I'm still playing catch up with the 21st century ... but I've been designing and building tiny homes and shelters for homeless veterans, long before tiny houses were even a thing ...
If I can ever figure out any of these applications/social media... I would love nothing more than to help make people's lives easier and more enjoyably affordable
Really cool, Jason. Iām a real estate broker interested in affordable housing, and there is such a struggle with zoning/ jurisdictions to make these options more available. Very frustrating as there is such a need. Are you in the states. Would love to learn more about what youāre doing in your area.
I love when people share the realistic sides of different ways to live. For example, the documentary I found about the realities of living van life. It seemed like more con than pro once you really into it.
I'm intrigued by tiny-house living and I'm alone so half of your cons don't apply, such as sharing space. BUT...I think the biggest roadblock of affordability here in Canada would be land to put the house on. Nothing is cheap here and you'd have to go outside city limits to be allowed a tiny house. But country land is not affordable here.
We are pretty lucky, we're renting the land we're on at the moment. Not sure if that's an option where you're at? It allowed us to get our tiny house and now we're saving up to get our own land one day.
It may be an option somewhere. I havenāt seriously looked but I still love the idea of a tiny home OR a cabin. Up here in Canada thereās a company called Knotty Pine cabins and they sell prefab cabin packages in all sizes. Thatās my dream!
Lovely read Sophie. I have moved countries and homes 4 times, so I know how much stuff we can accumulate with the years passing by. With every move, I started to own less. But the last move happened 6 years ago so, yeah I have accumulated a bit more lol.
But I do sell, give away or trash stuff I don't need or use anymore. I stress when I have too much stuff around. So it's my therapy
Hello Sophie, I am a teen that loves off grid living, it is how I plan to build my house and how I plan to live once I move out. I was so happy to find your Substack because finding information on this type of living can be difficult! This list was so much fun to read, and had very good information in it!
Love your thoughtful balanced piece Sophie. 42m2 sounds quite spacious when I compare it to London living. I lived for several years with my then-partner in an apartment smaller than that in Central London, with zero outside space! It can be done š
Thanks for sharing your story about tiny house living. Iāve been intrigued for years and have spent the last decade getting rid of unnecessary belongings to move to a smaller space. How much stuff do you really need? My son is handy and we hope to build ourselves with the help of some contractor friends. I love the custom aspect of creating your space! Tiny might not work in my area because of zoning restrictions but itās finally getting easier to build an ADU ( Accessory Dwelling Unit) in most places in the US. An ADU is a small house built on land with another house. Thanks for peek at tiny house life.
The custom aspect is definitely my favourite. Everything is tailored pretty much to how we want it š and yes the zoning aspect can be tricky to navigate.
I've always enjoyed small spaces. Thank you for sharing. Yes, lots of codes that limits where you can have one. We are a people that likes conformity, aren't we?
This was so interesting to read! I live in a pretty big house with a husband, 4 kids and a dog, and weāve been there for many years so the collections of stuff are painfully big. Add to that the fact that everyone is pretty sentimental about their stuffā¦ However, the older I get, the less I want or need, and the more I would L.O.V.E. to hoover the house in 2 minutes!!! Downsizing is certainly in our future. Have you ever watched a series by George Clarke called Amazing Spaces? It inspires me every time (channel 4 uk or Apple TV I think). Loving your writing!
No I haven't heard of that series, but sounds like something I might enjoy. We don't have a TV lol but I'll see if I can find it online. If you like looking at tiny houses the Living big in a tiny house channel on YouTube is great!
I just spent a week in a tiny house and I left wanting one of my own. Although, more for retreating than living. Your pros and cons list anchored that decision in my mind, thank you! š„°
Very inspiring. There are difficulties living in a smaller space, as you have pointed out, but I think it forces us humans to consume less and buy only what we need and use the Earth's resources more carefully.
I like your response to moving--get rid of stuff that has been sitting in boxes, unopened, untouched.
This is what I have done during our many moves over the year here in urban Toronto. Such is common among renters, such as we are.
You had me at vacuuming done in just 2 minutes! I love how you're keeping things realistic for usāthank you! The "one-in-one-out" tip is exactly what I needed! I can definitely relate with all the boxes.
P.S. Could we get a picture on socks day, just for fun?
This was a great read and helped me ask myself some honest questions as I currently pack up my home and prep for my next house. My youngest child just graduated from high school and Iām ready to live in a place more for me. I know I want to downsize and live more simply and reading this is inspiring me to let go of even more āstuff.ā Feels good just thinking about it. Thank you!
Glad to have inspired you āŗļø if it helps: we each have one box of "memories", things that aren't of any value but are cherished memories. You could do something like that and hand pick items that you truly want to hold onto.
I guess it depends on how driven we are to make such significant lifestyle changes to live in a tiny house. Cause for in this day and age, many of us have been ingrained by the system to seek bigger houses and have materialistic tendencies.
It's good for us in that sense to reassess our priorities.
I replied to your other note as well, but yes we do get so caught up in how society tells us to live that we never really stop and think whether there are other ways!
I'm still playing catch up with the 21st century ... but I've been designing and building tiny homes and shelters for homeless veterans, long before tiny houses were even a thing ...
If I can ever figure out any of these applications/social media... I would love nothing more than to help make people's lives easier and more enjoyably affordable
I hope this message sends š
Really cool, Jason. Iām a real estate broker interested in affordable housing, and there is such a struggle with zoning/ jurisdictions to make these options more available. Very frustrating as there is such a need. Are you in the states. Would love to learn more about what youāre doing in your area.
Oh wow that's real cool! I honestly think tiny houses are the future for affordable housing!
