One of my favourite TV programs at the moment is “Tiny House Hunters” on 9Life (channel 94).
Each episode, the hunt is on to help a particular individual or couple find a “tiny house” that is perfect for their needs and budget. Most of the homes are not much bigger than a caravan!
Maybe one of the reasons I am so addicted, is because I know what it’s like to live in a tiny house …
In 2001, we put all our worldly goods in storage, rented out our house, and travelled Australia in a caravan. You don’t get much tinier than that!
Only a couple of years later we came across this little cottage, in one of the most prestigious streets in our area. You know what they say: “location, location, location” – it was sited on a large block of land (1200m2) that backed onto Moreton Bay!
And so we decided to buy it, with an eye to investment and future subdivision potential.
Could You Live in a Tiny House?!
After our caravanning experience, I knew we could handle tiny house living, and we were prepared to make the sacrifice for our “nest egg”. Besides, I figured that at least my new tiny house had an indoor bathroom and a dishwasher!
It was so rundown, most people would have demolished it there and then. Instead, we did just enough to make it more charming than chook house – paint (my favourite aqua of course!), carpet, new lino and bathroom vanity, some overhead cupboards in the kitchen – and moved in.
At about 7 squares (I’m not so great with measurements so I will need to confirm this with the hubster) – including the patio – our tiny house was home sweet home to our family of four, for just over five years.
10 Benefits of Living in a Tiny House
If you’ve ever wondered what it’s like to live in a tiny house, there were some surprising benefits ….
- We had to de-clutter big time!
- Once you plugged it in, you could vacuum the whole house from one power point.
- One air conditioner installed in the lounge room window, both cooled and heated the entire house easily.
- Of course this meant cheaper power bills 🙂 .
- If we wanted to play music, you could hear it easily throughout the whole house.
- Less to clean – and when we did, it took no time at all!
- Each evening, we gathered as a family in the lounge room to relax and/or watch TV. It was great for fostering quality time and togetherness!
- We had to learn to share and work in with each other – particularly when it came to the one bathroom, which also housed the toilet …
- Having so little space indoors, meant we spent a lot more time enjoying the great outdoors!
- Miss 19 recalls enjoying having such a unique home, and the fact that lack of space meant she had to have a loft bed with a play space underneath 🙂 .
Although we mostly enjoyed our time living in a tiny house, I was very happy to move into a standard lowset brick and tile house when our youngest turned 13. One with four bedrooms, two bathrooms, walk in wardrobe, media room and double garage.
The thought of sharing one tiny bathroom with not one, but TWO teenagers, was certainly a big incentive to move on!
Have you ever lived in a tiny house? Are you as fascinated by them as I am?!
Love the pics of your tiny house. We bought, renovated , then lived in a tiny house for a couple of years before the poor thing was flooded. (Big time flooded, half way up its tiny windows !!!).
Thankfully we had good insurance. We opted to demolish most of tiny house and build a modest but not as tiny high house. Life is sure interesting with it’s twists and turns. : )
Oh I think I remember that Liz. Glad to hear you have rebuilt up higher!
Every time I go to IKEA I want to move into a tiny apartment with nifty space-saving devices and a loft bed then I remember how crowded our old 3 bedroom place seemed before we moved! Now we’re at the opposite end, our house is really way too big for us but at least we can spread out!
LOL yes we used lots of IKEA stuff and what my hubster called “caravan technology” to make the most of every single inch of space. You can see in the pic of the lounge room, the IKEA footstool that we used for storage as well.
We went from a large 4 bedroom, 2 bathroom, 2 lounge and 2 dining home with a massive backyard to a tiny inner city apartment (interstate move too). I love living in a smaller place for so many reasons – it’s easier to clean, lower power bills, less stuff, we had to declutter massively too, you also think about what you are buying more because if something comes in, something else must go out to make room.
Absolutely Kylie – I know that feeling well!
We have recently made a move from a small Queenslander in Brisbane to a tiny apartment downtown in Toronto in Canada.
I thought our house in Brisbane was small but I discovered it was like a Tardis when we sold it and had to sort through and downsize our belongings into a container to ship to Canada. It was so cathartic getting rid of so much stuff and I haven’t missed any of it.
