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| ISBN-13: | 9781440333248 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Penguin Publishing Group |
| Publication date: | 06/16/2014 |
| Sold by: | Penguin Group |
| Format: | eBook |
| Pages: | 176 |
| File size: | 64 MB |
| Note: | This product may take a few minutes to download. |
CHAPTER 1
THE TINY HOUSE LIFESTYLE
People have tried to define exactly what a tiny house is, and these definitions have brought much debate. But trying to define a tiny house is missing the point. Tiny houses have sparked the imagination because they have taken housing to a place that many people had never even considered. To some, the mere fact that there was an alternative to large homes didn't even enter into the realm of possibility. The movement has built houses that many thought were not possible. It has brought back a design sense that has been lacking in most housing built in the past thirty years. It has carefully evaluated what humans need from the environments in which they live — which are often not taken into consideration in today's traditionally built homes.
Case Study: Andrew and Crystal Odom
How It All Started
Andrew and Crystal Odom's life in a tiny house started out with a simple question — "what if?"
"What if we didn't see wants as wants, but as goals?" The Odoms asked themselves this question at the beginning of their marriage, when they were saddled with debt and looking forward to the life that they wanted to build. They reasoned that transforming a "want" into a goal would motivate them and help them create an action plan to achieve what they wanted.
Their plan was practical and an interesting departure from the culture of conspicuous consumption that Andrew was participating in before his marriage to Crystal. Andrew describes growing up in a culture in which you went to school — college if you were lucky — with the goal of getting the highest paying job possible so you could "consume in a conspicuous fashion. You consume to show others how successful you are," Andrew said.
It's a culture that shows its prosperity through material goods. Before his marriage, Andrew had done his best to consume conspicuously, spending his paychecks and taking on debt for an expensive new truck — purchased with the intent to impress and fit in. Andrew said he felt social pressures to be the provider for his family, and that culturally he believed it was his duty to provide a big house, expensive vehicles, and the best clothes so other people could see how he had "made it."
As a result, Andrew brought a large amount of debt to the marriage. Luckily, Andrew figured out that he wasn't obligated to participate in the culture of consumption that surrounded him. The Odoms realized that they were the best judges of their own personal success and that they could decide for themselves what would make them successful instead of following their culture's definition of success.
One of their ideas of personal success was to be debt-free, so they aggressively paid down their debt and then started to build the life they wanted to lead.
Making the Decision
Andrew had realized it was time for him to walk away from the culture of conspicuous consumption, but the newlyweds still needed a home of their own. They had been approved for a home loan of almost $200,000, something that would have been a mark of success for Andrew in the past, but Crystal helped him stay on track by reminding him that their personal definition of success was to be debt-free. With that goal in mind, they explored all sorts of alternative dwellings.
They had wanted to build a small cabin, but realized with the zoning laws and other factors, it was going to cost a lot of money for such a simple house. For the acre plot of land that they owned in eastern North Carolina, they saw a lot of opportunity. They considered yurts, park models, and finally tiny houses. Building a tiny house on a trailer was a way for them to avoid much of the costs that came with dealing with codes, zoning, and related requirements.
When they started thinking about the features and characteristics they needed in their home, they went through a process of examining their lifestyle. A lot of their time was spent outdoors, and they mostly just needed their home to be a place to sleep and to prepare and eat meals. They both had lives outside the home.
Crystal had just finished with mission work and her possessions were limited to a backpack. Andrew had sold much of his belongings to pay off debt, so the two of them had very little to start their new life. This made the transition into tiny house living easy because "you don't need a lot of space to put things if you don't have a lot of stuff to put somewhere," Andrew said.
Currently, Andrew works from home. He often works at quiet places in his community (during this interview he was at a workspace at his local library). He plans to build a separate small home office soon because he spends most of his time away from his office.
They were able to pay for their home with cash and built what they could from what they had on hand. Freedom from a mortgage has allowed them to save for their next projects: building Andrew's home office and saving for a tiny house for their daughter.
Accommodating a Child The Odoms were just about ready to start building their tiny house when they found out they were going to have a baby. While having children has deterred many people from building a tiny house, the Odoms decided to continue with their plans and simply adjust the design to include an area for the child.
Raising a child in a tiny house isn't as difficult as people imagine, the Odoms say. Their daughter is still young (two years old at the time of the interview) and the house can easily accommodate all three family members. They have a designated space for their daughter's things. In the future, as their daughter grows up, they plan to build a separate tiny house for her so she can have her own room but still be close by.
