The Pros and Cons of Living Small

Adventures in Sustainable Living Podcast

Episode 71

The Pros and Cons of Living Small

Part of the focus of sustainable living is being mindful of the impact you have on the world around you. As you have no doubt heard me say, every single thing we do has some sort of impact. But there are numerous ways to reduce our individual ecological foot print. 

I have spoken of this before in previous episodes on reducing your carbon footprint and life without plastic. I now want to continue that trend by giving you further options on how to live more sustainably in ways that more or less go against our cultural trend. In the next few episodes I want to examine the art of living small. So stick around if you want to listen to Part One which is called The Pros and Cons of Living Small.

Welcome back everyone to the Adventures in Sustainable Living podcast. This is your host Patrick and this is E71 which is Part One of the Art of Living Small. I have spoken previously about simplifying your life, doing without certain things, getting rid of the excess, going zero waste etc. All of that being said, I want to get down to some other practical issues as far as how we live and what we can change in order to reduce our individual impact on the world.

I think it is fair to say that most of us can live on far less than what we do and that includes the space that we live in. Obviously the larger our living space tends to be the more stuff and clutter we have, the more utilities we pay, and thus we have a greater environmental impact. By living in a smaller place, the opposite is true. 

So, in this series of episodes I want to focus on all the issues surrounding what I call “living small”. What this means is living in a smaller residence than what we typically do as Americans.  But, to start off this series, I want to first talk about the pros and cons of this type of lifestyle.  

You are no doubt familiar with what is being called the “tiny house movement”. Now this movement focuses on people living in homes that are much smaller than average. Now people opt for living in a tiny home for a variety of reasons. There are pros and cons to such a lifestyle, as well as some unique challenges. But I will get to all of that shortly. 

But if you have been following me long enough, then you know that I used to own a second home. And yes I was also guilty at one point of thinking bigger was better, more was better. And I think I talked about that in E38 The Value of Simplicity. If you listened to that episode then you know the work I went through and all the details of what I did to down size my life and get completely out of debt. 

I went from living in a 2,600 square foot home to a 475 square foot cabin. Actually, what I initially did was go back to living in the log cabin, which was about 260 square feet. At the time I was in the process of completing the second cabin. The point being is that I can talk about living in small spaces from personal experience.

What is a tiny home?

The first thing to sort out is what is exactly is considered a tiny home?  Well, it is just exactly what it sounds like. It is a small house that is just big enough to have everything you need. But at least according to the International Code Council, the tiny house must be 400 square foot of less. It can be on wheels on easily movable or it can be a free standing structure with our without a foundation. But the underlying concept here is that it is just big enough for your needs and no more. 

Now what does that sound like? To me that has the definitive ring of sustainability, that being having only what you need and no more. 

But this certainly goes against our culture trend. This is because America is a place defined by bigness. Like it or not, our bigness is rather infamous both at home and abroad, from the size of our country, the size of our cars, the size of our waistlines, and the size of our homes. 

The average size of the American home in 1950 was 938 square feet while today the average size of our homes are 2,450 square feet despite the trend of having a smaller family. Now there are a number of reasons for this including easy access to cheap building materials, government policies and programs, zoning laws etc. But from a global perspective, we generally have somewhere between 600 and 800 more square feet of living space on average relative to other countries. 

All this extra space has an environmental impact of course. Most people with extra space feel obligated to fill it with more stuff. All that extra space means more heating and cooling, extra work in upkeep and maintenance. Not to mention the extra cost of the home itself, which brings me to my first point. 

Affordability

The first thing to consider is affordability. 

Average construction cost at the time of this publication is about  $240 USD per square foot. Now I did find estimates ranging anywhere from $100 USD to $500 USD. But, this was only the cost of the home and did not factor in the cost of the land. Construction costs vary tremendously depending on where you are. Obviously, it will cost far more to build in San Francisco than in the middle of Kansas.  

From start to finish, my new cabin construction, including the cost of installing solar and a 240 square foot deck, cost me $65 USD per square foot. That was 2018 prices. But, I am going to add on a 200 square foot sunroom this year and I expect that addition to have fairly similar cost. 

Now just from doing a little research, I found that kits for tiny homes have an average cost of $50 USD per square foot. But this of course does not include purchasing land, installing electricity, water and sewage hookups, and putting in the foundation etc. 

But similar to other people, for me building a small place was much more affordable. From the very beginning, I mortgaged only the land. I was able to build the cabin in stages.This meant I could save money and pay as I went instead of borrowing money. This brings me to my second point, that being the mortgage.

