"How can you two live in such a small house?"
That's a question we often hear from people who haven't yet seen our cabin in person. Honestly, it can be a challenge at times because it does require discipline with your stuff. Everything we have in the house has a use or multiple uses, and each thing lives in a specific place. When people walk in, they are struck by a cozy, welcoming feeling- not a confined, trapped feeling. When you set a tiny house up well, it can be an amazing place to live and hang out.
Discipline with material goods is the key. Specifically, freeing yourself from as much stuff as possible. Get rid of stuff, and don't buy more than absolutely necessary.
In other parts of the world, people are genuinely starving and living without basic material necessities. In 'Murica, we get fat from unhealthy junk food and buy bloated, inefficient and expensive houses to store all of our crap. And even then, many people have to rent a storage locker to keep yet more crap!
What a giant waste of money, time and resources! And people wonder why they are overworked, tired and stressed out. Our wasteful consumer culture has convinced people that they need truckloads of new stuff to make them feel better and look good among their peers!
I will readily admit that I descend from a long line of people with hoarding tendencies. The purging of excess stuff was a hard one for me, and even at this very moment we have more to get gone. But, freeing ourselves of excess stuff was one of the best things we've ever done!
When we rented a two-level duplex in the city, we had a basement crammed with stuff. There were really only two or three places that we would hang out in the entire place most of the time. The duplex was heated by little electric wall heaters that would murder the electric bill when used a lot, but still the place remained freezing cold all winter. We quickly realized that this was a stupid way to live. When our roommates moved out, we were footing the bill for a huge, freezing cold place to store our crap while we essentially lived in a couple hundred square feet of it. That's when we went full force ahead on making this cabin happen!
The reality that we were surrounded by material goods that we hadn't actually used in years was sobering. It was costing us a fortune to live this way, with no real benefits for it. We lived in a house that was uncomfortable and expensive and we wanted out.
We did the math on what it would cost to buy a house somewhere, but found two main problems with that: One, we didn't know where exactly we wanted to live. Two, houses around here are crazy expensive. With a fixer upper going for close to 150k, decent houses easily going for 250k or more, I really think the days of buying a house as some kind of great investment are over. Over 30 years, you will pay the bank nearly
twice that amount in interest. So, paying twice as much as the original price of something is a good investment? Not to mention a very stiff payment every month and expensive upkeep and maintenance. This might work for some people, but definitely not for us.
So, we decided to have our tiny cabin built. We really wanted to build one of our own, but we did the math of staying in that duplex and it was going to drain the life out of us. We could have moved, but then we would be trying to finance a cabin build while moving and still paying rent somewhere. The best move for us was to secure a loan and have it built. The cabin price was very reasonable, the loan terms were pretty good. By doubling up on the payment, we pay the cabin off in a few short years all for less than what we were paying at that duplex.
I'm not an advocate for financing things, but I do believe that when used with caution and much forethought, financing can be used as a tool to make things happen.
How much did our cabin cost? Well it cost a heck of lot less than that turd of a new Chevy Tahoe you've got sitting in your driveway!
While not without it's shortcomings, our cabin is pretty easy to heat, clean and maintain. When you hear me whine about doing this project or that project, I'm just being lazy because I guess I must be getting used to living this simple and relaxed life!
Break your addiction to buying junk and rid yourself of the burden it places upon you, and you will probably feel like living in a smaller house anyway. Our house is much smaller than most, but even if you downsize from your 2,000 square footer to a 1,000 footer, you'll be helping more than just yourself.
The tiny house movement (yes it really is a movement!) is about more than just living in the smallest house possible; it's about taking responsibility for your own well being and the well being of those around you. By reducing the amount of stuff you consume, you not only make life far better for yourself and family, you make life better for everyone.
Choosing responsibility gives you the power to make good things happen and not to be a 'victim'.
We choose to take responsibility for ourselves and our actions. What do you take responsibility for?
By: Joe
