People often want to know the drawbacks of living in a tiny house. At times, the tiny house community lashes out against this. I think we feel judged. I mean, anyone living an alternative lifestyle ends up feeling judged at some point. And sometimes I feel that way too. People tell me that this lifestyle is crazy or assume that we eat take out and use my inlaw's house all the time. But regardless of the backlash, we've decided that this livig situation works best for us right now. It does include drawbacks. However, choosing a more typical house also has drawbacks. As a culture, we tend to assume that the drawbacks of living "mainstream" are just "the way it is." Yet when I take a look at the drawbacks of other paths we could have taken, I am reassured that we made the right choice.
One real sacrifice that we've had to make living in a tiny house is that we can't easily have people over. We do at times, especially over the summer, but it isn't comfortable. We get crowded really quick in here. When I meet new friends, my first instinct is to invite them over for dinner sometimes. Now, I refrain from doing this until they know us a little better and know what they may be getting into. As an alternative, I invite people out to eat somewhere. This is a little pricy and less intimate, but so it goes. I also can just wait until they invite me over to their house.
This Christmas season, I'm feeling the sacrifice of not being able to entertain friends and family. I want to be able to have a Christmas party. I would love for my parents to come to our little house on Christmas Eve for festivities. I don't regret our lack of tree inside or our lack of decorations. The minimalist in my prefers our clear walls and being relieved from the burden of having to store them the rest of the year. But the social person inside of me would loooove to have people over.
This is one drawback to living tiny- for me. Others would never concern themselves with such a matter. They would rather be alone or go out. But I am a bit of a homebody, and I like to invite others to my home. I am a bit disappointed at times, but then I realize that for me, the alternative wouldn't be much better. We'd probably be living in a small "budget" apartment. And really- that wouldn't be too much better for having people over. So for now, this is what we have, and it will be just fine. The benefits still far outweigh the sacrifices we are making.
One real sacrifice that we've had to make living in a tiny house is that we can't easily have people over. We do at times, especially over the summer, but it isn't comfortable. We get crowded really quick in here. When I meet new friends, my first instinct is to invite them over for dinner sometimes. Now, I refrain from doing this until they know us a little better and know what they may be getting into. As an alternative, I invite people out to eat somewhere. This is a little pricy and less intimate, but so it goes. I also can just wait until they invite me over to their house.
This Christmas season, I'm feeling the sacrifice of not being able to entertain friends and family. I want to be able to have a Christmas party. I would love for my parents to come to our little house on Christmas Eve for festivities. I don't regret our lack of tree inside or our lack of decorations. The minimalist in my prefers our clear walls and being relieved from the burden of having to store them the rest of the year. But the social person inside of me would loooove to have people over.
This is one drawback to living tiny- for me. Others would never concern themselves with such a matter. They would rather be alone or go out. But I am a bit of a homebody, and I like to invite others to my home. I am a bit disappointed at times, but then I realize that for me, the alternative wouldn't be much better. We'd probably be living in a small "budget" apartment. And really- that wouldn't be too much better for having people over. So for now, this is what we have, and it will be just fine. The benefits still far outweigh the sacrifices we are making.