Mortgage Free

Depending on how you go about this process, it is entirely possible to do this and never have a mortgage. If you do have a mortgage, then it is for a limited time only. 

There are only three countries in the world that have the possibility of a 30 year fixed rate mortgage: the US, France, and Denmark. And this is what we have become accustomed to in the U.S. But we are also accustomed to instant gratification. We want to drive around with a real estate agent or shop online as if we are in a candy store and then say “Oh I want that one!”. 

We never stop to think what a 30 year mortgage costs us. First of all you spend thousands of dollars up front for closing costs and various other fees. Then, for example if you borrow $100K, pay it off over 30 years, you are actually paying $300K. When you think of it from that perspective, it doesn’t sound like such a good deal. The advantage of the 30 year mortgage is weighted heavily in favor of everyone except the consumer. 

In most countries I have visited, people start small. They buy the land first. Then they may put in the foundation one year. Next they build a really small house. Then maybe a few years later they add on. The point is that they pay as they go. This is exactly what I did with the cabin and is why I was able to pay off the land mortgage in 12 years. 

Furthermore, keeping a small, simple place made it more affordable to build, maintain, and close it down when I wanted to travel. Additionally, having a simple design meant I could do much of the work myself which saved me even more money. All of these factors meant I could do this without ever having a mortgage. 

Eco-friendly

From a sustainability point of view, smaller homes are more eco-friendly. Obviously you use a lot less building materials in the construction. A lot less energy is used for heating and cooling. With a smaller living space you also have to be efficient with your appliances as well. Overall you are going to use a lot less electricity. 

Con

Now from an environmental perspective, one of the downsides to having a tiny home on wheels is the fact that you will have to have a huge truck to be able to move it around. This means that the vehicle you use for everyday travel is going to constantly have a large environmental impact. But, if you are going to stay in one location, you can avoid that by simply paying someone to move it for you. This is actually very affordable and something I never thought about. People that choose to live in tiny homes or in a large RV on a long term basis, simply pay someone a one time fee to move it to a permanent or seem-permanent location.  Some friends of mine actually did this. 

Another potential downside is that if you live in a humid climate, when it comes to cooling you may be limited to using a smaller AC unit which is not very environmentally friendly. 

Renewable energy

And speaking of being eco-friendly, if you are using a lot less electricity, that makes going with a renewable energy source much easier. This is the primary reason my solar array was easy for me to purchase and set up. Truly you just simply can’t go wrong with living off of renewable energy sources. Once the system is paid for you are getting your electricity for free.  Based on what my closet neighbors pay for electricity my solar array paid for itself in 2 years. 

Minimalistic Lifestyle

And there is something I am very well acquainted with and that is living a minimalistic lifestyle. When I downsized from my second home, I literally got rid of 75% of my personal possessions. With living in the cabin, every single item in there has a purpose. In fact, things usually have more than one function.  Otherwise it is in the way and I get rid of it. This also prevents me from making unnecessary purchases because there is literally no place to put it anyway. 

It is completely self contained

If your tiny home is on wheels, the best part is that it is completely self contained. This means you can easily move it to a new location when desired. If you want to take a vacation, it is possible to take your house with you. This means you are going to save money on accommodations. In many ways, you combine the best features of a house and a camper. The advantage to a tiny home versus an RV is that you can customize to fit your taste. 

Con

From a legal perspective, tiny homes fall in a grey area. To make things more frustrating, rules and regulations vary according to your location and are not consistent. Tiny homes are sometimes consider RVs by the municipality but the RV park does not consider them to be an RV. 

Deciding on a permanent location may bring some other challenges due to zoning code blacks holes and red tape. This is something you simply need to look into before considering a tiny home. 

Cleaning your home is extremely easy

Clean up and maintenance on a tiny home is far easier than a traditional home.  I know for me when it comes to cleaning the cabin, it takes me well under one hour. 

Con

But the true disadvantage is that you have to constantly clean. Sometimes at the cabin I find that I have to sweep the floor several times a day because dirt always accumulates. This is even worse when I live in the travel trailer for months. There is literally just enough space to live. You have to clean the floor, keep dishes washed and put away, and keep yourself extremely well organized. You truly cannot leave things sitting out because it would just be in the way. It takes no time at all before it starts to look similar to a tornado zone. 

Cooking with fresh ingredients

Now this is one thing I have noticed about living in the cabin versus working and living in the travel trailer. While the cabin is set up for maximum efficiency it is also set up for maximum functionality. This means we can do all the same things we would do if living in a larger home and that includes meal preparation.  But, when I travel for work and live in the travel trailer, then I feel as if I am living in a tiny home. 

