The Tiny House Trial - Week 2
If you’ve been reading my last blog about my plans, or follow my social pages, you know that I’m currently living in a Tiny House.
For a while now, tiny houses have been on my radar. I love how beautiful and cosy they are and how many feel like pieces of art, not just homes. For years now, I’ve thought that I could absolutely see myself living in one.
When I decided that my full-time vanlife days were coming to an end (for now) and thought about what I might want to do next, getting a tiny house was high on the list of options I considered. So when my friends offered me the chance to live in their tiny for two months while they are overseas, I jumped at it. It’s a fantastic opportunity to experience living tiny and see if I like it.
I know many of you are curious about tiny houses and what it’s like to live in one. So I thought I’d do two blog posts, one after two weeks and another after the full two months.
So, here’s the week two update.
A bit about this specific tiny house.
Several people have been asking for details and photos. I’m including a few more here, but I’m also conscious that this is someone else’s home. I have, of course, asked them for permission before I shared any photos, and they gave me the thumbs up. But still, I feel like I have to respect their privacy by limiting what I share.
The tiny is a fairly traditional tiny house on wheels (THOW). It’s about 2.5 metres wide, and I’d say 8 metres long (but don’t hold me to that, I’m bad at judging distances…). Downstairs is a seating area, a kitchen, a small bathroom and a little extra room at the end, which my friends use as the bedroom for their twins (yup, they have twins and live in a tiny house!). I think before the twins arrived, it was an office space.
The tiny has two lofts. Above the kitchen, bathroom and kids’ room is the big sleeping loft. It’s massive! You could have two big beds up there – though you can’t stand upright. The smaller second loft on the other end is partly above the seating area and partially pokes out from the rest of the tiny. It’s used as a lounge area with comfy cushions as well as a bit of a makeshift office. I haven’t used the space much yet since access is via quite a steep ladder, and ever since I almost slipped on the third day here, I’ve been a bit wary of that ladder.
The tiny has a nice big covered deck which is awesome. I use it as a second lounge area (as well as storage for some of my gear). I especially like sitting out there during breaks when I’m working. It’s a nice change of scenery.
Here are some photos.
Alright, now that you have a better idea of the space, let’s talk about what it’s like to live here.
The big question: Do I like living in the tiny house?
YES! I LOVE IT! To be honest, I would have been really surprised if I didn’t. Ever since I first visited my friends here and saw their tiny, I knew I would love living here.
However, that doesn’t mean I love every single aspect of it. Tiny house living definitely has its pros and cons.
What I love most about living in the Tiny House
What I love most is how comfortable I feel here.
It just feels so right! From the moment I moved in, I felt at home. It’s comfortable and cosy but much more spacious than my van. For me, it’s the perfect size. It offers much more space than my van, but it’s not so big that I feel lost in it (like I do whenever I’m staying in normal houses these days).
I love that it’s easy to keep tidy. The small space forces you to keep it clean and tidy, and there just isn’t much floor and surface space to clean, so it doesn’t take long.
I love sleeping in the loft.
There is something very cosy about it! I was a bit unsure about the sleeping loft, and I still worry that it could get very hot up there in summer. But right now, in spring, I love it.
I also love the location. I’m on a farm in rural north Auckland. It’s beautiful and idyllic around here. The landlords live up the hill, and there is another tiny house here, so I’m not entirely isolated, but it’s quiet and peaceful. And yet, I can be in Auckland city in 40 minutes (without traffic). However, I do wish it could be closer to the beach. It’s only a 20-minute drive, but that feels like a lot sometimes.
What took some getting used to
There isn’t anything I really don’t like about living tiny. However, there are a few things that can be challenging and little things that I miss..
For starters, the tiny is fully off the grid.
I rely on solar power, and with the setup here, I do need to watch my power use, especially on cloudy days. There is plenty of power for all the essentials, and there is also a generator as a backup option, so it’s really not that big a deal. But I do miss little things like heating my wheat bag five times a day in the microwave on a cold day.
The tiny has a water tank, and rainwater is collected from the roof of the house and the deck. Considering how much rain we had this winter and given we still have rainy days regularly right now, water is not an issue. However, 10-minute hot showers every day probably wouldn’t work. And in summer, water can be an issue.
Another thing that took some getting used to is the composting toilet.
If you’re squeamish about this stuff, you might want to skip this part… (you’ve been warned). Now that it’s been two weeks, I’m all good with it. But I’m not gonna lie, it was a bit of an adjustment. The number one question I’ve been getting from people is whether it smells. I think it does a little bit. But that may be just in my head or a result of me not using it properly. It definitely doesn’t stink, and you can’t smell anything unless you’re standing right next to the toilet. And even then, you might not even notice anything if you don’t know to look (or sniff) for it.
While it’s certainly not as easy as a flushing toilet in an ordinary house, I do have to say that I find emptying the composting toilet bucket way less messy than emptying the campervan toilet cassette. Partly this is because here we have our own private composting area for it and not a public facility like a dump station where you never quite know how the person before you left it. In addition, the way a composting toilet separates solid and liquid waste also makes it less messy. So if I had to choose between a composting toilet and a cassette toilet for long-term use, now that I’ve used both, I would prefer the composting toilet. If I’m being honest, I would still take a flushing toilet over either. However, in an off-grid tiny house, that’s not an option. Besides, given how much water a standard flushing toilet uses, alternatives like composting ones are definitely the much more sustainable option.
Alright, enough toilet talk!
The stairs took some getting used to
Another thing that took a bit of getting used to are the steps to the loft. They are much higher than standard stairs, and the first few days, I would forget that – especially when I had to get up at night. I had a few near misses, and even now, I’m glad there is a handrail to hold on to.
On the other hand, not being able to stand up in the bedroom upstairs doesn’t bother me much. It feels cosy. It does help, though, that I have turned the little downstairs kids room into my wardrobe and changing room. It’s one thing that I have taken note of for when/if I get my own tiny house designed; I would have the wardrobe downstairs instead of up in the loft. That way, the loft is just for sleeping, and you don’t have to crawl around to get clothes and other things.
What was the biggest surprise so far
This is a bit of a weird one that probably only someone who has lived in a campervan for a long time would come up with.
What surprised me most is how quiet it is when it rains – even when it pours down. In the van, heavy rain on the roof would be super loud. It kept me up at night more than once. Given that the roof here is also made from metal, and you sleep right under it in the loft, I expected it to be louder. But I guess this is an excellent example of what good insulation can do. We had a few days now with heavy downpours. It’s super noisy under the deck outside, but once inside the tiny, you only hear it very softly.
Alright, that’s my week two update.
Overall, I absolutely love living here! I’m more convinced than ever that there will be a tiny house in my future. It’s more a when than an if question now :)
Let me know if you have any specific questions about tiny house life that I haven’t covered here!
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Hi, I’m Lisa. I’m a 40-something on a mission to figure out what life has to offer when you don’t want to follow the traditional path around 9-5 work, marriage and mortgages. Follow my journey.