To ask if you'd live in a tiny home? Tiny house, motorhome, boat or caravan etc.

[YumYa]

Just watching Tiny home tours on YouTube.

I really admire the way the homes are organised. I don't live in a big house but it's still bigger than these.

Watching has made me want to do more decluttering. And also appreciate what we have. Although the people living in these homes seem very happy.

We couldn't do it because of family staying sometimes.

Sounds fascinating.
How do you do washing? Is it heated?

My X husband lives on a boat. When we sold our family home I decided to start renting (too old for a mortgage) and he chose to buy a boat and live on it.

I have been there a couple of times and its a lovely boat, but sooooo small. He hasn't experienced a winter there yet, so I hope it stays warm.

Sounds idyllic. So happy for you. I live by the sea and can't imagine going back inland.

Absolutely not. I enjoy having family and friends over too much!

If I lived alone and had no close family who might want to stay, then I absolutely would. I grew up in a fairly small home (around 45sqm, two of us) and I liked the feeling of cosiness. But I live with a packrat and two teen boys and a dog and in laws who visit all the time, so in that context the bigger the better!

Apart from the horizontal rain that we sometimes get when the wind is in the wrong direction - which sounds like someone turned a hosepipe on the windows, the main drawback I find is the humidity which has completely destroyed my previously straighter-than-straight hair. Now it often resembles a well-used brillo pad, no matter which frizz-fighting serum I use!

I'd be quite happy to live in a little home - I inherited half a 3-bed which I bought the other inheritor out of. Turns out I don't need a house that big and I'm looking to downsize. I'm happy to downsize to a little two-up two-down but the problem I'm finding is that whilst I can live in a little one-bed if I have to, I'd die without a decent sized garden, and most little houses where I live only come with a back yard or a communal garden.

My hair is poker straight so never have that issue. Those hair bobbles that match hair colour with fake hair on are good. I have used them in the past when I fancied having some curls. Especially when rushing to work. Now I mainly wear it down.

We bought a motorhome six months ago. The longest we have been away in it is a month, the plan was 3 months but MIL got cancer so DH was needed.

It takes a while to truly sort it out to be the most efficient, we are still at that stage but getting there quite quickly. The Motorhome is 7.5m, 4 berth.

Books are easy you take 2 and then swap out in a charity shop when finished. DH did stuff like buy a multi tool, it’s been handy and used, you absolutely have to have a place for everything and everything in its place. I bought a salt and pepper pot that’s combined, it’s just small things like that. You have to consider payload of your vehicle. Every single thing has a weight it’s not just about space. You even need to consider your own weight as it’s part of the payload.

We have a small portable washing machine, I can’t use communal ones due to allergies to washing powders. Also take clothing that’s lightweight and that dries quicker.

We had a composite refillable gas system fitted, the kit weighs half what metal cans do and is much cheaper to fill up

We are buying a small tv with a DVD player combined as signals can be bad in remote areas and download speeds awful, though we do download some stuff in advance.

It’s our first Motorhome, it is a very decent German brand, DH did extensive research and we hired 2 to decide on layout before buying. People swap ideas on sites and it’s been useful. Our next purchase may be an inflatable kayak, we borrowed one when away from the man in the next van.

I have lived in a variety of places

Tiny bedsits rented
Tiny property owned

I spent my time working long hours
Or
Worked FT & volunteered
Or
Worked FT & visited family for caring responsibilities several hours away

I spent very little time at home

Bills were very low !

We only have a back yard. Our house is pretty small not tiny but a lot of people here get allotments. We used to have one but travel a lot when not working so don't have the time. Plus being right by the sea and forest means nature is close.
I have had gardens before and would have another one if we had to move for any reason.

Currently have a normal property & a vintage camper van.

Really enjoy time in the camper van, many adventures !

No, never. I wfh and I really appreciate having multiple rooms to spend time in. I work in my office. I'll watch TV or do crafting in the lounge. I'll sit in the kitchen and have a coffee. I'll spend time in my room reading. I'd get really depressed if I was basically trapped in just one space for all activities. I'm also a maximalist so like a lot of stuff, colours, interesting wallpaper etc so every room is very different and gives me a different vibe. You can't do any of that in a tiny space.

