Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Oh yeah, two bathrooms are a must. We weren’t yet retired when hubby came down with Norovirus. A little over 24 hours was my turn. As horrendous as the experience was, I kept think long how fortunate we were to take turns. With only one bathroom, I couldn’t imagine both of us having this.
BTDT! I think my minimum is 1-1/2 baths. I can share a shower and, in fact, did with four other people for twenty years or so, but that second toilet and sink are a must for a home with more than one resident.
My husband and I downsized in 2009 from a 4 bedroom/5 bath huge house with a four car garage to a two bedroom condo.
I've never been happier and we've never gone back to a single family home.
We downsized to a 3-bedroom condo in 2002 and are now in our third condo (upscale, waterfront, quiet, private). Just getting away from the yard and house maintenance and upkeep made a huge difference and we were only moving from a 2000+ sfh with an average size yard (not 100+ acres!). We now have housekeepers come-in every other week ... or after the grandkids have been here, so we neither bother with cleaning the house or taking care of the yard. Plus, most of the time, we also eat-out rather than cook large meals at home.
I suppose goats have their place, but, we have grown accustomed to simply shutting the door and going traveling. Even dogs and cats can complicate that.
I'm not so sure really small houses automatically equate with less cleaning or greater convenience. Two people generate the same amount of clutter and dirt, regardless of the size of their 'container.' We like about 1800-2200 SF. This gives us room for visitors, personal hobbies and to get away from each other now and then -- or at least go watch our own programs, etc. in separate rooms (after 50-years, we've still got our own preferences). Another factor may be your neighbors. In a 1000-1200 sf home area, you will find mostly young, singles /couples, no families/kids, and more transient or temporary living).
Rather than getting too drastic, you might consider some interim alternatives to see what you really like. Along these lines, you could rent a small home or a condo for a while. You will likely find your personal preferences more of a driver, than too much cleaning and maintenance. Good Luck!
Lived on a sailboat for a time. If I bought a new pair of shoes, I had to throw out an old pair. Grocery shopping was every two or three days. Cleaned the place with a dust buster. Had a storage unit at the marina for tools, bikes, etc.
Spent a lot of time reading or on my computer as there just wasn't room to do anything else. Even yoga was a stretch.
Moved into an 800 sq. ft. apartment. More comfortable than the boat, but still cramped.
Moved to 1200 sq. ft. and found this is the minimum we are comfortable in. A comfortable size living room, a decent size kitchen, and a guest bedroom.
It's one thing to live in a little bitty space when you are at work, traveling, riding bikes, etc. all the time.
But when we are home all the time, it is just too cramped. We're right on top of one another. Even reading a book uninterrupted is a challenge on a boat or even an 800 sq. ft. place.
Live in a much larger place now. Love having extra rooms for guests, projects, peace and quiet.
I raised two kids in a 700sf house.We do have a 1/2 basement for storage,it was tight but doable.Since the kids moved out we don't know what to do with 'all the room' .We have tall ceilings with a storage area over the washer/dryer and one room has a loft bed with a pretty large walk in closet beneath.
700 sf is plenty big enough for two people if you don't have a bunch of junk and set the place up to make efficient use of space.You don't need a huge kitchen for two people.We don't get a lot of visitors so that's not an issue for us.Its easy to keep clean.
We have a couple acres in the woods,no grass so there isn't much yard maintenance either.
We are a 5 person family in a 900-1000 sqft house. 2 people in 1000sqft house is not "tiny". We are always focused on multi-purpose items. Bedrooms (2 of them) are not dedicated to just beds... they fold away to make room for other activities. Same with kitchen. Avoid gadgets that don't substantially add to ease of daily tasks. I wear the same type of cloths all year around... just add layers (sweaters, under T-shirts) in the winter. My entire (minus jackets/shoes) wardrobe fits on a single bookshelf folded. Items that are not used in over a year are sold off. We do bulk buy food and freeze them. Extra freezers in our basement/garage. Don't forget to look up for extra storage. We have less often used items stored on above head shelves in the perimeter of the rooms.
We never had to "downsize"... we never expanded... lived like this for the past 20 years.
Depends on climate is what my friend that lives in tiny beach cottage says...
He has a tiny beach cottage for him and his girlfriend... they spend a lot of time outdoors as do many in Southern CA... two parking places and a small 10x10 shed for bikes and sports gear… he plans to never leave.
On the other hand... my friends in Western WA have big home... with a finished basement... they said having a spacious inside with lots of windows is the only way his wife can deal with the long winters... she grew up in Arizona...
I have ~500 sqft that is basically a studio apartment that I live in day to day.
It's what I "button down" to in winter.
Directly above it I have a matching space (500sqft) consisting of a loft library and (2) guest bedrooms.
Besides the 2 I have a 1ksqft shop\garage.
I think This is a very good setup, I have a small space to deal with, upstairs to expand to, and a shop to work in.
A tiny house is like living full time in an RV or sailboat: someone is ALWAYS cleaning and re-organizing.
No room for a slouch. If one spouse sits around a lot, there's going to be a lot more work for the other.
Tiny homes are under 500 sq ft and usually on wheels. Small homes are 500 sq ft and over but under 1000 sq ft, and are usually not on wheels.
There's a big gap between houses that are 2000 sq ft and tiny homes. You'd think someone would like to jump in there and fill it, but so far no one has.
One thing I've found is that when houses start going small, the first thing they do is cramp the bedroom and the bathroom. Personally, I'd rather have a smaller bedroom and living room and a larger bathroom and kitchen. I can tell you from experience, cooking in a small kitchen can be done, but it's not fun. I only have a 2' x 2' butcher block and the same amount of counter space in my kitchen and things constantly get put on the fridge, on the toaster, on top of other pots and pans, etc. when I'm cooking. If you like to cook, insist on a decent sized kitchen.
