Dear People Who Live in Fancy Tiny Houses...

[GreatGazoo]

You look so freakin’ happy in that Dwell Magazine article or Buzzfeed post, but c’mon, you can’t tell me that you don’t lie awake at night, your face four inches from the ceiling because the only place your bed fits is above the kitchen sink which also acts as your shower, and think, I’ve made a terrible mistake.

Look, I’m not criticizing you. I commend you for making this giant leap. Since we humans seem comfortable with pillaging Mother Earth of all her resources, I believe more people should think like you. But 250 square feet? What the hell happens when your tiny house partner farts Mexican food farts, huh? Where do you escape to? Nowhere. You have nowhere to run. All you can do is walk three feet to the other end of the house and pray.
...
I f’ing love the idea of downsizing and living a “simple life,” but seriously, where do you put your shit? You still have some clothing and shoes and towels and all that jazz, right? Or do you just wear overalls now? Overalls and Birkenstocks and one towel that you share with your entire family. Where do you wash that towel, hmm? Do you have a tiny river that runs behind your tiny house? I bet you do. I bet your whole Goddamn property is whimsical.

And I know your house isn’t that clean all of the time. In your pictures, it looks like you only own a tiny sofa, several throw blankets & pillow, one cooking pan, one antique book and one framed photo of you laughing in front of your tiny house.

the rest of her tongue-in-cheek rant:
https://medium.com/i-m-not-trendy/dear-people-who-live-in-fancy-tiny-houses-21fdc639ce55

[OffWithTheirHeads]

1. you don't own your stuff. Your stuff owns you.

[Tatiana La Belle]

6. That's really true

I'm downsizing--again--and it's amazing how much stuff I haven't used in 5 years. That's my rule: if I haven't used it in 5 years, I'm probably not going to.

[Le Taz Hot]

2. "All you have to defend yourself is one pan and Mexican Food Farts."

THAT was funny!

[Coventina]

3. Meh, it's all based on the fact that she misses the point.

The point being, most of the crap you "own" you don't need.
And, heating and cooling all that "space" she claims is needed to get away from farts is literally killing the planet.

Live simply, so that other may simply live.....

on edit: not having crap means less mess. That's why tiny homes tend to be tidy. If you have a mess, you have too much stuff.

[Glassunion]

24. My favorite shirt

Wife just bought me one...

Live Simply

[Coventina]

25. Way cool!!

[NightWatcher]

4. I think it's cool that you can sit on the toilet, wash your dish, and watch tv at the same time

[pinboy3niner]

5. I've stayed with friends who peed and washed dishes in the shower

That was in a tiny hovel in Cholon, the Chinese ethnic district of Saigon. They had nothing, but they would happily share the last of their food with a guest.

[hamsterjill]

7. I think like most things "moderation" is the key.

I love the creativity that goes into some of these tiny houses, but I have yet to see one with even one of the compact washer/dryers. Do these people go to a laundry mat to wash their clothes? I mean, that's certainly possible and not the end of the world, but it's not convenient either.

I think that like most things, the trend to smaller living is a wonderful thing. Better for everyone all the way around. But not when it's taken to the extreme. I'm anxious to see what this trend will look like in a couple of years, and hoping to see more reasonable (but still small) square footage.

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

8. Indeed.

I saw one episode of Tiny House Nation where a family of four moved into a tiny house.

They had two teenage kids - one boy and one girl. To give them some privacy they had one of the sleeping lofts split into two.

I guess there was a method to the madness. The kids were less likely to stick around as adults.

[alphafemale]

10. I don't think it is a very reasonable option for families with kids

If it was an economic decision to prevent homelessness, yes.

But I don't think it is fair to impose that kind of lifestyle on a child.

I live simply. But I live by myself at this point in my life.

This kind of life would be best for a single or a very easy going couple you were both very committed to this.

[cyberswede]

20. Yikes. My people are just too big for a tiny house.

My 14 yo son is 6'3" #250, and my 12 yo daughter is pushing 5'6" - there's no way they'd be able to hang out in a tiny space. Hubby and I are 6"1' and 6' - we all need long beds.

[lindysalsagal]

9. Japanese sleeping pods:

[cemaphonic]

11. The two things that I always notice about those houses are:

1) They often seem to be installed on a friend or relative's property, so a big part of the cost of renting or owning a home is out of the equation.

2) They are really expensive per sqft. You could get a fairly decent prefab of at least double the size in most cases for the same price.

All in all, the whole phenomenon seems like well-off people pretending to live simply.

[mackerel]

14. There was an article in SFgate where the couple bought

3 acres of land and built their tiny house on it for about $47,000 cash.

http://blog.sfgate.com/sfmoms/2015/07/11/a-family-of-four-finds-happiness-in-a-168-square-foot-home/

[cyberswede]

19. Those kids are still pretty small.

Wait till they're teenagers.

[mackerel]

22. Yes the article says they've lived there fours years and have finally

saved enough to build a 1400 sq.ft home that will be ready in about 2 years and by then the kids will have outgrown the tiny house. They will keep the tiny house as a guest house and they built a nice deck for it. They're main reason for even looking into a tiny house was they had lost their home in the last crash and never wanted to be that dependent again on a mortgage, banks or realtors. Everything they have they've paid for outright.

I'm really interested in this because I'd like to own my home again. I did find out that most cities are not tiny house friendly. You usually have to look for small townships or very low population where property taxes are not the main concern. Sometimes you have to build out in the county so you'll have to have a septic tank or a composting toilet.

[mackerel]

12. I wish I could afford a tiny house. I've been seriously trying to figure

out how to budget it in the next two years.

[BeyondGeography]

13. Tiny House Owner/Commenter: "We have the Run Outside to Fart Rule"

Rec'd for, um, refreshing honesty throughout.

[pamela]

15. I haven't lived in anything over 750 sq ft since 1992

I lived on a boat for five years (around 250 sq ft,) a small, one bedroom condo (<750 sq ft) and now a motorhome that probably has about 300 sq ft of living space or less. I like small spaces. I still have too much stuff but probably less than most people. When I'm in a real house, all the rooms and closets packed with stuff makes me feel kind of ill.

[mackerel]

16. Jay Shafer is trying to get a tiny house community together in Sonoma County

a quaint little town, Sebastopol.

http://www.fourlightshouses.com/pages/the-napoleon-complex

[Marie Marie]

17. For some, the tiny house is the perfect answer to affordable housing and/or

living simply. For those that are moving from large houses and jumping on this latest fad, well - I predict they will be out of them in a couple of years.

[mackerel]

23. That actually will probably work well in the future

for those who are more serious about tiny house living. Those that try but don't take to it will want to sell but I highly doubt there will be much mark up.

[Phentex]

27. I agree. I like the idea for some who are serious about it and want a smaller footprint...

and I enjoy watching shows about tiny houses. But I am annoyed by the people who claim they want to do this and then immediately whine about not having a full size tub AND a full size stove AND granite counter tops, no loft space, etc. They have missed the concept completely.

I want to downsize at some point but I have admitted it won't be to a tiny house. More like a one bedroom, small kitchen and bath and a nice porch.

[WinkyDink]

18. "I bet your whole Goddamn property is whimsical." Said the admirer of Holden Caulfield. ;-)

[uppityperson]

21. Having lived in a tiny place, bedroom is small but my living room was huge.

I posted down my clothing and if I got something, would have to get rid of something. It made me very aware of what I had, was offered, desired.

[Trajan]

26. Ack ... Not this one again ..

I say, maybe you have too much shit ...

[LeftinOH]

28. A community of small, inexpensive, moveable-type dwellings...

That already exists, except it's not considered hip & trendy: