To own or not to own

A house is a primary necessity, and for most of us buying one is an important step in life: however the high selling prices, in particular in big cities, have been a crucial obstacle to buy for many, who had to resort to renting or getting a mortgage.

If you’ve ever been renting, you’ll be familiar with the feeling of wasting money (often paying somebody else’s mortgage!)

Owning a house, on the other hand, has its own issues: maintaining a house in good conditions often incurs in expensive works and repairs, not forgetting the amount of taxes you have to pay, expecially if you own a large house.

For all these reasons, I wasn’t really surprised when I discovered the so called “Tiny Houses Movement”, and I have to admit that watching the miriad of videos on Youtube showing tiny houses has become one of my obsessions.

Living in a box

Humans were not meant to spend most of their time between close walls. Mens became self sufficient when they discovered they could plant seeds and grown their food, between 10000 and 7000 years ago. Life was spent outside, and houses where used only as shelters for the night. The industrial revolution changed everything: the development of new technologies made work easier, but at the same time it tricked workers in thinking that prosperity was connected to surplus. It created a need for more, paving the way to today’s consumerism. As a consequence men and women became also more and more disconnected with the land they once cherished and depended on, and houses grew larger and more wasteful.

But in recent years we have started seen a change in people’s mentality, and a growing interest in downsizing. For some the main reasons are financial, as people can’t afford increasing house prices around the world. For others there is also a genuine need to declutter their existence, both phisically and mentally.

Whether we are talking about mobile dwellings built on a trailer, converted shipping containers or vans with all the amenities of an apartment, one characteristic is common to all: they are small, sometimes VERY small.

If you decide to live in one of these you must be happy to perform your daily activities in less than 30 square meters.

The good thing about the small size is that it forces whoever chooses to live in it to downsize and decide what they really can’t live without. Once you’ve decided that, you’ll be forced to find innovative ways to fit all your possessions in a very small space.

You can also decide to build your house from scratch, to customize every little aspect of it.

You’ll have the opportunity to build your house around you and your needs, instead of compromising on living on a house often built for someone else.

Bespoke design, built around your personal needs

Small spaces design offers endless creative possibilities.

Planning your house in the smallest details gives you the opportunity of budgeting carefully every single expense, and to choose where you want to spend more or less: you can decide to use recycled wood to save some money, and invest more money to install a heated floor.

Investing in solar panels and a rain water collection system will allow you to save money in the long term, or even to go fully off grid and stop having to pay any utility bill.

Last but not least, living in a tiny house will force you to spend more time outside, offering the opportunity to reconnect with Nature and its cycles.

Although this might not be for everyone, I think that tiny houses are a brilliant response to nowaday’s housing issues, and they can help you in your journey towards financial indipendence and a sustainable lifestyle.

And you, have you ever thought about downsizing and living in a tiny house?