by Tricia
I’ve been reading lately and learning about a woman named Dee Williams. She’s been attracting attention lately because she lives in an 84 square foot home. That’s about the size of a parking spot!
My first thought was that the woman was out of her mind. But after reading the article on Katu.com, maybe she is onto something.
The obvious question: Why?
The simple answer:
“A simpler life, time, more money. I don’t have a mortgage. I don’t have a big utility bill,” Dee says.
[via Katu.com]
She claims her heating bill in the winter is only $6.00/month. Her electricity is provided by solar panels so her utilities compared to mine are basically non-existant. Just imagine how much more money we could have to pay off our debt if we lived in a home like that.
Don’t worry, I’m not going to try to fit our family of three in a home like that. I’m also not so keen on a mobile house that someone could drive off with (her home is on a trailer). But it makes me wonder about our next home and what it should be like.
I always thought we needed a little more room since two rooms in our homes are currently being used for offices. After seeing that video, it brought home to me how cluttered our life is with stuff. That’s the only reason why I think we need a bigger home. It’s so we have room for all of our stuff.
There is a company called Tumbleweed Tiny House Company that sells plans for these small homes. They also have some for sale. They will build them and you can have your tiny home delivered right to you.
If you look at the floor plans, they really try to maximize the space that is available. With a smaller home, you can save on maintenance costs as well as utilitiy costs. Perhaps getting a smaller, more efficient home is exactly what our family needs. We’re not planning on moving anytime soon, but it does give me some food for thought.
If interested, there is also a video where you can see more footage of the 84 square foot home. Go to Katu.com and look under the picture and click on “video.”
[Hat tip to Becoming and Staying Debt Free]
I saw an Oprah show about two months ago on people that have small spaces. That show really changed my thinking on what I want to purchase later on in life. I own a 1900 sf home now and I think it is too big. That is one of the reasons why we are going to sell it. My husband and I grew up in small homes. When I have children later on, I don’t see anything wrong with having a smaller space. In many parts of the world, they only have small homes. Americans really love their big homes. I would love to be able to pay off my mortgage early and focus on living life to the fullest. I don’t want to become “house poor”. Great post!
Just read in local paper about PODs (those portable storage units) outfitting an 8×16 unit as temporary shelter – for natural disasters, fire, etc. The reason was they had reports of many living in them after hurricanes (I’m in FL). Besides tiny kitchen,bath & wardrobe it even has air conditioning. They kept it very small so people would not want to live in it for any extended period of time. With the great interest in small houses – maybe they are wrong. Maybe people would find it better than big houses with lots of stuff that could be lost in a very short period of time. Just think of how little would have to be replaced and for how little.
This really makes sense to me, especially in nice climates. You can easily set up all your activities outside rather than sitting inside the house all day!
Wallowgirl – I agree that Americans love the big homes. A lot of the new construction (at least around me) are above 1,800 square feet. Our home is right around 1,100. It’s all of our stuff that is making it so small.
Bellen – That’s another good point about replacement cost if something happened. But one concern I have about these little houses (especially the portable ones) is about their safety in bad weather like Tornadoes.
Chris – Did you watch the video? At the end of the piece, it showed Dee sitting outside in a lawn chair reading. I was talking to my husband about it and an obvious plus would be that we would go outside more.
Safety in tornadoes – is any house, big or small, safe in a tornado? With a hurricane or fire, you at least would have a chance to tow your portable house to safety, not so with a tornado – there’s just not enough warning.
I have a friend that lives in a 100ft2 house much like this one. Only the bathroom is walled-off, so the rest is one big open space. His isn’t on a trailer, he actually built it with a real septic tank and running water. He uses a laptop for his computer, has a big Plasma HDTV on the wall across from his couch. He has two main areas, the main living room which has a toaster oven, microwave, and hot plate (all electricity, no propane needed), and the bathroom area. He sleeps on his couch, and has a small window unit air conditioner. For a single person who is willing to make a few lifestyle changes and get rid of all their junk, it makes a lot of sense to trim down. He too has no mortgage, and pays rental for his section of a lot. His total monthly costs, including lot rental, electricity, internet, and cable, come to about $75. He has already saved enough costs to pay off student loans, and is currently able to invest a whopping 60% of his income. He estimates that by living in such small conditions now, in ten years he’ll be able to buy a $400k house in cash, if he winds up married. I don’t know that I could do it, but it’s fascinating for sure.
I live in Texas (land of all things big LOL) and I am amazed at the size of some of the “mcmansions.” I just think it is such a waste. And what about all the storage places? People paying money to store more “stuff” (read – junk). It’s out of control. I bought a brand new 1350 sq ft house and heard that one of my friends commented “I don’t want a ‘little’ house.” I live alone (except for pets), and love my “small” space. One difference is, we don’t have basements so I think the houses need to be slightly larger to make up for that.
I am chuckling about David’s friend who has the small house with the big screen plasma TV…..talk about worshiping the “TV god” LOL I guess everybody has their priorities….
Those houses are so cute! Do you think they have alarms on them? What if someone “took off” with your house?
Food for thought. 🙂
I’d love to have a smaller home, but it makes for entertaining friends and the like very difficult. I wonder how often Dee has 3-4 people come by for dinner ;-).
I always admire those who can find true happiness in a more simple life. Cheers to them!
A Few years ago I got the plans for
The MotherEarth Hidaway 8X16 plus a Sun Porch
type add on for the dinning room/kitchen,
approx 268 sq. ft. w/loft.tiny footprint eh!
Most Countys have a min. sq. ft. rule.
Your’a throwback hippy freak if you don’t
buy into the mold.Well we conformed to the
rules but now we can’t afford their concept.
Eco Villages, ect. are becoming the green way.
Energy,Taxes & make the banks richer but us
poorer. GO FOR IT declutter, be happy, live longer or at least simpler,and be free of all the stress. Ive procrastenated to long but still dreaming.
A Few years ago I got the plans for
The MotherEarth Hidaway 8X16 plus a Sun Porch
type add on for the dinning room/kitchen,
approx 268 sq. ft. w/loft.tiny footprint eh!
Most Countys have a min. sq. ft. rule.
Your’a throwback hippy freak if you don’t
buy into the mold.Well we conformed to the
rules but now we can’t afford their concept.
Eco Villages, ect. are becoming the green way.
Energy,Taxes & make the banks richer but us
poorer. GO FOR IT declutter, be happy, live longer or at least simpler,and be free of all the stress. Ive procrastenated to long but still dreaming.
5 years ago when my husband and i got married, we purchased a 480 sq. ft. studio on the beach.
our family and friends criticized us because ‘we were crazy to move into such a small space’ and ‘we should have invested that money into a house’.
not only did we live happily there with two small dogs for 2.5 years, but when we sold it, (which we now regret)we made double what we bought it for! much more than what some friends made off their suburban investments.
We were constantly outside with the dogs, walking everywhere from the beach, store, restaurants, etc. Now we live in a high rise condo which is much larger, and sometimes I feel like I haven’t seen the light in days! Hurray for those who have discovered more isn’t necessarily better!!!