Decades ago when I was young, I rented a room in a HMO which had previously been a bathroom, so you couldn't see out of the window (I was desperate at the time!). The single bed touched the wall on 3 sides, with just a little space at the foot of the bed for belongings. That was it. By day 3 I was in tears, by day 5 I'd left and crashed on a friends floor until I found something else. My MH plummeted so fast it was scary. So I know it's not for me.

I’m slightly obsessed with tiny homes too

DH and I lived on a canal boat for a couple of years before we had kids. The only thing that slightly annoyed me was having our bed against a wall so we had to climb over each other. We had a little wood burner so it was fine, even in winter.

Our kids are adults now, and once our youngest is finished uni and settled, we’re half planning on converting a van, putting all our shit in storage and fucking off

We have a marina behind our house and I often peek inside the canal boats when walking the dogs and they look so cosy and warm! But not sure if I could live on one full time?!

There is however a stunning Dutch barge currently moored there which is huge and looks really open and spacious inside (yes I know I'm too nosy 😆) so that may be a compromise?!

The barge sounds lush. Ask if you can look around if you see the owner. I would 😅

If I lived alone I wouldn't mind living in a small house, but a tiny home? They all seem so flimsy, I can't help feeling they'd be freezing in winter. The adverts all seem to be made in summer, when you can utilise your outdoor space and greatly expand your living area by doing so, but what about from Nov-Apr? No, not for me. I can't abide being cold when I'm indoors.

I watched a uk one where they'd built it themselves and sheeps wool lined the walls. They said it was very warm.
The tiny home tours ones don't look as cosy.

We have an excellent heating system in the caravan using gas which is underfloor and also radiators. The cabin also has the same, but they run independently of each other, so if one has a problem, the whole place isn't affected.

We have a portable washing machine too, but this will need more work and a better solution in the long term. Next summer we will build a proper bathroom with a solar water heater. There's lots of cabins here that are very very remote (no mains water or electric) and are only accessible on foot, so there are lots of different solutions available for remote living.
We mostly cook on the fire outside, pur favourite at this time of year is a reindeer or moose stew.
The kids love to sit out in the dark, see the aurora and the stars, make hit chocolates on the fire, toasted sandwiches etc.
At the moment we have the best of both worlds, the kids have internet at home, technology etc at the cabin at the weekend it's a bit more about 'friluftslivet'.

I had many many friends who lived this way travelling around in tents/trailers/rvs/caravans around australia. Its very common. What they would do is never keep any actual clothes or books or toys etc. At most opshops there (charity shops) you can pick up a 'bundle of clothes for a fiver' type deal. So they would just go to each place, get the bundle of clothes live in that for a while, then might not even wash it, just go to the next opshop, donate again, then buy again. Thats what one friend did anyway. Another took bare minimum, and went to launderettes every couple of weeks. I bloody love the idea of living so so simply. I wanted to do the loop with mine so bad, but they were just that bit too old by the time I thought of it (eldest was nudging 13), and tech crazy, and its shit and exy for wifi, although its getting better now.

Weve done camping for over three weeks which was pretty awesome. I absolutely loved the fact that everything we had was in one bag. And we were absolutely fine! More than fine, i though it was preferable. Like most of us, if I have space I will fill it - with shite I dont need or use. If you have less space you have less stuff, and if you have less stuff you have more money and more reason to get out in nature. That's my experience anyway. All the people I knew who did it loved it. One was a family with 5 kids! In a caravan. They went travelling around for 3 years - no sign of stopping yet.

Tiny house happily. But not boat, motor home or caravan.

I lived in a small house and moved to a much larger house . You just fill up the space with furniture plus you hang on to more clutter because you have the space . I’m addressing this now .

if you have less stuff you have more money

Not if you're buying replacement clothes every week instead of washing them!

Our plan is to get a camper van and disappear in it. We can't decide if we should sell our house or let one of the kids move in at a reduced rent rate just so we have an address to come back to and a room to sleep in.

We don't live in a tiny house but we plan to buy a campervan but we would need to learn we don't have space for things as right now our house is so cluttered. I have started buying not buying books but using my kindle but other than that I'm turning into a hoarder I think.