Let's talk freedom. We aren't even living in our tiny house yet and I already feel more free. Why you ask, well there are several reasons.
Freedom #1- JOBS!!!! When we owned our home (2,100 sq ft), I found myself always searching for jobs within 30-40 minutes driving distance. This limited my options greatly! We wanted a country life, so we were already about 40 minutes from the big city. For past time and mental health this was great, but for jobs, not so much. If I drive more than 40 minutes from my job it is not worth my time to spend my life in a car and not with my family. Let's do the math. So an hour and 20 minutes a day (there and back) times 7 days a week is 9 hours and 20 minutes. 9 hours and 20 minutes a week times 4 weeks is 37 hours and 20 minutes a month. Than you take that times a year and it is 448 hours a year of driving. That's almost 19 days of driving a year! If I did the math wrong, my bad. I am no mathematician (remember elementary education masters degree with language arts specialists ;o) Either way you get the idea of how much time you are wasting! (If someone can check the math and let me know that would be great) Let's get even more drastic. Take those 19 days times the average amount of years an adult works full time (so about 23-65 years old) so 798 days of your life driving. (again not sure on the math). So of those 42 years you are working (15330 days) you are in the car for 798 of them which is 5%. I would rather spend that on vacation!
Not only are you driving a lot but you may be missing out on your dream job. I don't want to have to decline the job of my dreams because of my debt on my current home! Let me tell you, after moving our of a 2,100 square foot home with a toddler and 5 pets, I will never do it again. I am STILL TIRED from the whole ordeal. With our house being on wheels, we can follow our dream jobs to the next location. Are we really supposed to be in the same job for 40 some years? Maybe for some that sounds wonderful. For me I want to evolve, learn, grow, use my natural talents and try new communities that better fit my lifestyle. My husband and I are ironically stressed by change but do find it essential for growth, so we are learning to go with the flow more each and every day.
Freedom #2- Community- I have been thinking about this a lot! With a 2 year old ready to learn and explore, it got me thinking about what kind of environment would be best for him to grow up in. At least at the beginning. So I got thinking about What a growing boy needs. Well fresh air, sunshine, access to parks, libraries, beaches, family and great food and water. So we will be renting land relatively close to family. What does a elementary - high school age kid need? All of the above, plus museums, access to college lectures, homeschool groups, quality coaches for the sport of his or her choice, community centers, school events, etc. What do Justin and I need when the kids are out of the house, a lake, hiking trails, a view, nature, and quiet. The things we need from our community will change as we grow and change. This is the beauty of owning a tiny house on wheels.
Freedom #3- Sustainability- With all the hype about the apocalypse, fukushima, GMO's, pesticides, etc. It got us thinking about living sustainably and off the grid. We are not at the point of stocking up on water and canned goods but it is always important to know how to feed yourself, keep warm and have clean water. For us tiny living will allow me to stay home as a homemaker or house wife. This will allow me the time to have a garden, make home cooked healthy meals, use all homemade natural cleaning products, chop and stack wood for our wood burning stove and freeze our food from the garden for later use. If water or food quality gets bad in our area we can just leave. We use natural spring water that we collect from a local spring. We are excited to learn more and share or new knowledge so Wyatt has a head start on living off grid and sustainably. We hope to take several classes on gardening sustainably, survival courses, seed saving and much more. Always room to grow!
Freedom #4- Away with Clutter- Clutter can be a negative impact on your health. Having so much stuff is an epidemic, in my opinion, in America. Here is an article about the dangers of so much stuff and clutter. http://bebrainfit.com/declutter-stress-health/ Some may argue there are more clutter in tiny homes. Of course it all comes down to preference, but with less room for things, I will at least have less things to organize and it will take me less time to do so.
Enjoy your new found freedoms in your tiny house!
See more great ideas here:
http://www.treehugger.com/tiny-houses/andrew-morrison-tiny-home-ted-talk.html
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