Our old house only had one bathroom and I have always wanted two, our new small apartment has two and I have since discovered it’s a pain in the ass cleaning two bathrooms. I’m almost tempted to lock up the 2nd bathroom so nobody can use it just so I don’t have to clean it!
So sorry Danielle, I didn’t see this comment until now! Wow, shifting to another country would sure help in the de-cluttering and downsizing process. I haven’t thought about the problems of cleaning 2 bathrooms because we make our kids clean theirs!
I live in one now – a tiny, 2-bedroomed, 1-bathroom-combined-loo Queenslander with zero storage! Given the choice to go bigger again, I would have to have a long and very hard think! We came off 15 acres where we lived in a very large 4-bedroomed home over three floors, together with a big rumpus room. Yes folks, 3 levels of cleaning!!! When two of the three kids flew the nest, we decided the time was right to lower our footprint and downsize. Best decision ever, and I absolutely, 100% do not miss the extra room. I won’t lie when I say that storage has been, and continues to be very challenging in this house. We still have lots of stuff in a storage unit off site, and I truly do not know how long it will remain living in storage. Despite our best attempts at de-cluttering, the Hubs is one of those people who keeps things ‘for a rainy day’! I can’t begin to tell you how many times we’ve shifted our lounge room around to accommodate our furniture. We’ve only just recently managed to sell our second sofa, nearly a year and a half after moving in! And yes folks, we are still living out of boxes! Hooever…..I love this little house, and I love being off acreage and on a large plot within walking distance of the shops in our little town. Big bonus. I finally feel connected to the community in which we live, instead of dropping in somewhat infrequently to the local IGA on my way home. ~ heather x
Heather, I have a hubster like that too – a hoarder! Very hard to de-clutter with one of them around! You know, I think I would be happy with our current (4 bed 2 bath) home IF we had no kids here. There is no room for all the cars at the moment, and I have to share my office with the guest bedroom (and we seem to have a continuous stream of guests). But as that could be a while away, we will probably shift to something a bit bigger within the next 12 months. Still, I can’t complain after living in that tiny worker’s cottage for so long!
Ha ha, I hear you Janet! The problem that we found with going bigger, is that shortly after moving in, one of the kids moved out. A year later, the next one did too. This left us flapping around in a lot of empty space, with only one kiddo still at home. We downsized, moved into this smaller space, and now a year and a half on, the last one has finally flown the nest! Try not to make the same mistakes we did – ours all left home between the ages of 18 and 20! We’re a bit annoyed over the compromises we’ve made over the years, because the plan has always been for us to eventually to move to the mountains of Victoria, and to escape the humidity in Queensland. This last move was only meant as a short-term interim solution aimed at getting the last kid through university. That was the plan. She failed her first year (not surprisingly), which pushed those plans to the back burner. Now she’s involved with a boy at uni, and decided to move in with him and his folks as they live closer to where the ‘action’ is. It’s annoying for us because we could’ve been well and truly settled into the place of our dreams. Instead of which we now find ourselves prematurely empty nesters who will have to once again go through the disruption and upheaval of selling up to make the move interstate. Oh the joys! Just please remember with your own long-term plans – kids come and go, some move on, some bounce back then move on again. In all honesty (as I tell myself), live your own life and don’t build it around the kids. We still aim to keep a much smaller footprint with the next house. ~ heather 😀 x
Great advice Heather – Mr 22 keeps nagging us to get a “bigger” house – but you’re right, I reckon he’ll be here a maximum of 3 years (he finishes his degree in 2 1/2). Miss 19 has already flown the coop but still bags a bedroom!
I just ran across this post after reading your most recent one, the recap of Problogger. I’m so jealous that you lived in a caravan and traveled around! What an amazing experience! I wish I had my kids’ younger days to do over, there are so many ways to bring them up and show them the world. We’re packed to the gills right now in our 4 bedroom, 2.5 bath, but my goal is to retire to a 2 bedroom (and I’d still like 2 bathrooms!)
It was truly an amazing experience Denise and one we will never regret. Hubster and I hope to do it again after we retire – but without kids this time!