Have you ever considered moving into a tiny home?
I admit I’ve entertained the idea here and again simply because the idea of living a truly minimalistic lifestyle sounds rewarding. That’s also not to mention that taking care of a tiny home sounds like a lot less time consuming than a normal home.
A recent Reddit post by user cpt_konius recently caught my eye where they asked this simple question: “Tiny home owners of Reddit – Any regrets? What’s it like after the initial “honeymoon phase”?”
Naturally, I was intrigued, and I’m here to report on what people who own tiny homes had to say.
Here what’s tiny house owners had to say after what it was like for them after the ‘honeymoon phase’:
1 – Maybe They Don’t Have Good Resale Value
One Reddit user, guitarworms, stated that they built and moved into an 8×16 tiny home with an 8×8 bed loft four years ago. They desired to move out after their child was born three years ago, but they haven’t been able to sell it since (let alone insure it!). Of course, that’s only one example, but it makes you wonder.
2 – They May Wear Out Faster
The grievances of guitarworms didn’t end there. They also mentioned how the materials for their tiny home wore out fast, citing the flooring as an example. No doubt this was one factor that unfortunately impacted their home’s ability to be sold (or lack thereof). Again, it’s only one example, and I wonder if this is something that affects tiny homes in general.
3 – One of the Appeals of Tiny Homes is How They Can Be Customized
Another Reddit user, Zoklett, pointed out that one of the appeals of tiny homes is how they are more affordable to build than normal homes and can therefore be more easily customized exactly to the specifications of the home owner. But at the same time…
4 – But That Could Precisely Be What Impacts Their Ability to Sell
But since tiny homes can be so easily customized, that could be precisely what makes them difficult to sale, Zoklett argues. Why would someone want to spend money on someone else’s customized homes when, for a very similar price, they could merely customize their own tiny home from the ground up?
5 – You Have To Be A Minimalist For It To Work
Either way, most people who commented on the thread seemed to agree that you have to be a natural minimalist for a tiny home to work for you. As one user stated, “It’s difficult because we’re not minimalists or organized and have very messy hobbies (he paints figurines and I dabble in makeup). I miss having space to cook, having an oven/stove, and having a washer and dryer. Tiny house living isn’t really for us.”
6 – It May Work For Your Kids Now, But Not When They Get Older
If you have young kids, you may have enough room for them and their possessions now, but that could change the older they get. As Bubbleshootenanny points out: “Our son was an amoeba so didn’t take up much space, he didn’t have many toys or clothes that needed space but that was 8 years ago and now he barely fits in his room and there’s no more space for storage.”
7 – It’s Super Easy To Run Out of Space
Again, the key to thriving in a tiny home is to live minimally and to commit to that lifestyle over the long term. Bubbleshootenanny said that while living in a tiny home with their family was great initially eight years ago, they have since long run out of space and have become desperate to move into a normal home.
8 – It Can Be Hard To Reach Things on the Shelves
The interior plans of many tiny homes are designed to make extensive use of vertical space for storage. Naturally, according to user Leucopternis, this can make certain things difficult to reach!
9 – Why Not Just Live in A Camper?
If you’re going to live in a tiny home, why not just live in a camper trailer of some kind, which is usually much cheaper and about the same size anyway? This was the question posited by bjc219. It’s something to think about…
10 – Minimalism is Freeing…Or Is it?
Minimalism is very liberating…until you realize that it can be very difficult to cram everything you own into a 400 to 500 square foot home with no free space. This was according to user MatthewBruinsfan who was initially drawn to the idea of living minimally until they realized just how difficult it can actually be.
11 – They Can Actually Be Difficult To Keep Clean
Since tiny homes are much smaller than normal homes, they’re supposed to be much easier to clean and maintain. But Reddit user the Digileet mentioned that you notice messes a lot more easily in such a tiny amount of space, and there’s not much room to throw trash away.
12 – They’re Not Much Cheaper Than A Trailer Home
Why get a tiny home when you can have more room in a similarly-priced trailer home instead? This was what one since deleted Reddit user pointed out: “The purpose of a tiny house is to move it fairly easily, do without all the objects people don’t need, bring family closer, spend more time outside, and be cheap. The funny thing is, trailer homes are all of that and just as cheap and often cheaper than tiny houses.
13 – Small Homes, Rather Than Tiny Homes, Could Be More Feasible For Most People
User Gnarbuttah suggested that a smaller-sized home, rather than a tiny home, is more ideal for families who want to live minimally. “I think small (<1000sqft), not tiny, is the real answer,” they wrote. “They’ll be small but you could put enough bedrooms and bathrooms in that space to have the nuclear family live comfortably and still have a relative amount of privacy and personal space.”
14 – But Tiny Homes Work For Lots of People
Through it all, many people have committed to living in tiny homes and thoroughly enjoy the lifestyle. As poirpose12 stated, “Honestly, I am happier now than I’ve ever been…It’s not for everyone, but I love it.”
Is A Tiny Home For You?
Could you see yourself living in a tiny home? What advantages and disadvantages do you see to the lifestyle? Let us know what you think below!
Source: Tiny home owners of Reddit – Any regrets? What’s it like after the initial “honeymoon phase”?
