Similar in Belgium, there were so many rules about what is and isn't allowed. It's part of why we moved to New Zealand, so we could be a bit more free about how we lived our lives.
I love your honesty about tiny house living. I have a big house but am cycle touring with a tent at the moment, so have gone from one extreme to another. I am a creative and need space for creative stuff and books and board games, so a tiny will not be in my future, but downsizing will be.
Love this! My husband and I traveled full-time in a van together before our son was born and we're currently transitioning from a big house in Mexico to a teeny tiny studio apartment in the states. Not exactly as charming as a tiny home but many of the lessons still apply. Good reminders ❤️
Teeny tiny apartment has its charms as well! Before this we actually stayed in a studio apartment for a while, while we were building our tiny house. It was like a practice run 😊
Sophie, I love this real life look at what is really involved in tiny house living. Especially tiny house living with another human being. You and I talked about the toilet, but I love this extra insight on things like laundry and cooking smells and the fact that tiny house doesn't mean tiny expenses. These are things we all overlook when we see these cute little spaces.
Do you feel like you spend a lot of time tidying up after yourselves? It seems like you couldn't just leave something for another day without the space starting to feel crowded or messy pretty quick. Am I imagining that or is that a thing? Also, I suppose it wouldn't take long to clean and tidy up a small space. Or would it? (I feel like the seasonal changeover has got me all into cleaning all of a sudden. sigh)
Yes! I can't believe I forgot to mention that! I spend a lot of time cleaning up after my husband 🤣 I'm definitely of the opinion that you can't leave too much out because the space starts to feel so messy so quickly. But he is of a different opinion and that does tend to clash sometimes!
Hi Sophie, thank you for sharing such an honest perspective on tiny house living. I really appreciate that you acknowledge it's not for everyone, that kind of honesty is refreshing.
I find myself on completely the opposite end of the spectrum from you. I'm more of a prepper type who needs space for food storage, a garden, a woodworking shop, stacking firewood, solar equipment, chicken coops, and all the tools that come with a self-sufficient lifestyle. The idea of fitting all that into a tiny space seems almost impossible to me!
But I have to say, there's something really appealing about experiencing that simplicity for a short time.
Thanks for giving us this honest glimpse into your life.
yeah the food storage is a thing I do miss sometimes! Even just having a bigger freezer would be nice sometimes - but with our limited solar power we just can't. Other than that we do still have a garden, firewood and solar equipment. My husband does his woodworking outside and if we wanted chickens we certainly have space for them. The tools are stored in a separate area. So all of those things are certainly possible even when the living space is tiny 😁
Loved reading about your home! Funny, I remember the "off-grid" part of my home far more often than the "tiny home" part. At night I usually remember, because I insisted on a king-sized bed in a room that's about 20 x 20 feet. And yes, I am aware that the bed takes up most of the room. It seems silly to have insisted on a king-sized bed, but dang it, I did, because a queen size doen't comfortably fit two humans and two large dogs. Not sorry.
This made me chuckle — the mental image of your tiny house doubling as a walk-in dryer with socks hanging from the ceiling! 😄
No lifestyle is perfect, and tiny living has its quirks for sure. But also, the idea of waking up smelling curry because your kitchen and bedroom are one is oddly charming. Thanks for the reality check and the inspiration, Sophie.
Great article, These are great reflections from your tiny living experience. I hope you find your boots soon :) I agree about the toilet, Outdoors and seperate from the rest of the tiny house. My next iteration will have a stand alone sleeping unit that doesn't share air with the kitchen and bathroom. No plumbing and very little electricity. Designed to promote really good sleep.
Yeah we're building another unit now as well which will be bedroom and ensuite. Away from kitchen and everything else. Same reason: promote good sleep! ☺️
I would love to live in a tiny home but cost and finding land to site it is virtually impossible in the UK unfortunately! Some great tips though. 😊
Similar in Belgium, there were so many rules about what is and isn't allowed. It's part of why we moved to New Zealand, so we could be a bit more free about how we lived our lives.