They are selective about how many toys their daughter has. If there is a toy their daughter is not playing with, it finds its way out of the house. "We try to keep things minimal not for the sake of being minimal, but for the sake of why does this kid need all this stuff because the more stuff she has, the less imagination she uses," Andrew said.
Allotting Storage Space
When it comes to storage, the Odoms' tiny house meets their needs as a family in a variety of ways. In general, the family just doesn't have a lot of space. Each member has an allotted amount of space for his or her.. personal things. Crystal and Andrew each have a small nook where they keep a wooden box of important keepsakes and things that have significant sentimental value. Their daughter has a space with some shelves for her books and toys.
Their main storage area is a 4'×4 closet that serves as the clothes closet for the entire family. This closet holds only the current season's clothes. They swap out their winter and summer clothes seasonally. Off-season clothes are stored out of the way in a small shed.
They also have what they call a "garage," a small storage space built over the tongue of the trailer and accessible from the outside of the house. This space is where they store shoes and extra items not used on a regular basis.
While the Odoms don't have a lot of material possessions, the items they do have are very high quality, which means they will last longer and work better, and they will need less in the long run. When it does come time for something new, they make sure that they use the "one in, one out" rule to help keep things in order and make room for everything.
Daily Life in a Tiny House
The Odoms describe daily life in a tiny house as more intense. "When it's romantic, it's more romantic; when it's angry, it's more angry; when it's comical, it's more comical. Everything is amped up," Andrew said.
Living in a smaller space has made them more aware of each other's personal needs and caused them to be more courteous when one of them needs space. Andrew views his family as an intentional decision. His wife and daughter are the people he wants to be with, so he enjoys spending time with them in the small space. While there are times when there is stress in the home, Andrew believes these stressful times occur less often than if his family lived in a typical-sized house.
Andrew said living in a tiny house has made him more aware of the importance of cultivating relationships. He now devotes the majority of his time and energy to his relationships, and as a result he has seen a big difference in them. He realized that before he moved into a tiny house he used to buy affection in his relationships through gifts and other tangible goods. It's a trend he believes is common in American culture. "We all are guilty of it at some point," he said. "We buy a gift because it's the easy way out."
While the family still exchanges gifts, it's only a few gifts to which they have given a lot of time and consideration. When they buy a gift for their daughter, they make sure it's something that will enlighten her, something they know she will use regularly, and often they give her an experience she would enjoy rather than a physical object.
They also have more leisure time together as a family. Instead of spending their weekends doing domestic chores, the way many of Andrew's peers do, the Odoms' housekeeping takes mere minutes. It takes about seven minutes to clean all the flooring in the entire house. The small kitchen cleans up quickly, and there is less stuff to put away because there isn't much stuff to begin with.
The biggest change a tiny house has brought to the Odom family is financial independence. "If I lost my job tomorrow I'd be sad but I wouldn't be devastated," Andrew said. "Life would keep on going. Each month my family would have a roof over our heads, guaranteed."
With their financial goals met, the Odoms are now able to focus on other goals. They are planning to travel more as a family. Crystal and Andrew are going to finally go on their honeymoon, and they want to be able to offer experience and opportunity to their daughter.
Zoning and Legal Issues
Many areas have building codes and zoning regulations that make tiny houses illegal. The Odoms worked with local officials in their hometown in eastern North Carolina to come to terms that gave their tiny home legal status as a residence.
Andrew wants to see more tiny houses come into the fold on legal issues. He would like to see tiny houses become accepted as legal homes. He agrees with the growing sense that there needs to be more self-regulation among tiny house owners. He would like to see responsible tiny house owners build homes in more urban and suburban communities and become contributing members of those communities rather than tuck their tiny homes off the grid in the countryside.
What a Tiny House Is — and Isn't
Today's homes are designed for maximum square footage so people can fill them with stuff. We build three-car garages for our vehicles, huge walk-in closets for all our clothes, and formal dining rooms that are dined in only twice a year. Today's traditional houses serve not only as places to store stuff but also, in a weird way, as places that pay homage to stuff. Traditional design focuses on where to put stuff within the home rather than identifying how people interact with the elements of the home — how the home makes us feel and how designs can compel us to connect both with each other inside the home and with the outside world.
What makes tiny houses stand out over most of today's houses is their intentional design and their use of space, materials, light, and function. Tiny houses are both beautiful and functional. And while they provide a comfortable lifestyle, they avoid the trappings of consumerism. It takes a lot of self-reflection to be able to live in a tiny home.