I love when people share the realistic sides of different ways to live. For example, the documentary I found about the realities of living van life. It seemed like more con than pro once you really into it.
I'm intrigued by tiny-house living and I'm alone so half of your cons don't apply, such as sharing space. BUT...I think the biggest roadblock of affordability here in Canada would be land to put the house on. Nothing is cheap here and you'd have to go outside city limits to be allowed a tiny house. But country land is not affordable here.
Thanks for sharing this inside look!
We are pretty lucky, we're renting the land we're on at the moment. Not sure if that's an option where you're at? It allowed us to get our tiny house and now we're saving up to get our own land one day.
It may be an option somewhere. I havenāt seriously looked but I still love the idea of a tiny home OR a cabin. Up here in Canada thereās a company called Knotty Pine cabins and they sell prefab cabin packages in all sizes. Thatās my dream!
Lovely read Sophie. I have moved countries and homes 4 times, so I know how much stuff we can accumulate with the years passing by. With every move, I started to own less. But the last move happened 6 years ago so, yeah I have accumulated a bit more lol.
But I do sell, give away or trash stuff I don't need or use anymore. I stress when I have too much stuff around. So it's my therapy
It's crazy how much and how quickly we accumulate! I'm the same, too many things around stresses me out
Hello Sophie, I am a teen that loves off grid living, it is how I plan to build my house and how I plan to live once I move out. I was so happy to find your Substack because finding information on this type of living can be difficult! This list was so much fun to read, and had very good information in it!
Ooh that's so cool, you've got a vision for your future! It can be difficult to find info! Yell out if you have any questions š
I will be sure to do that
Love your thoughtful balanced piece Sophie. 42m2 sounds quite spacious when I compare it to London living. I lived for several years with my then-partner in an apartment smaller than that in Central London, with zero outside space! It can be done š
oh absolutely, 42m2 is actually quite decent for a tiny home - it's probably more medium-sized living š
I'm curious whereabouts in NZ you are based?
Near Raglan. Youāre in Auckland?
Oh nice area š Yes I'm in Auckland.
I might also consider getting a tiny house. Who knows?
It's worth it āŗļø
Thanks for sharing your story about tiny house living. Iāve been intrigued for years and have spent the last decade getting rid of unnecessary belongings to move to a smaller space. How much stuff do you really need? My son is handy and we hope to build ourselves with the help of some contractor friends. I love the custom aspect of creating your space! Tiny might not work in my area because of zoning restrictions but itās finally getting easier to build an ADU ( Accessory Dwelling Unit) in most places in the US. An ADU is a small house built on land with another house. Thanks for peek at tiny house life.
The custom aspect is definitely my favourite. Everything is tailored pretty much to how we want it š and yes the zoning aspect can be tricky to navigate.
I've always enjoyed small spaces. Thank you for sharing. Yes, lots of codes that limits where you can have one. We are a people that likes conformity, aren't we?
We sure are š
This was so interesting to read! I live in a pretty big house with a husband, 4 kids and a dog, and weāve been there for many years so the collections of stuff are painfully big. Add to that the fact that everyone is pretty sentimental about their stuffā¦ However, the older I get, the less I want or need, and the more I would L.O.V.E. to hoover the house in 2 minutes!!! Downsizing is certainly in our future. Have you ever watched a series by George Clarke called Amazing Spaces? It inspires me every time (channel 4 uk or Apple TV I think). Loving your writing!
No I haven't heard of that series, but sounds like something I might enjoy. We don't have a TV lol but I'll see if I can find it online. If you like looking at tiny houses the Living big in a tiny house channel on YouTube is great!
Ooh thank you! Love a rec. the other one should be available online somewhere!
I just spent a week in a tiny house and I left wanting one of my own. Although, more for retreating than living. Your pros and cons list anchored that decision in my mind, thank you! š„°
Oh yay, glad to have inspired you š
Great read Sophie. I love how you write. I downsized multiple times. The last one was a year ago. Slowly I'm clearing out the stuff.
Thanks Christie. Yes downsizing is very much a process š
Very inspiring. There are difficulties living in a smaller space, as you have pointed out, but I think it forces us humans to consume less and buy only what we need and use the Earth's resources more carefully.
I like your response to moving--get rid of stuff that has been sitting in boxes, unopened, untouched.
This is what I have done during our many moves over the year here in urban Toronto. Such is common among renters, such as we are.
Yeah similar in New Zealand, we were renting up until we moved into this place. That's why we moved around so much.
Love your summary. Unfortunately the picture of your sock day lived rent free in my attic...š¤£
Thanks for a very interesting and funny read.
Haha glad you enjoyed it š
You had me at vacuuming done in just 2 minutes! I love how you're keeping things realistic for usāthank you! The "one-in-one-out" tip is exactly what I needed! I can definitely relate with all the boxes.
P.S. Could we get a picture on socks day, just for fun?
Haha good idea! I'll see what I can do š
This was a great read and helped me ask myself some honest questions as I currently pack up my home and prep for my next house. My youngest child just graduated from high school and Iām ready to live in a place more for me. I know I want to downsize and live more simply and reading this is inspiring me to let go of even more āstuff.ā Feels good just thinking about it. Thank you!
Glad to have inspired you āŗļø if it helps: we each have one box of "memories", things that aren't of any value but are cherished memories. You could do something like that and hand pick items that you truly want to hold onto.
I guess it depends on how driven we are to make such significant lifestyle changes to live in a tiny house. Cause for in this day and age, many of us have been ingrained by the system to seek bigger houses and have materialistic tendencies.
It's good for us in that sense to reassess our priorities.
I replied to your other note as well, but yes we do get so caught up in how society tells us to live that we never really stop and think whether there are other ways!