Tiny House Tips and Resources: Your Questions Answered
Over the past couple weeks, I've noticed some great tiny house blog posts. These resources all address some of the most common questions about going tiny. I shared some of these on Facebook, but they're so good that I wanted to share them again. Below you'll find info on entering into a more minimalist lifestyle, on tiny house retirement, ladders/stairs, tools and tips, plus tiny living myths debunked. Enjoy!
More From Less: A Beginner’s Guide to the Minimalist Movement
CustomMade is know for their great infographics, and this one continues that trend. It's always helpful to have reminders about how much happiness we can bring into our lives by learning to live with less!
In today’s world, the average individual is likely to have more stuff than at any previous time in history. It can be difficult, in a society focused on conspicuous consumption, to follow the siren song of simplicity. But a growing movement known as minimalism shows us that living well with less isn’t just possible—it can be highly rewarding.
"Are you sure the minimalism movement is for you, or are you still on the fence? It doesn’t matter—you can always benefit from simplifying your life. It doesn’t have to be complicated (in fact, uncomplicated is the whole idea). And it doesn’t have to end with you living like a hermit. All it takes are a few small actions to lighten your load, free up your time, and save you a bit of money.
"It’s a change worth trying, but change doesn’t happen until you take the first step."
The Tiny Guide to Tiny House Retirement
This great guide by Ethan of TheTinyHouse.net explores the things one must consider if planning on living in a tiny house as a retirement strategy. Houses built for seniors are much different than those designed for those in their 20's or 30's!
I’ve been noticing recently that a lot of the people who email me about tiny house living are actually planning to move into tiny houses when they retire.
"Some of them are hoping they can cut living costs by going tiny. Others want to move away from the city and settle down in the countryside. Some plan to travel or visit family. And others see retirement as the ideal time to change their lifestyles and achieve a higher quality of life.
"But with their tight spaces and narrow ladders, tiny houses aren’t the most obvious homes for older folk. This got me wondering how tiny houses could be designed to meet the needs of older people."
How to Avoid Having a Ladder in Your Tiny House
Ladders are great space-savers that can help you get the most out of the small footprint of your tiny house. But many people don't want to climb a ladder multiple times a day. Fortunately there are several other option. This blog post by Ethan of TheTinyHouse.net gives examples of the many different approaches you can take to eliminate the ladder!
I receive a lot of questions from people who don’t want to use a ladder in their tiny house. For some people, in particular older people and those with limited mobility, using a ladder would be impossible.
"For others, it’s simply a case of preference. If you’re going to put time and money into building your own home, you want it to be as close to perfect as possible. If you’re not comfortable climbing ladders, you’re not going to enjoy living in your tiny house, and the whole experience will be a waste of time.
"So, what alternatives are there to the loft and ladder combination? I’ve scoured the internet, looking for clever, efficient, and quirky solutions to this dilemma, and it would seem that the range of designs out there is pretty impressive. If you’re anti-ladders, take a look and see if any of these designs could work for you!"
6 "Myths" Busted about Tiny Living
I love it when people come out and really tell it like it is! Tiny Notes From Home did just that with an honest response to some oft-perpetuated myths about the what it means to live the tiny life.
There are many mysteries about Tiny House Dwelling - where do you put all your stuff, do you have a real toilet, how about laundry, and where do the kids sleep? These are all legitimate questions. The answers are not as complicated as they might seem, so we will take some of the "myths" associated with Tiny House Dwelling and bring them into the light.
$50 That Will Make Your Tiny House Look Like A Million Bucks
It's always great to see some building tips learned through real experience. Sharing the "things I wish I knew" with others is so important to help make future tiny house builds that much more successful! Thanks Ryan from The Tiny Life for these great tips to make your interior finish work look like a million bucks!
Looking back on my build I realized that there were a few things that just made a huge difference in the quality of my finish work. I am total novice when it comes to finish wood working and before my tiny house I had never built anything, so I learned some secrets along the way that I wanted to share. What I realized was, there was a few things that cost only a few bucks that really took my finish work to the next level in terms of perceived quality. Here are a few:
I started living in an Airstream RV 1980, Back then I didn't know about tiny homes, this rv still serves me very well. I still live wherever I want after all that is the magic of smaller living!
I would really like for someone to design two tiny houses..... that would be set up together with either a deck or a screen room connecting them. One would have small kitchen and bath and a sleeping loft and a small conversational space with small fold down table for 2 or 3 chairs/people. The other would have two small bedrooms and a seating area with 2 special design love seats (maybe could fold down into bed/beds, for company.)