The journey toward living in a tiny house prompts many questions. What is important in life? What are my needs and wants? Where do my wants come from and how does consumerism play into this? It is these questions and many more that make a tiny house more than just a house; it's a place that requires you to foster a lifestyle that you both choose and seek.
So, while there are many competing definitions of a tiny house, understand that tiny houses have made a name for themselves by taking existing definitions and turning them on their heads.
I would generally define a tiny house as a home that meets the following three principles:
1. It focuses on effective use of space.
2. It relies on good design to meet the needs of the residents.
3. It serves as a vehicle to a lifestyle that the resident wishes to pursue.
Many are keen on placing a specific number of square feet to define a tiny house, but I think size really depends on many factors and we shouldn't pigeonhole ourselves to a number. Building a tiny house on a trailer has been a popular style and until recently, the size of the trailer determined the size of the house. Because of Department of Transportation regulations, many people seek a trailer that can be towed down most roads without special permits. This means that a house built on the trailer can be no wider than 8.5 feet, no taller than 13.5 feet, and the length can vary depending on the state in which the trailer is registered. So those who want to trailer their tiny house are limited to less than 340 square feet for their home.
However, some people are willing to seek special permits for their tiny houses on trailers. The 340-square-foot limitation was quickly turned on its head when people started receiving permits for wide loads. There are now tiny houses that are built using several trailer modules, combining two or three individual tiny houses to make up a single house. Other tiny house residents have worked with their local code enforcement to build their tiny houses on traditional foundations. Some even use the tiny house as the core of the home, while utilizing traditional outbuildings for additional living space.
I think the most important thing to understand when it comes to the question of how many square feet are in a tiny home is the size of the space relative to the number of people living in it. This means a single person living in 200 square feet and families of five living in 1,200 square feet are both living in tiny houses. Both homes require the residents to be intentional about the space they live in, including how they design and arrange it and how they use the house as a vehicle, to live the life they wish to live. Herein lies a key point that many don't understand about tiny houses: A tiny house is not just a home — it is a lifestyle.
In general tiny houses are so small, they're extreme. Most people don't expect a tiny-house advocate to acknowledge that tiny homes are quite radical in their approach. So why do people who live in them go to such an extreme? It is because today's housing status quo doesn't meet our goals in life. We find that in order to "keep up with the Joneses" we must give up too much of what we hold dear in this life. People who live in tiny houses have assessed the current situation of housing, time, money, relationships, and well being and determined that in order to achieve what they want most in life, they must radically change how they approach things.
What Has "Living Large" Done for You?
Some may think living in a tiny house requires too much sacrifice. Maybe that's because we've been told that having the biggest, the best, and the most of everything guarantees happiness. Let's look into this "guarantee." Census numbers show that an average American household will bring home an annual income of around $51,000 and between 33 and 50 percent ("Shelter Shock: Who Can Live by the 30% Rule?" http://www.mint.com/blog/housing/shelter-shockwho -can-live-by-the-30-rule-0113) of that income will pay for housing. This is a sharp increase from the 1950s when only 26 percent of annual household income was spent on housing. Remember that the size of the average American house is increasing (now 2,400 square feet) while the size of the average American family is decreasing ("American Households are Getting Smaller — and Headed by Older Adults" http://www.marketingcharts.com/wp/topics/ demographics/americanhouseholds-are-getting-smaller-and-headed-by-older -adults-24981). So the average American is chasing a bigger house but carrying a bigger housing bill in the pursuit.
Today, the average American has more stuff than ever before. As a society we have been purchasing things at an ever-increasing rate. And while we've increased our rate of consumption, we've also increased the rate at which we dispose of things. In the average home, people either stop using or throw away an item within six months of purchasing it. Yet we could spend years paying off the credit card debt used to finance the items. It is a vicious cycle.
(Continues…)
Excerpted from "Tiny House Living"
by .
Copyright © 2014 Ryan Mitchell.
Excerpted by permission of F+W Media, Inc..
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.
Introduction,
1 The Tiny House Lifestyle,
2 Why Choose Voluntary Simplicity?,
3 The Tiny House Movement,
4 How Consumer Culture Impacts the Movement,
5 The Path to Living Tiny,
6 Designing a Tiny Life,
7 Designing a Tiny House,
8 Realize Your Dream to Live Tiny,
Resources,
Copyright,
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