small houseIn an age when McMansions rule, it’s hard to image Americans downsizing their housing.  However, there are a growing number of individuals who are doing just that – living in houses <400 square feet. 

This volutary reduction in square footage, known as the micro movement, has become increasingly popular in recent years.  Uniquely enough, there is no one single reason why people choose do it.  Simplicity, however, appears to be a  common theme, as some of us are just tired of living with so much “stuff.”

Benefits of micro homes:

You could fill a whole book listing the reasons why living in a small home would be beneficial.  If you could pull it off, it would appear that almost every aspect of your life would be positively affected.  Below are just some of benefits I conjured up while writing this:

  • Decreased environmental footprint
  • Affordability
  • Decreased utility bills
  • Low maintenance requirements
  • Forced simplicity
  • Less vulnerable to housing woes

Micro homes of the web:

Being that I am new to this whole concept, I will direct you to some micro-home resources on the web.  However, I must warn you: the more you read about them the more fascinating the idea will become!

  •  Tumbleweed Tiny House Company: This is the best resource I found on the Internet about this topic.  It is run by Jay Schafer who has been living in an 86 square-foot home since 1997.  I recommend you check out his blog and house plans while visiting, because they are both a great read.
  • Tiny Texas Houses:  Yet another builder of small homes.  There are a lot of pictures of the different available models here.
  • BlueSky MOD:  The modernist approach to tiny homes.  Very cool indeed!
  • This Tiny House:  This is a great blog all about living in small homes.  I will definitely be visiting it again when I get time.
  • Small House Society:  The name says it all!

My thoughts

I find  the whole small house movement to be one of the most fascinating ideas I have come across in awhile.  Housing is arguably the one area in a person’s life with the greatest potential for saving them money.  The benefits both financial and time-wise would be absolutely life changing if you could manage it!

Personally, I am finding out how easy it is to live with less square footage.  I recently moved into a 395 square-foot apartment.  I thought things would be a little tight, but surprisingly, I have found it to be a perfect fit.  Not only did it motivate me to get rid of more stuff, but maintaining a clean, tidy home has been a snap.  In fact, my experience has been so positive I am now convinced that all I will ever need is a 400-700 square-foot home.