Tiny House Living Simplifies Life, But Doesn’t Make it Easier

There has been a lot of discussion in tiny house communities lately about the fantasy of living in a tiny house and the reality.

We all know the fantasy because most of the people blogging about the life – including me – show it on social media. The photos of the tiny homes, typically set in pretty places. Or, the ones on wheels that can go to a new pretty place. People living simpler – better – healthier – lives.

There is nothing that quite captures the reality of tiny house living than the meme I posted on Facebook last week, which received over 2,000 “likes” and counting. “When we crave simplicity, we aren’t after an easier life, we’re after more life.”

We enjoy all of the benefits of living in a tiny house including smaller bills, less maintenance and more time to do what we want. In those ways, we’ve found the simpler life we craved.

But make no mistake, just because life in a tiny home is simpler in some ways, it is still real life.

Last week was an especially tough week for me at Our Little House.

We were able to get out on the lake last weekend, but our 2-year-old boat, which Dale had just fixed, started overheating, so we had to cut our day short and wait for a guy who knows these motors to help diagnose the problem. That guy is out of town, probably for another 3 weeks. This too, shall pass, but it means weeks of not being able to get out on the water.

Then I lost a couple of good clients due to budget issues that I counted on to give me more work in April. Work = money to pay bills.

Finally, as I told our accountant, the worst two days of the year hit when I had to get all of my receipts tallied and make sure my numbers added up so she could figure our taxes.

After my bad week last week, I reflected on my week, as I always do. As always, there was so much more to be happy about.

Our life here still allowed me a thrill when a bobcat made an appearance on our trail camera.

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On the day a I lost work, a previously unknown to me snake wandered in my path. Snakes don’t bother me, I’m one of the people they fascinate. I tried to figure out what kind it is and how it benefits our eco-system (I don’t harm snakes unless they are poisonous and threaten us or the dogs).

I’m still not sure, but consensus of my friends on Facebook seems to be a king snake or racer, or maybe even a black snake shedding. Whatever it is, it will help keep the rodent population down and may possibly keep more harmful snakes from our yard.

The wind has been blowing a lot this week, too, which has been the catalyst for the beautiful music our chimes have been making.

And then there was the arrival of the first copy of my book, “Living Large in Our Little House: Thriving in 480 Square Feet With Six Dogs, a Husband and One Remote…Plus More Stories of How You Can, Too,” which certainly wouldn’t have been possible without moving to Our Little House.

I picked it up in the mail on the way to see  our accountant and I was so excited, I showed it to her after I arrived. After seeing the photos, she realized that her late husband helped build our house. I’ve known her since we moved down here and we never put that together. She was even more excited and proud, of course. I was glad to have helped make her day, too.

These are the simple things. You don’t have to live in a tiny house to appreciate them, but when your home is smaller, it somehow makes the worries in life smaller, too.

The simple life sometimes isn’t easier, but I certainly feel like I have more life and that’s what Living Large is all about.

 Why do you think simplifying helps you enjoy life more?