Con 

I cook much more often when in the travel trailer. The advantage is that I do not eat a lot of left overs, meals are eaten fresh. I am cooking with fresh ingredients everyday. I purchase vegetables and other ingredients in much smaller quantities. 

This mostly has to do with a lack to storage space. My refrigerator is very small and I have a limited number of cabinets. But this also means I cook more frequently. To some degree I have solved this by using storage bins that fit under the travel trailer. But it is difficult to buy things in bulk and thus reduce the amount of food packaging waste. So, in that respect I am having a greater ecological impact.

Using a lot less water

One of the true advantages to living simple is that you also use a lot less water. With three people in our household, we literally use 75% less water than the average American household. One of the reasons for this is that we do not have standard water and sewer connections. We have a designate area that catches grey water and we use a composting toilet. This alone eliminates one of the biggest wasteful practices in our modern lifestyle and that is using fresh clean water to flush the toilet.

Con

Of course the downside to having a composting toilet is that you have to manually empty it. This is not a pleasant task and we usually take turns doing it.  Once emptied you have to have a place to put the compost. Fortunately for us, we live on 46 acres so that is not a problem. 

The outdoors is an extension of your living space

Personally, I consider this to be a huge advantage. While at home, weather permitting, I leave the doors open and often spend a lot of time working at the table out on the deck. Especially during the warmer time of the year, the deck literally becomes an extension of our living space. This is one of the reasons I am going to add on a sunroom to the cabin this year. 

Con

Depending on your personality, if there is poor weather for several days in a row and you are stuck indoors in tight quarters with other people, living in a small space truly becomes frustrating.  Consequently, finding you own space at times can be extremely difficult. This is one of the reasons I am going to add on a sunroom to the cabin this year. 

Summary

I must say at this point that I find it somewhat humorous that I was living in a 100 square foot cabin long before living in tiny spaces became the trend. Now eventually I added onto the log cabin and even built a newer, larger cabin. However, even the newer cabin is only 470 square feet. And I share that living space with Annette, two dogs, and one cat. Annette’s son Erik lives in the log cabin.

So what I’ve tried to accomplish in this episode is to give you some practical considerations for what I call “living small”.

Now I must say that people opt for living small for a variety of reasons. There are truly a number of benefits for choosing to do so. However, there are also some unique challenges. The point being is that this a lifestyle choice. Just as my living off the grid is a lifestyle choice, which of course has some unique challenges. Choosing to live small is also a lifestyle choice. Choosing to live more sustainably is a lifestyle choice as well, which also brings some unique challenges.

I must also admit that as I watched the boom of the tiny house movement, I just kept wondering if the average person actually realizes, and even appreciates the challenges of living small. Because speaking from personal experience I will be the first to admit that it can be challenging and there are distinctive trade offs.  

That said, there are several reasons I built my cabins the way I did. When building the log cabin, I was working completely alone. Doing the logging work by yourself was physically strenuous and even down right dangerous at times.  Even with using hoists the largest logs I could handle were 16 feet. Consequently, this limited the size of the cabin. 

But this was not the case with the newer cabin because it is standard construction. But another reason for building the way I did was maximum efficiency and simplicity. Additionally, I could build in stages and pay cash. 

Now we have found ways to deal with living in such a small space. I added on the deck which has become an extension of our living space. I built the green house which is a place where we both go to spend time. We both also spend a lot of time working outdoors. And of course I am adding on the sunroom this year which will give us an additional 200 square feet of space. 

From the prospective of sustainability, it is obvious that most of us can live well on far less than what we do. For us living in a smaller place means we are debt free, there is very little up keep and maintenance, it is super easy to shut the place down if we want to travel for either fun or work. We have managed to create a simple lifestyle with little if any excess, yet have a very good standard of living. Personally, I enjoy having a small place that is easy to maintain yet I have 46 acres around me that helps to maintain some privacy.  

Despite the challenges, a huge up side to how we live is that we truly have very little responsibility. Consequently, we have a lot of personal time and a lot of free time to work on other things that makes our lifestyle that much more sustainable. One thing about American culture that I don’t appreciate is such a strong focus on having excess material possessions. I think it is easy to get sucked into that sort of mindset. But what we never stop to think about is just how that produces even more obligations and responsibilities that drain us of our personal time. 

I hope you have enjoyed this episode, which is the first in a series of podcasts on living small and how that lifestyle is much more sustainable.  Coming up in the next episode I am going to discuss all the things that no one tells you about tiny home living. 

But for now, this is your host Patrick signing off until next week. Always remember to live sustainably because this is how we build a better future.  

Patrick