03 Jan Have to Live More with Less-Six Freedoms Found in Tiny Life
Living a minimalist lifestyle or choosing to live in a tiny home can bring about a world of new possibilities. While many sit in their spacious living rooms living vicariously through the people they watch building tiny houses on their favorite DIY channels, thousands of people across the globe are actually living this life and gleaning so much more than they originally had hoped from this adventurous alternative housing opportunity.
Here are six freedoms found from choosing to live tiny.
Financial Freedom
Since simple living costs an average of 60% less than the national average for mortgage and utilities, many tiny house dwellers report being able to reduce to an online or one-income household, travel more, and pay off debt. The feeling of debt freedom is incomparable.
Freedom to Say No
Being raised in a ‘yes’ culture, learning to say ‘no’ to things that don’t bring you joy or teach you something new can feel almost wrong. Tiny house community members are so much more likely to understand and appreciate the philosophy of saying ‘no’ since they have had to do that every step of their tiny adventure.
They have had to say no to a large wardrobe, big furniture, too many shoes, or hobbies, or collectibles. You name it and they have had to learn to shake their heads at it. This way of being intentional in your choices is very freeing and becomes incredibly mentally rewarding.
Mental Freedom
For many who struggle with mental health concerns, living a tiny house lifestyle can open up new opportunities. By reducing overstimulation, your sensory input diminishes and you are able to focus on what is important or the task at hand. That paired with less financial worry, more time to intentionally choose things that bring you joy, and the encouragement to get outdoors or bring natural light in aids in increasing overall happiness and wellness, thus reducing the effects of sensory disorders, anxiety, and depression.
Freedom to Get Outside
When your square footage decreases, the push to go outdoors grows exponentially. Tiny house builders design small homes that make excellent use of space, have open floor plans and shared rooms, and bring the outdoors in by way of natural light. However, nothing beats the benefits of actually setting foot outside.
Spending more time outdoors provides people with an opportunity to soak up needed vitamin D while they sit and read, garden, or relax beside the campfire instead of staying cooped up inside or slaving away at the office.
Freedom of Time
When you are able to clean your entire house in under an hour a week, you are literally given the gift of time. One tiny house dweller reports, “The first weekend my husband and I lived tiny full-time, we looked at each other and figured we’d forgotten somewhere we were supposed to be because it had been years since we had free time with no obligations.”
This freedom allows parents to spend more time with their kids, couples to spend more time getting to know each other, and everyone in between the time to take adventures and chase their dreams.
Freedom to Be Intentional
Being able to finally say ‘no’ to things and choose joy can change your entire outlook on life. With the abilities afforded to you with the tiny house lifestyle, being intentional about everything from what job you take to what food you eat, where you travel, and how you spend your free time, this act of simplicity can be a real game-changer.
Tiny house living may not be a solution for everything, but it has certainly proven to bring with it a wealth of positives beyond the implied: less to clean, lower mortgage, hip and trendy. Real people living in real tiny homes in real communities across the globe are reporting happiness abounding in their ability to reconnect with what really matters and to surround themselves with communities of kindness.
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