Simple living is a thing that most of society strives for. The goal is to work until you reach retirement and simply enjoy the rest of your days burden free. Simple living in a tiny house reminds me of this. The house I built recently and currently live in is roughly 288 sq feet, the van that I lived in while traveling throughout Europe was 80 sq feet. Don’t get me wrong none of these were/are permanent locations for more. I am mercurial by nature which means change is something frequent for me. However, this doesn’t change the facts I live/lived simply and comfortable in both of theses tiny spaces.
Simply living in a tiny house is about knowing yourself, feeling comfortable and safe, as well as enjoying the world around you.
What is Simple?
The definition is uncomplicated in nature, form and design. The only issue is that this varies widely from person to person. What is uncomplicated to me may be cluttered to you and vice versa so there is no standard way of doing things or rule book to follow when it comes to simplicity.
For Instance, The wealthy sometimes spend tens of thousands, possibly hundreds of thousands to enlist the services of an Interior designer/decorator to mold their space into a minimalist aesthetic. This means emptying their place and and picking beautiful ,tasteful and typically expensive pieces and installing them in a way that leaves a large area of sq. footage untouched. This may be two stark white sofas, low slung with a table splitting the distance between the two and a large sculpture in the corner near a window. The items used are typically eye catching and complex in design but simple in function, like a sink that looks flat but doesn’t splash or allow water to escape is planar surface or a kitchen that looks like a white wall with pop outs and shelves that reveals the expensive cookware and appliances hidden behind, like diamonds in a jewelry box. Everything else is secreted away, closets, memorabilia, photos of family, books etc. On top of that there is pre ordained negative space between every element of the house this is a key factor of minimalism.
Now although this describes minimalism, and minimalism is by nature is supposedly uncomplicated design there are so many complexities that it isn’t necessarily simple living for everyone. Personally, I enjoy cooking, reading, records, entertaining guest, I have large dogs that like to follow me wherever I go that would make this type of minimalist design a nightmare for me. Imagine having to search through every hidden storage nnok and cranny to find books you want to read or a throw blanket you would like to use. Have to worry about leaving finger smudges on that starl and sleek furniture, or having to put everything you use at anytime back in it’s hidden cubby. That isn’t simplicity for me. This is why simple living in a tiny house is based on knowing yourself.
Knowing Yourself
This is the key ingredient to simple living. As i’ve stated a simple design for me may not be simple for you. For instance, someone may love a house full of books and personal artifacts, it could be what makes them comfortable and they love to simply read and find simple enjoyment in those stories, if you don’t like books or “clutter” their space wouldn’t provoke the same feelings in you that it does for them.
You should write down what simple living is to you. Make sure to keep that in mind as you structure your home. It will be true North so don’t stray to far. After that make a list of the items you need for simple living in your tiny home. Understand need is the key term, a necessity. You also want to pick items that are used frequently as space will be limited and you may find yourself deleting items from the list. The second list you will be making are things you want, if there are room for these you will add them to your tiny house.
Space
This is a very important aspect of simple living and comes at a premium in tiny houses. The key thing to always understand is space is limited and always will be that is the accolade of tiny homes, small footprints! How you want to utilize your space will differ depending on what you wrote down.
For me, I don’t like to walk over things, I don’t like a lot of walls or doors and hallways need to accommodate myself easily as well as my large pups that are about 250 lb. a piece. So If you haven’t acquired your tiny accommodations yet look at your list to decide how much space you need to be comfortable and design your place accordingly. If you are already living in your space you have a more difficult task. You will need to find a way to implement the items that will allow you to live simply, possibly redesigning the space to suit your needs.
Space plays a big role in comfort.
Creature Comforts
Yes, the bare necessities for human kind. These can all be had in a tiny house quite easily it all depends on how bare or simple you want them to be. Food storage can be a high end cooler that keeps food cool for 5 days like a yeti. Or an energy efficient fridge like Smetas off grid propane fridge. The shower can be an outdoor solar shower, with water that is heated throughout the day and used at your leisure when you are ready or a propane heated camping shower built inside a bathroom. The toilet can be the standard flushing units that require a black water tank and a sewage hook up to empty. It can be a composting toilet to save on space in the interior bathroom and alleviate the need of a black water tank or simply a luggable loo that can be used and emptied on a whim.
For power you can use a gas generator like this Honda, or a dual fuel generator like this Champion, (I actually have 3 of these, the warranty is superb) You can have a solar generator that allows for clean energy like this Eco flow or be tied to grid power. Personally I always try to go with solar as it is the clean energy and is simpler in nature for me since I am off the grid but you way be in the forest or in a cloudy region so simple is whatever makes the most sense and allows for you to be comfortable.
Cooking can be done over an open fire if you have easy access to wood. There are camp ovens and stoves like the explorer from camp chef as well as the oven box that use propane as a fuel source or you may enjoy baking and want an oven and cook top that remains indoors like this one from rec pro.
Enjoying The World Around You
The key to simplicity is enjoying the things around you, with less focus on the materialistic world the compels you to get better and newer things on a daily basis. Tiny house living corresponds directly with enjoying more of the outside world. Yes the living space is small for a lower impact on the environment in regards to your carbon footprint but also so you can spend more life in the beauty that makes up your surroundings.
Spend the winter in Christkindlmarkt in Bethlehem. Enjoy the spring in Washington to see the cherry blossoms in their full glory. Take some time to explore the Apostle Islands in Wisconsin. Wherever you choose the key is to take it all in. You are in a position most people only dream of, so forgive, let go and enjoy.
Let me know how you feel about simple living in a tiny house below.
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