You might even consider walling off a kitchen in a small house as well, because of all the grease and cooking smells that spread easier in a smaller space.
A decent sized bathroom is also important. Having to close the bathroom door just to access the sink and bumping your knees on a wall while sitting on a toilet is also not fun. You want enough floor space to be able to put down a small rug at least.
Cleaning is much harder in small house. In a small bathroom, cleaning the floor is like doing acrobatics. When you have to vacuum, you might find yourself having to move each piece of furniture out one at a time to vacuum under, around, or behind it and then have to put it away and pull out the next piece of furniture before you can vacuum under, around, or behind it. After awhile, it'll feel like you're playing musical chairs with the sofas and end tables in the living room.
It's not hard to live in either a tiny or small house, but you have to know your living style. If you're a minimalist, it'll work out well. If you have to have magazine holders by the chairs or want room on the floor to do yoga, that could be a problem.
You might want to think about getting what's called a "park model" or a small double wide manufactured home, or even a single wide manufactured home.
Park models have to remain under a specific size to be considered an RV, but if you were going to put it permanently onsite and were willing to consider it a house and be taxed that way, you could get a larger one. There really isn't a lot of difference between a single wide manufactured home and a park model, but it's hard to find a single wide manufactured home today. Everyone wants double and triple wide, so sometimes the only single wides you see are decades old. But if your zoning laws allow you to put one on your land, there are some good ones out there.
This is an ad for a 1983 single wide that looks like it's in perfectly livable condition, had two bedrooms and two baths, is a little over 900 sq ft and is only $5000.
900-1000 sq ft isn't considered a "tiny house" - those are generally considered to be about 500 sq feet and under. One big difference is that in a true tiny house, there is usually a sleeping loft rather than a separate bedroom - with approx 900 st feet, you should be able to have a reasonable sized bedroom and perhaps even a second room that could be a guest room/office/den combo depending on your needs.
Which is not to dismiss the adjustment it will be for you, just that there is still a big difference between 350 sq ft and 900 sq ft, even though some of the recommendations stay the same, like maximizing space by having things do double duty.
I don't live in a tiny house but last year, helped my mom downsize from about 3500 st ft to about 1300. I have to admit that I think much smaller than that would be tough. She's got a nice sized master bedroom with en suite bath and a second full bath and guest room. She has out of town visitors on a fairly regular basis so having that extra bedroom was important, and it also serves as an office including some extra storage for paperwork, books, etc. The living area is decent sized, and she was able to keep her dining room set, so that was helpful too. The biggest downsize was the kitchen, but realistically, she doesn't cook very much any more so it was more a question of keeping the things that she really uses, and no need to have duplicates anymore, the way someone who cooks more frequently and for larger groups might like to have.
I would say to make sure you've got as much storage as possible - not just clothing, but a generous coat closet (assuming you are talking about a climate with 4 seasons) that can also hold the vacuum and other cleaning tools, and at least one, if not 2 linen closets, because that storage is very helpful for other things as well.
I would also say to be realistic about how you live your life and the things you need to be able to do that. Downsizing possessions is good but you don't need to downsize your life if you don't want to, and it's ok to stick with a big enough space that lets you do the things you want to do. As long as you start off with enough room for everything, you can keep things orderly and organized and also come up with a cleaning schedule that you can accomplish in a limited amount of time, so you aren't putting in that much time and effort.
This is very true. My house comes from and era where the middle class lived small, and those below the upper reaches had a small one with a couple of bedrooms, maybe one reused as well, and a big kitchen and dining area since that was the heart of the house. Mine has an add on I've just used for storage but intend to figure out what else I can do with it. Most of the places inside that I use have become multipuropse too, and double up on what they store. I freely borrow from the tiny house and its useful hits. But I like the big trees and that everyone has a porch and that its just smaller houses generally.
I've put shelves in the living room for books and plan more. And made my own tv box where the flat screen can be somewhat protected. I'm not sold on those two little plastic legs keeping the tv from falling over. What I wanted was useful space but still something which looks 1930ish too. And the floor is real patterned wood so the shelves are painted. Much stolen from a tiny house show, the computer corner is across the room, but where you can still turn and watch tv or the kids or your show while computing. My intent is to get the wood floor cleared and sand and dye it. The bedroom is small but functional. I like my bed against the wall and pointing at where your feet go, and often sleep sideways. But it leaves space for the stuff you need and the rest can go in the large closet.
One suggestion... have space for a window ac in each room you spend a lot of time in in the summer. You'll be glad. Heaters generally are centrally located and funnel out the heat but cool only cools what it blows on.
I don't remembe why but when my son was here we took a look at my house to see what I liked... mostly my dil didn't. Don't tell people who made their own couch that it should be junked. I seek to escape the conventional instead. But especially if you'll be sharing it now and then, get everyone's idea of it. Like my bed turned sideways against the way,why not it put it that way if it's how YOU like it? Make other rooms more general.
My DIL, after the bed next to the wall, said we'd have to get another bed that fit the regular way for me.... sorry but NO. How dare you. Not a good start. So if you are planning a home which is different than the norm, make sure everyone gets to speak up to if possible let them have their corner as well. The overall concept of the home and its rooms should be chosen by the home community, the new residents, not a couple of dictators with different programming.
I don't talk about it much, but think about how the next house should be more derived from a larger tiny than anything else.
Last edited by nightbird47; 10-03-2018 at 05:32 AM..
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
.We have tall ceilings with a storage area over the washer/dryer and one room has a loft bed with a pretty large walk in closet beneath.
