Live With Intention In a Tiny House

Worried about tackling local zoning laws, navigating super-close quarters with your partner, or putting together the ultimate capsule wardrobe? Owners of tiny homes do sometimes struggle with these challenges. So before you take the plunge, stay in a tiny home rental or tape off tiny square footage on the floor of your current home. Still intrigued? The bonus: if you decide to live with intention in a tiny house, you may find peace of mind in the process.

1. Living Debt-Free Removes a Weight From Your Shoulders (and Your Mind!)

Fewer than 1 in 4 Americans live debt-free. The average American owes $1.45 for every $1 in yearly income they earn. Our first and second mortgages, on average, post the highest balances, student- and car loans come next, then credit cards, and lastly, personal loans.

The much lower cost of a tiny house frees money to pay off other debts you may carry. While 68% of tiny home buyers own their homes with no mortgage, even those who need to finance a tiny loan start with a lower-than-average total.

It’s demoralizing to earn money only to hand it over to pay for items you already own. Or, in the case of student loans or credit card debt, to continue to pay for services and objects from your past. In fact, being mired in debt gets in the way of clear thinking and strong decision-making.

Freeing up funds means more money to spend now and to use in your future. You can build an emergency fund, save for retirement, or even travel the world.

2. More Time Outside Makes You Feel Better

The psychological benefits of being outside start immediately. People feel happier and calmer, think and sleep better. You’ll probably be more active, too.

You may choose, like many tiny home residents with limited indoor space, to surround your home with a bit of land. Whether traveling between parks or buying a piece of nature somewhere beautiful, having lovely surroundings will expand your house’s liveable area beyond its tiny indoors.

Spread out into this space: barbeque outside regularly, sit on your outdoor porch or rooftop patio, hike, bike, garden, or snowshoe. Entertaining in your yard, with the house as a support for the celebration, helps overcome one of the inherent limitations of small square footage.

Harvard public health professor Peter James says, “the ability to recover from stress is better in natural settings, because that’s where we are meant to be.” Tiny home living encourages this focus.

Bring nature inside, too, by exploring vertical gardening.

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3. Choosing between Fewer Things Reduces Stress

Decision-making takes energy. While you no doubt relish digging into detailed options for things you’re passionate about, for most daily choices, fewer equals better. In fact, the condition of choice overload leads to buyer’s remorse, or even to becoming paralyzed, unable to decide at all.

For example, I find that having limited outfits in my suitcase contributes to a relaxing vacation. I usually bring only my favorite pieces, and plan an entire outfit for each specific day. Because I spend almost no time choosing what to wear, I also give little notice to the clothes I’m not wearing that day. So I feel more content.

Tiny home living requires this same thought process. Whether cookware, shoes, or artwork, you’ll make many choices upfront about how you want to fill your limited storage. Your future self will thank you!

4. Being Surrounded with Only Things You Treasure Pays Off In Peacefulness

Mainstream culture tells us to constantly shop for more and more things. As a result, we inevitably end up with plenty that aren’t great.

Marie Kondo’s technique teaches keeping only items that spark joy. She understands that the emotions tied into our possessions remain connected to them, at least in our heads and hearts.

What if you only lived with things you loved or were highly useful, like your favorite shoes, a tiny memento from traveling, or a beautiful handmade mug? Bela and Spencer, tiny home dwellers, blog that, “Living in a tiny house is a chance to have items you treasure. Not just less things that you hate.”

Organize your home intentionally to pump up the joy!

5. Living Your Values Boosts Self-Esteem

Whether turning your back on materialism, having a smaller environmental footprint, or working to live instead of living to work, your tiny house supports your priorities. Among other benefits of knowing and acting upon what you most value, taking steps based upon them improves your confidence.

Materialism means the belief that getting things brings happiness. People who hold this value report less happiness and more depression. Winnowing your possessions down to the ones that will fit in your tiny home flies in the face of consumer culture.

Similarly, tiny home living supports environmental values, whether you are upcycling materials for construction, installing a small home wind turbine, using a composting toilet, or relying on solar. Tiny homes, at 100-400 square feet, simply use fewer resources than most houses or even apartments.

Tiny home living may or may not be for you, and you may be considering it for many reasons, including pure necessity. Designing your home and its surroundings around benefits other small space occupants have experienced will support your pocketbook and help you find peace of mind.

See Our Other Wellness Posts

• 8 Relationship Tips: How to Live in a Tiny House Together
• Raising a Family in a Tiny House
• Preparing to Move Into a Tiny House
• Dealing with a Bad Day in Your Tiny House