Wednesday, August 5, 2015

Pros and Cons of Living in a Tiny House

So you want a Tiny house?

But then you see negative remarks that make you wonder if you`re crazy.


Well you aren't! While Tiny houses [among everything in this world] do have some cons, They have a list of Pros to accompany them.

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Con:

Tiny Houses Cost more per Square foot.

Pro:

Tiny houses pack more punch per square foot, and generally cost less overall. When our Tinyhouse is finished we foresee having spend under $25K.  Do Tiny Homes Cost More Per Sq. Ft.?




Con:
Tiny homes aren`t meant to be pulled all of the time.

Pro:Tiny homes are not made to be actual RV`s, they are made to be homes. And although you shouldn't pull yours around willy nilly, you can absolutely pull your house from point A to B to C. Bonus you don't have to pay to have your home commercially hauled. Putting our Tiny life on Hold



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Con:
The walking space in a Tiny home is limited, so if there`s a mess, you probably tripped over it.

Pro:That exact Con is actually a Pro! Because you know space is limited you learn to be a tidier human. After all those things aren't meant to be on the floor anyway. The lack of floor space provides a fun challenge to see how compact you can make your furniture and storage. Its actually super fun!


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Problem:
Space is super tight to entertain guests.

Solution:
Invite friends who you feel comfortable in close quarters with. Keep foldable stools that take up hardly any space, tucked away. Design your space to open up in the face of company. For example our table folds down to allow the entire eating/living/kitchen area to be a Social Area.  Entertaining in the Tiny house

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Problem:

I Don`t have good credit because I didn't understand credit, now I cant get loans of any kind.

Solution:

Build your house without a loan! Start by getting your finances in order. Have you already cut back most of your entertainment costs [movies, bowling, eating out]? Try making a list of bills that cannot be shrunk. Then look to the lot of things that may have shrinking potential, for example your food budget. I save about $300 over what we used to spend by carefully selecting ingredients before hand. I look for that bang for my buck. A month of food for $150.



We built our Tiny home without credit or much savings at all. We just hunkered down and lived in the rough until each project brought us closer to civilization. 

Is it really affordable to build a Tiny house?
Building a Tiny house without good credit

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Rumor:

Tiny houses are resource Hogs! 


Reality:

It isn`t about the amount of energy used per square foot, it is about how much energy is used per household.
Unless your Tiny house is utilizing inefficient means of heating, your energy bill should be cut drastically. Electric heaters are a NO.

We use between 2 kWh and 4 kWh daily in our home. We even have a deep freezer and an old Dorm fridge [it has wood panelling]. 
 Electricity usage of a Tiny house


As for water, we use 5 gallons a day. That is probably lower than many other Tiny house dwellers, and wont be our permanent usage. Right now we don't have running water, so 5 gallons is what we haul in. However we will still use a comparably low amount even when our showers aren't from a basin. Being a woman in a Tiny house without running water



Our Heat bill is low, and last winter we weren't well insulated [Cardboard boxes came into play]. We used less than 90 gallons of diesel for the winter [and there is a lady in Fairbanks who only uses 40 gallons per winter!]. My moms 24x24  Log cabin uses between 400-500 gallons a winter, so you can see the difference in usage. It is a big deal.Choosing a Heat source for our 85 sq ft Tiny house

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Question:

Can I have Pets in a Tiny house?


Answer:

Absolutely! We have two cats in our 85 sq.ft Tiny home! That's a whole lot of cat to be in such a small space. However they love it, and so do we. Living in such close proximity without too many areas to hide, keeps us aware of them.

We have nine windows [if you include our door], and the kitties love watching birds and bugs through them.

Also, a little boasting on my part, our kitties are well trained to stay on the mini porch with us. We can relax with drinks while the girls enjoy some sunshine.

Wiping off surfaces often [and making a habit of it] will drastically help with keeping the pet hair amount down. Also, Brush your kitties to get rid of that excess debris and fur. As a firm nonbeliever in declawing, I clip my kitties nails every two weeks or so. This helps keep our furniture in good shape. 2 Cats in a Tiny house?!


Answering questions about Tiny house living
Painting our Tiny house: Before and After
Our Tiny Home





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