the pros and cons of tiny house life

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When we first started Tiny Haven, we lived in one of our tiny homes for over a year. The very reason we started our business was because we embraced the tiny house lifestyle - experiences over things, a purpose for everything, keep only the things that bring you joy, quality instead of quantity. We also learned a lot during our time living in under 200 square feet. Here are the pros and cons we found from living the tiny house life…

Cons:

  • It can get disorganized fast! You definitely need to use your space wisely! This isn’t really a “con” per say. It just means you need to be very organized. There were times when we would end up with a bunch of stuff in our tiny house due to running our business (think tons of bags of laundry - now we have a laundry service, thank god). But even without running a business out of your tiny house, things can pile up quickly.

  • Things get dirty quickly. Similarly to above, you are walking around the same square feet far more often than you would in a regular home. Also enter two dogs in a tiny house. The solve for this is you just clean everyday - it doesn’t take long. For example, vacuuming the entire tiny house takes 5-10 minutes!

  • No space for bulk storage. We like to bake, and cook, and eat. When COVID hit and people were buying certain items in bulk, we just did not have the space to dedicate to a bunch of rolls of toilet paper, flour, etc. Yet somehow we found we always had enough - so again, this is not really a con. You learn to buy what you need. Our tiny houses fridges are also the perfect size for two people - it’s an apartment size fridge so it always fit what we needed.

  • Limited “personal” space. You better like each other. When you live in a small space with someone else, you can’t just go into another room when you have a disagreement. We learned that we could still take space for ourselves, even if we couldn’t always physically remove ourselves from each other’s presence. We believe that tiny house life brought us closer together in a really positive way.

Pros:

  • Organization. Everything has a place in a tiny house. If something is unnecessary, you figure it out quickly and let it go. There is something very fulfilling of knowing you have exactly what you need, and nothing you don’t.

  • High-quality materials. In all of our tiny spaces, high-quality materials are used. For example, both of our tiny homes have tongue and groove walls and ceilings - something that would be very costly in a traditional-sized home. The airstream has tons of butcher block counter space. When you only have a small space to work with, you can splurge on the finishing touches.

  • Greater financial freedom. We moved out of our traditional sized house and rented it out, with the profits more than paying for what it cost for us to live in our tiny house. Since starting Tiny Haven, we have also paid off tens of thousands in personal and business debt. Ultimately, even if you don’t live in a tiny house, focusing on what’s really essential and applying additional income towards debt and savings leads to greater financial peace.

  • It completely changed our lives for the better. Living tiny has improved our personal relationship with each other - we feel more connected now than we ever have. The values behind living tiny also have permeated into the rest of our life. It’s become easier for us to prioritize, simplify, and focus on what’s most important.

Above all, we feel that tiny house life helps bring people closer together and give their energy to what is truly meaningful in their lives. We believe that people deserve to feel authentically connected with themselves, their loved ones, and their vision for their world. If you are looking for an inspiring place to relax, reconnect, and rejuvenate, book a stay in one of our tiny havens!