When you were younger, you might have dreamed about the big house you’d live in as an adult. But, today, this is changing. As the minimalism trend rises, so too does the tiny house movement. Find out more about this movement and whether you could adopt tiny living. We’ll cover tips for tiny living, including how to live with less and how to store your things with storage units in London.

What is the tiny house movement?

The tiny house movement is a social movement where people and families are choosing to live in smaller (much smaller!) houses for a number of reasons. Officially, a tiny house is one that is less than 400sqft. As well as tiny houses, this movement includes people living in other small settings, like campervans and boats. Some of the tiniest houses are even built on wheels, so you can tow them around and "park" them wherever you want to call home.

Tiny houses are really taking off in the US, Canada, and Australia, but the movement is starting to gain attention in the UK as well.

Why are people choosing to live in tiny houses?

While the tiny house movement still only represents an equally tiny percentage of the population, it is a growing trend that more and more people are starting to see the benefits of. So, what are those benefits that are convincing people to dramatically downsize?

The financial benefits of tiny houses

As you’d expect, buying or building a tiny house is much cheaper than a regular-sized house. Tiny ECO Homes UK say that the average cost of one of their houses is £24,000. That’s a little over 10% of the average house price in the UK. Saving huge amounts of money on a deposit and monthly mortgage payments will give you lots more spare cash to spend on whatever else your heart desires, as well as saving much more away for a rainy day. With a smaller space to heat and fewer lights required, you’ll also be spending much less on your utilities.

Improving your environmental impact

Less usage of gas and electricity isn’t only good for your bank balance, but also for the planet. Many people switch to tiny living in order to reduce their carbon footprint and improve their eco-friendliness. A tiny house also requires much fewer materials to build it, meaning less energy used and fewer trees cut down.

Focusing more on what matters in life

Like minimalism, tiny living focuses on simplifying your life and prioritising relationships and experiences over material possessions. When you stop caring about how many things you own, life becomes a lot simpler and less stressful. You can focus on and spend more time doing the things you love with the people you love. Think about the amount of time you’d spend cleaning and tidying a 4-bedroom house each week. Tiny houses require very little upkeep, giving you more time to spend playing with your kids, for example.

What are the challenges of living in a tiny house?

It sounds like the perfect solution, but that doesn’t mean tiny living is for everyone or that it’s always an easy change to make. Living in a tiny house does have its challenges. Here are a few things that become difficult when you live in a tiny house:

Entertaining guests

Without much space in your home, inviting guests over becomes a challenge. If you have a nice outdoor space to entertain them in, then this is less of a problem. But the weather might not always be on your side for outdoor entertaining.

Exercising at home

If you like to save time and money by exercising at home rather than at a gym, then this will be difficult in a tiny house. Things like yoga and bodyweight exercises don’t take up much space, but your tiny house might limit this a little too much. Exercising outside is always an option when the weather allows it, though.

Storing all your belongings

The tiny house movement is all about living with less, but that doesn’t mean you’ll be getting rid of all your belongings. Finding storage space for the things you do own in a tiny house can be difficult. If you need extra storage space outside of your tiny house, you can always rent storage units in London to help you out.

Buying things in bulk

With cost-savings and eco-friendliness in mind, you’ll probably want to buy things in bulk to save on money and packaging. However, in a tiny house, this might not be possible. Again, your lack of storage space will restrict this. You could use rented storage space for this, as well, or you will just have to get used to doing a weekly shop for everything.

Finding your own space

For those living in a tiny house with their family, it can be difficult to get away from each other when you want to. Ironically, you might choose tiny living to spend more time with your family, but you will probably want your own space from time to time.

So, is tiny living the solution for you? It’s important to weigh up the pros and cons before deciding whether to switch to the tiny house movement. But it could end up changing your life dramatically for the better if you think it’s right for you.