I’ve learned a few lessons on tiny living over the course of the past month. I was not nearly as skeptical as most of you, but at one point I did wonder if we could do it. I am here to report that it has been a breeze and here is why:
- It is a lot easier than expected. In the beginning I wondered if I was really going to do this. I was a bit overwhelmed in the first week as I tried to figure out what was going to work best. Is this the best place for the dishes? My pantry is so disorganized. Do I need more shelves? Do I need all this silverware? All that kind of stuff. But as we settled in and began to get into our routine, it got easier. Way easier. So easy, that I can hardly believe I doubted myself. And it is even easier to spend time in the tiny house than I expected.
- It reminds me that we have everything we need and then some. We are no longer part of the never ending consumerism cycle. We do not yearn to purchase things we do not have. We are more focused on necessity as opposed to fulfilling our desire for more. Besides, we do not have all the space to put extras anyway. Tiny living reminds me that we are beyond blessed.
- We are more connected. Living in a tiny space and in such close proximity to my parents has been amazing. Not only are we closer as a family of three but we are closer with the rest of our family as well. I have witnessed the kids blossom in ways they never would have if it had not been for this life change. They are more secure, more obedient, more loving towards each other and others, more imaginative, and just happier overall.
- We spend a lot less time shopping. We do not need much anymore and are far less focused on material possessions. That frees up time to do other things we enjoy like spending hours at the park. We spend more time enjoying simple pleasures. When we woke up this morning we watched the pink sunrise through our tiny house windows and discussed the beauty of God’s creation.
- We spend a lot more time just “being”. We are no longer busy for the sake of being busy. The tiny house has brought peace and serenity to our lives. Our old house felt like it embodied chaos because it was where Pete spent the majority of his illness. It also gives me a chance to do less housework which, in turn, allows me to focus on my children more; they are what matters most. There are days when we have nothing planned for the whole day. The old me would have felt aimless, but the new me enjoys having that luxury.
Tiny living has inspired us to live simply, dream bigger, pursue joy, laugh more, focus on togetherness, and to relish life’s simple pleasures. It has inspired us to truly live intentionally and I know Pete would be proud.
9 thoughts on “Lessons in Tiny House Living {One}”
Crystal
Dear Alysha:
I am beyond thrilled to have found your blog via the Tiny House Blog this morning. Your house is the exact model I’m dreaming about for my and my son’s tiny house.
First let me say that I am so sorry for your loss. It is unimaginable.
Kudos to you, strong mama, for taking the reigns of your family’s future firmly in hand!
I am a single mom to a gorgeous 4 year old boy. I dream of homeschooling, but the reality is that I have to work full time to provide for the two of us.
I’ve had the tiny house dream off and on for 8-10 years but it’s calling me again, LOUDLY, and I believe that when you are called in such an obvious fashion, that means the Universe, God, Sprit is CLEARLY trying to tell you something. 🙂
I’ve made it my intention to build that house next year. By doing so my living expenses will be cut in half and I’d be on my way to spending more time with my son and possibly homeschooling very soon.
Mind you, I don’t have the funds. Nor any admirable carpentry skills. Or much time. But why should I let that scare me off? 🙂
I love the tweaks you made to the base design, and hope to adopt many of those as well.
I’ll be watching your blog closely…I’d love to see how you navigate the house with the kids (i.e., do they climb in the loft? Do you co sleep? etc.). The nosy part of me would love to see in those closets LOL.
Thank you so much for sharing your journey. You are inspiring.
Crystal
Alysha
Hi Crystal. Thank you so much for visiting the blog. It sounds like you are on the right track and know what is important in life. All you have to do is believe the dream and it will become a reality. You are an inspiration to me because it sounds like you are not allowing anything to stand in your way. We are going to be featured in a mini-documentary by http://www.respectfulrevolution.org where many of your questions will be answered. It should be coming out in about a month. I’ll keep you posted on the blog. And, yes, we do co-sleep. It is fabulous! Please keep in touch as your story progresses. I’d love to feature more tiny house mamas on the blog. God bless!
Crystal
Thank you Alysha! I look forward to seeing that video.
I’ve decided to create a blog as well to document our tiny house journey. I’ll share the link as soon as it’s more than a blank page :-).
Blessings to you!
PS: We cosleep as well, at least off and on. There are those who say you shouldn’t, however, I feel that his childhood moving so quickly, that I better grab every second of time with him that I can. There will come a day when he wants more space from me. Until then, I’m going to hug and snuggle him every chance I get!
Reginale Durandisse
Thank you very much for sharing your experiences with me. I went through a similar situation recently where I had to let go of staff due lost of revenue from our programs. I was agonizing over how I was going to share the additional load of works. I come to realize later letting them go was not a bad move at all. I do not have to go to ten individuals to check on to make sure whether the tasks have been completed. Now, there is only four people that I need to rely on to get things done. We are more organize and get more work done with less employees. Having more as you beautifully explains does not bring peace of mind or make one seems more organize. I am slowing moving toward the same approach for my personal life. Living with less will open the door of joy , stress free life and abundance because we will no longer be in bondage.
Thank you again and I will come back for more lights.
Alysha
Thank you Reginale for your comment. It sounds like you have confirmed that downsizing your staff has ultimately made your life simpler. It is great that you have been able to see it as a way of setting boundaries and living more stress free. Living with less has done that for us too. Good luck in your downsizing endeavors and keep in touch with your progress.
Nancy
Alysha-Thank you for your lovely blog. We also made the decision to downsize in order to live the life we wanted after the loss of our daughter to Sandhoff’s. We didn’t wanted to be tied to things and have to’s, but wanted to enjoy our time with our remaining child. We aren’t tiny. It is a 16X24 story and a half and is “just right” for us. It has allowed me to be a stay at home mom to a homeschooled girl who will graduate next year. I encourage everyone to make the changes they need as they can. One step and one day at a time.
Alysha
Thank you for sharing your story. Downsizing looks different to all of us, but it is amazing how loss spurs us on to prioritize our lives. Isn’t it? Thank you for visiting and please keep in touch. If you would ever like to share your story of loss here on the blog, I would welcome it. God Bless.
pozycjonowanie
Hey, I think your website might be having browser compatibility issues.
When I look at your blog site in Chrome, it looks fine but when opening in Internet Explorer, it has some
overlapping. I just wanted to give you a quick heads up!
Other then that, wonderful blog!
Alysha
Thank you! I’m not really sure what that means but I am going to look into it. Thank you again!