I love your honesty about tiny house living. I have a big house but am cycle touring with a tent at the moment, so have gone from one extreme to another. I am a creative and need space for creative stuff and books and board games, so a tiny will not be in my future, but downsizing will be.
Downsizing my books was probably the hardest thing! I've now embraced my e-reader but I do still buy way too many books!
I have an e reader, but also so many fantasy books I love to re read.
Love this! My husband and I traveled full-time in a van together before our son was born and we're currently transitioning from a big house in Mexico to a teeny tiny studio apartment in the states. Not exactly as charming as a tiny home but many of the lessons still apply. Good reminders ❤️
Teeny tiny apartment has its charms as well! Before this we actually stayed in a studio apartment for a while, while we were building our tiny house. It was like a practice run 😊
Sophie, I love this real life look at what is really involved in tiny house living. Especially tiny house living with another human being. You and I talked about the toilet, but I love this extra insight on things like laundry and cooking smells and the fact that tiny house doesn't mean tiny expenses. These are things we all overlook when we see these cute little spaces.
Do you feel like you spend a lot of time tidying up after yourselves? It seems like you couldn't just leave something for another day without the space starting to feel crowded or messy pretty quick. Am I imagining that or is that a thing? Also, I suppose it wouldn't take long to clean and tidy up a small space. Or would it? (I feel like the seasonal changeover has got me all into cleaning all of a sudden. sigh)
Yes! I can't believe I forgot to mention that! I spend a lot of time cleaning up after my husband 🤣 I'm definitely of the opinion that you can't leave too much out because the space starts to feel so messy so quickly. But he is of a different opinion and that does tend to clash sometimes!
I wonder if he'd be of a different opinion if you just left it. How long would it take before he cracked? 🤭
It takes a long time trust me I've tried 🤣
🤣
Hi Sophie, thank you for sharing such an honest perspective on tiny house living. I really appreciate that you acknowledge it's not for everyone, that kind of honesty is refreshing.
I find myself on completely the opposite end of the spectrum from you. I'm more of a prepper type who needs space for food storage, a garden, a woodworking shop, stacking firewood, solar equipment, chicken coops, and all the tools that come with a self-sufficient lifestyle. The idea of fitting all that into a tiny space seems almost impossible to me!
But I have to say, there's something really appealing about experiencing that simplicity for a short time.
Thanks for giving us this honest glimpse into your life.
yeah the food storage is a thing I do miss sometimes! Even just having a bigger freezer would be nice sometimes - but with our limited solar power we just can't. Other than that we do still have a garden, firewood and solar equipment. My husband does his woodworking outside and if we wanted chickens we certainly have space for them. The tools are stored in a separate area. So all of those things are certainly possible even when the living space is tiny 😁
Loved reading about your home! Funny, I remember the "off-grid" part of my home far more often than the "tiny home" part. At night I usually remember, because I insisted on a king-sized bed in a room that's about 20 x 20 feet. And yes, I am aware that the bed takes up most of the room. It seems silly to have insisted on a king-sized bed, but dang it, I did, because a queen size doen't comfortably fit two humans and two large dogs. Not sorry.
I fully understand, we have a king size bed too! I need that space 🤣
This made me chuckle — the mental image of your tiny house doubling as a walk-in dryer with socks hanging from the ceiling! 😄
No lifestyle is perfect, and tiny living has its quirks for sure. But also, the idea of waking up smelling curry because your kitchen and bedroom are one is oddly charming. Thanks for the reality check and the inspiration, Sophie.
I hope you are having a good week :)
I don't have a great sense of smell anyway so the curry smell doesn't actually bother me. Lucky 😁
Great article, These are great reflections from your tiny living experience. I hope you find your boots soon :) I agree about the toilet, Outdoors and seperate from the rest of the tiny house. My next iteration will have a stand alone sleeping unit that doesn't share air with the kitchen and bathroom. No plumbing and very little electricity. Designed to promote really good sleep.
Yeah we're building another unit now as well which will be bedroom and ensuite. Away from kitchen and everything else. Same reason: promote good sleep! ☺️