I could spend pages and pages writing an answer to this question, but I’ll try to stay concise. Many reasons led up to the purchase, but ultimately, based on our values and goals for our life, we couldn’t see doing anything differently.
As a young, newly married couple with average jobs, we only had a couple of living options. We could…
– Rent a decent apartment and not save very much money
– Rent a cheap apartment and save money for a house
– Live with family
– Put a down payment on a townhouse or fixer- upper and pay a mortgage
– Do something different
We know that we want to save money, so renting a decent apartment was out. The cheap apartments around our area are generally in bad areas, inconvenient, and are cheap for a reason. Gardening is also really important to Alex, so having a yard to do that in was a priority. Living with family was an option, but we knew that we’d get tired of that set up pretty quickly and that it would be difficult for us to establish ourselves as a couple.
Many people encouraged us to buy a house. I didn’t want to. First, we’d have to pay a mortgage. Since we couldn’t afford the location that we REALLY want (somewhere with land), saving up money would be difficult. If we didn’t have to pay a mortgage, I didn’t want to. I also didn’t like the idea of buying a house to fix up. For some people, that’s a hobby. For me, I want my house to be somewhere I dwell, not something that I do.
And to be completely honest, I don’t trust the housing system. My parents’ generation viewed houses as an investment. My generation witnessed the housing collapse. To me, having a mortgage on a house means risk of foreclosure. I’ve seen so many people lose their houses. I’ve seen so many new housing developments sit empty. Houses are sold for less than what they were purchased. Perhaps my views are unfounded and these suspicions are largely emotional, but I don’t have any interest in having a mortgage.
That left us with the option of doing something different. I had heard about tiny houses for a long time. I had experience in living simply, and we liked the idea of minimalism. Because we had a place to park the tiny house, it became our favorite option. And six months later, here we are.
Americans are known for our love of excess- extra big, extra tall, supersize, more, more more. Americans aren’t known for being content. And I think by now, we’ve all observed this: more stuff doesn’t make us happier.
Compared to the world and to history, large houses are the exception, not the norm. The average home size in the UK is 818 square feet. The average home size in Hong Kong is 464 square feet. In America, the average size for new homes is 2598 square feet. The average size of all homes is 2164 square feet. In 1983, it was 1725 square feet. In 1950, it was 1100 square feet.
Fewer items means fewer things to take care of, make decisions about, and think about. I’ve found that having fewer material items frees up mental energy to think about other things and frees up time to do other things. I also appreciate what I have and find myself more content with what’s before me compare to having more things.
We take up the space we have available. A big kitchen will quickly get filled with utensils. A big closet will quickly get filled with clothing. If we have nowhere to put things, we don’t bring them into the house. For us, starting small means that we filter everything through a 150 square foot lens. I’m sure I would have more items if I had the space. A tiny space helps me to limit what I purchase and store.
One quote that captures the heart of American suburban materialism is this: “We attempt to recreate the outside world within our abodes”. And this made so much sense to me. We want our own yard playground, instead of going to a local park. We want an in home cappuccino maker, so we don’t have to go to Starbucks. We have in home movie theaters and spas and gyms. All together, it all seems so selfish and individualistic. A large part of why we like minimalism with our things is because we value community and time with people.
When we stop comparing ourselves to “normal”, living in a tiny space gets much easier. If we redefine the word “need”, life gets much simpler. When we live within our means, and stop looking at others, we find ourselves much more content.