Life As A Tiny House

I grew up in a typical suburban upper-middle-class house in Cherry Hill, NJ. It was 2500 square feet, four bedrooms, two and a half baths. For just three people: my parents and teen-aged me. It was filled with all the things my upwardly-mobile parents thought would define them as Socially Superior and Well-Off.

And when, in 2009, it came time to empty that house after my stepmother died, we looked at everything that no one had any use for and asked “How did all this accumulate? And what are we going to DO with it?”

That’s why The Tiny House Movement and the craving for simplicity is so valuable today. It’s a social swing toward houses that are multi-purpose, without an inch of wasted space.

In a house no bigger than 400 square feet (and often “off the grid”), people get down to the necessities. They turn away from the insistent gotta-have-gotta-do-gotta-look-like-money mantra that modern life keeps whispering in our ears.

At the same time, people who make the decision to downsize drastically in this manner often find themselves having more of what they actually want: more time, more ease, and more concentration in their lives.

Tiny House Living doesn’t mean deprivation; it means seriously thinking about what matters most to you and ditching all but those few priorities. Small as it is, a well-designed and well-thought-out Tiny House has a better living quality than larger houses so crammed with Stuff that people ricochet from one thing to another — unable to feel settled or think clearly.

How do you live more with less?

Now that you understand the Tiny House Living concept, you can start simplifying your life today without even moving from where you currently live by asking yourself six questions:

ONE: If I had a year to live, what would be important to me?

When we are unconscious of how time is passing, we feel we can make time and room for everything. If you can imagine your life as ending a year from today, it’s an excellent way to focus on the things that matter to you and to see what has taken up space in your life that you could well do without.

TWO: What do I find myself doing or using most often?

There are certain things we do, use or experience that are core to who we are and what we want out of life.

For me, it’s the simple things. My Tarot deck gets used a dozen times a day for my clients and my own self-examination. My well-seasoned frying pan comes out every morning to make Carle’s fried eggs and to do most of my sautéing tasks during the day. My softest pair of Yoga pants and my most comfortable shirts continually cycle in and out of the laundry.

When you list your “everyday favorites,” you may be surprised to find out how small their number is.

THREE: What do I surround myself with that has ceased to matter?

Are there books you no longer read that still take up shelf space?

What about the friendships that are more high maintenance than nurturing?

Are you in a habitual thought pattern that reflects outmoded beliefs or ideas that now do more harm than good?

When we recognize that parts of our life are obsolete, they are easier to put in the “done with” pile to make room for what matters today.

FOUR: What have I gone unconscious about?

Do a little exploring. How many things in your kitchen have you overbought because you forgot you had them? How many articles of clothing have you purchased because they beckoned to you at the time but you’ve never worn them?

Look at your bank account. How many online impulse buys have you made (online games, cool doo-dads and gadgets, website subscriptions) that you can’t recall? Even more, how many times have you used those items? Do you even remember how many online subscription sites you belong to or how often they automatically renew?

Consciousness around our virtual “dragon hoards” will show us just how many true treasures we have in our pile of Stuff — and how much of it is mere throwaway trash and costume jewelry.

FIVE: What benefits other people in the house, not just me?

If you live with others, does everybody have their own Stuff that overlaps?

Do you have duplicate items that you could consolidate into one?

Does everyone in your home understand the value of sharing and simplifying?

Or does everybody in the house insist on having the same objects just for themselves?

While everyone needs their own toothbrush, they may not all need their own copies of Harry Potter.

SIX: What intangible clutter do I have?

Intangible clutter is made up of the tasks, relationships, obligations and emotions that waste your time.

They don’t feed your soul. They don’t give you any benefit. And, they hip-check out of the way other things that would be more important, valuable, and fulfilling.

When you sit down and honestly ask yourself these questions, you may be astonished at how much you have in your life that you neither need nor want.

Ditch them all, with absolutely no guilt.

When you do, you will find a simplified life with more room for what truly matters than you could have imagined.