spends $30 to $50 per month on water, electricity and sewage combined. The only monthly bill that would remain about the same is your cable and Internet, and you could even cut the cord to save more on this. You can save even more money when you are furnishing your tiny house. Tiny houses require much smaller appliances to be able to fit everything you need into the unit. You can find small appliances of almost anything you need — from dishwashers to combination washer and dryers, from refrigerators to cooktops. Consider, too, you might need to pay more to hire someone who has expertise in installing appliances into tiny homes, but that is just a small disadvantage when you consider the big picture. 2. You Care About the Environment Your bank account isn’t the only thing to benefit when you move into a tiny home–the environment reaps plenty of benefits, too. A traditional home takes about seven logging trucks of materials to build, but a tiny home uses only about one-half of one truck. You will be using much less energy, too. How many lightbulbs do you have in your home right now? The average home has 45. By contrast, a tiny one uses only about six bulbs. If you live in a particularly sunny environment, you could even harness most of your energy from the sun. Finally, living in a smaller environment drastically reduces CO2 emissions. Your current home probably uses about 28,000 pounds of CO2 per year, but a tiny home needs only about 2,000 pounds. 3. You Have Wanderlust Who doesn’t dream of taking to the open road and seeing the surrounding country once in a while? People who love to spend their lives traveling are embracing the tiny home movement at rapid speed. Because small homes are typically 100 to 300 square feet in size, they can be specially mounted onto trailers and pulled with a vehicle, giving you the freedom to live practically anywhere. If you live somewhere with cold winters and always wanted to go south during that time, a tiny home allows you to do so. Maybe you already live somewhere warm, but wouldn’t mind seeing snow on Christmas. Small homes make it possible. This is especially true if you’re part of the growing number of people who telecommute for work. Whether you’re a freelance writer, photographer or simply have the freedom of skipping the office most of the time, a trailer-mounted house gives you freedom to roam. If you do decide to travel, be sure to research zoning laws before parking. Many large cities currently don’t allow this modern type of mobile home in city limits. However, this is changing quickly, with some cities even building co-ops. 4. You Want to Be Part of a Community In an increasingly fast-paced world, it has become harder and harder to get to know your neighbors. The co-ops popping up are changing that, though. These small neighborhoods include anywhere from 20 to 100 small homes on a few acres. They typically provide community garden space, a larger common house for gatherings and the ability to truly build relationships with your neighbors. Some even include storage units so you can hold on to sentimental items that don’t fit into your home. Research your state to see if there are any similar communities near where you live. Again, many large cities are not as accepting of these types of villages as other areas, so these communities might be harder for some people to come by. This is quickly changing, though. With greater public interest in the tiny house movement comes greater acceptance and availability of these villages. 5. You Want to Live the Simple Life Studies have shown that large homes lead to large stress. Consider how much time, effort and money you spend maintaining your home. From cleaning, to repairs, to simply keeping track of all the stuff you have — it seems as costs and responsibilities rise, so does your blood pressure. Imagine if you only had the necessities. A single laptop holds music, movies and pictures. Cleaning would take less than an hour. Repairs would be considerably more affordable. Downsizing your life means clearing your mind of excess, giving you the clarity to better enjoy your family, your hobbies and other things you’ve put by the wayside. The simple life. It can be yours. 6. You Are Single or Part of a Very Small Family Of course, a tiny house isn’t practical for every family. Some four-person families have managed to make it work, but for most people, a small house just isn’t feasible for more than three people. Statistics show that most people living in tiny homes are young couples, couples who are retiring and have no children living at home or single people. If you do decide to live in a tiny home with children, you will need to consider the method of schooling if you decide to travel, and you will need to create a space for homework and consider how to fit two bedrooms into the space. Whether you’re a single Millennial traveling the country, a retired couple who wants the ability to follow good weather or simply someone considering how to save money and the environment, there is no denying that the tiny home movement is versatile and interesting. If any of the above applies to you, perhaps it’s time to start deciding what to keep and what to donate.
Peter Dunn says January 28, 2016 at 3:47 am Why do you state they cost $23,000… I have seen articles about 5k tiny houses…u are doing a real disservice by not mentioning the range of houses…which leads me to believe this is really an ad….subtly disguised….please take your uninformed articles elsewhere Reply
Clare V. Donohue says July 24, 2016 at 9:51 am Could you share about where to get a tiny house? I heard Lowe’s has a kit now? I am a single women and I cannot build one, so I am guessing I would need a kit and a contractor. Are there recommended lists for this? There is one tiny house community where I live and they are selling for $100K each! So that is not an option for me. Reply
Linda says August 5, 2016 at 9:36 pm Because they DO cost that much and even more if you want fancier. The $5000 house is one you scrounge for materials and build yourself. It’s not really reality for most people. I have $5000 just in one contractor I hired to raise the ceiling in the shed I’ve turned into my house (remove old drop ceiling, install insulation, then plywood cover that’s stained), fix some drywall, install six windows, one door, and trim everything. $1500 just for fixing and expanding the electrical (quite a bit was already there). $5000 is NOT realistic for 90% of tiny home owners. $23,000 is. Reply
Dennis says August 8, 2016 at 3:43 pm If your gonna build it yourself. Depending on the size and your needs you can build a nice rig for between $5000 $40,000 but if your looking to have one built you need to understand the to build it right, safe and have not end up looking like a shack these things wont be done for pennies. The builder needs to make a buck to. I set aside $30,000 before I started my 22 footer and I uses only the best materials and did not include a washer/dryer because I didn’t see the need. I went with a custom built trailer with 2/7000 lb axels with breaks, 24″ full size stainless gas range, 7 cbf stainless fridge, a natures head composting toilet and all plumbing needs and 1000 watts of solar and with the exterior finished im only down $18,000 so I still have $12,000 for interior finishing’s. These are not hard to build. With a little research almost anyone could make it happen for themselves. Here is a link to my FB photo album if you’d like to have a look. https://www.facebook.com/dennis.kern.9674/media_set?set=a.10152150589262251.1073741827.638917250&type=3 Reply
Charles says January 28, 2016 at 7:31 pm I’m a contractor /craftsman here in Austin with a vision of developing tiny house communities. Reply
Shawn says January 28, 2016 at 7:36 pm Great post. The McMansion model is simply not sustainable. Yet most of Dallas seems to be headed that way. If I could find just one community zoned for tiny houses here, I’d be enthused! Reply
Lisa Weissgarber Harder says February 23, 2016 at 4:20 pm This is a great article! It’s fashionable to downsize….even if a Texan’s idea of downsizing is 1650 square feet! We saved money, are being “green”, have more time to travel, meet the neighbors, have hobbies…and since it’s just 2 of us now (and 2 dogs)….why not? Great writing! Reply
Sue says August 6, 2016 at 3:50 am We had Amish build our shell 5k we did all the rest Came in 15k including furnishings and appliances We have full size fridge stove stack wash dryer We bought discount building materials if you shop around and plan it is so worth it Reply
Debbie says August 7, 2016 at 2:03 pm Is there any communities in Maryland? Where can I find the states that have communities. Reply
Mary says August 7, 2016 at 10:49 pm Can everybody who is aware of tiny house communities post the locations and the names of the communities please? Mary in Michigan Reply
Regina says August 8, 2016 at 2:36 pm My fiencee is starting to build tiny homes we live just south of Nashville Tn in Shelbyville Tn. Reply
Tracy says August 30, 2016 at 1:46 am Tumbleweed has great options! That’s where I am getting mine. I am also a single woman, but with the workshops they have, anyone can learn! Reply
Victoria says September 10, 2016 at 12:51 pm Either I am not googling the right way (??) or there are no tiny house specialty neighborhoods or sales or communities or anything like that listed for Massachusetts. It would be very helpful if there were some good sites. Reply
Nanci Heath says September 11, 2016 at 7:18 am Realistically…you should think pricing like buying an RV. Custom /upscale is more expensive to have it built but if you have skills and can shop well….you can Save A ton! We are currently underway on a tiny home converted from a hunting cabin in North Georgia…..thinking of working towards a community on this beautiful 16 acs.of mountain land! Reply
Pam says October 20, 2016 at 7:30 pm I checked out your photos. Awesome job! It looks great. Love the personal touches like the peace sign’s. Hope you have been enjoying it ???? Reply
Stephanie says October 22, 2016 at 1:57 am I’m a bit upset that this article implies that all tiny houses are on wheels . I have a three generational family of 4 we need walls and doors and no won’t fit in a trailer. #s 1&2 apply to us but we are planning to build a whidby from tumbleweed ON A FOUNDATION because we we want to live more with less. It’s still 200sqft/person. We are part of the tiny house movement too. Some people live in 200-400sqft apartments in the city. They are part of the tiny house movement too. Reply
Edith keeton says October 22, 2016 at 3:52 pm I’ve seen the tiny houses love the ones with outside porches. In single children are grown an gone. For me I would love to buy tiny home for the first time ever I truly believe I could own my home. And not spend my entire life paying for it so if there info on these houses I am interested Reply
Carole says December 9, 2016 at 4:29 pm Hi, When you say you had Amish build it, where did you find those builders? Would you care to share the info? Thank you! Reply
Trisha says March 21, 2017 at 6:45 pm I built a Tiny House 498 sf from a Lowe’s plan site built and totally finished with insulation and sheet rock under $25K Reply
Rosemary Williams says August 31, 2017 at 6:31 am There are builders in Upstate New York. We move sheds for them. I also take orders for them. I’m building a small cabin for myself as I write this. Small 150 sq ft. Don’t need a builder permit for this size Going to be overnighter in woods. Reply
Linda Cole says November 19, 2019 at 9:32 am Is there any areas in and around Louisville Ky, we took a shed 12 x 31 and put it in our Kids back yard, didn’t do my homework, having trouble with Zoning laws. Which does not have regulations for tiny houses, so they are going off what they know regarding regular housing codes. I need to know is there any areas for a tiny house Community. Reply