5 Reasons Why We Didn't Buy a Tiny House

Let me start off my saying we are not against tiny homes, we still LOVE them and want one in Montana or Wyoming. We probably would have bought or built one if we moved to Montana (remember that one time we almost moved to Bozeman?!) or if we already owned a large piece of land to do with whatever we wanted. We posted on Instagram and Snapchat (hesheeatclean) the many times we went and looked at tiny houses so we wanted to explain our decision. The tiny house just wasn't for us at this time and below are the reasons why.

5 Reasons Why We Didn't Buy a Tiny House

1. It's hard to find a place to actually park it.
   • Some states and cities might be different but we couldn't find any county around us that would allow a tiny house. While fighting the government sounds like fun, we just weren't up for that at this time in our lives. A friend of a friend (you know these stories are always good) ;-) actually had a container home and the county made them move it. They literally could not live in their own home. We live in the outer suburbs of Atlanta but I think some rural communities or even more urban areas might be easier to work with regarding parking.
2. It's hard to find a vehicle to actually pull it.
   • We both have cars. These tiny homes are heavy and usually require a large truck to pull them. Sure, we could have someone pull it and park it for us but what if we wanted to move it somewhere else? We aren't up for buying a truck right now. Be sure to do your research on actually transporting the home before buying!
3. The resale value.
   • Tiny homes seem to be something that is a fad right now. We feel there will probably not be a huge market for it later. I had a feeling we would have a hard time "getting rid of it" when/if the time came.
4. The price is too high.
   • Have you looked at the actual price of a house that is 250-300 square feet? The prices are crazy high! If you want anything remotely nice it's going to be in the $50,000-$80,000(+) range. That's pretty expensive per square foot. While the overall price sounds great, it's not a great price per square foot. We don't have carpentry skills or the space to build our own so we would have to pay someone else to do it.
5. They are too small.
   • While we wanted to downsize (and did!), we didn't want to downsize quite that much just yet. The house we ended up buying is larger than what we wanted (we wanted something around 1,200 square feet) and our new house is 1,700 but it's 700 square feet less than our old house and perfect for us right now. When we moved from our old house most of our boxes were food items, kitchen supplies, and hiking/backpacking gear! We do try to live simply so the things we do have we love (like food and hiking!) :-) and it's just too much for a tiny home. We could have rented a storage unit but doesn't that defeat the whole purpose?!

As I mentioned before, we are not against tiny homes we just want the conversation to be open and wanted to share our thought process. We encourage anyone thinking about downsizing to do so. It's SO freeing! Downsizing and living simply do not necessarily mean living in a tiny home or even moving, you can get started in the home you already own! Use some of the resources we've shared like our 30-Day Minimalism Challenge and our list of 10 Things to Get Rid Off for a Clutter-Free Home.

30-Day Minimalism Challenge

Alright, here it is...the long awaited for minimalism challenge! Hopefully you've gotten started with the 10 things to get rid of for a clutter-free home and now you are ready for a bigger challenge!

As we mentioned in our "how we became rich" post, there are a billion different definitions of minimalism, just as there are a billion different definitions or "pictures" of fitness too. Some people might picture a marathon runner or sprinter and someone else might picture a weight lifter or yogi. They could all be correct but it just depends on how you look at it. When most people picture minimalism they picture tiny houses, white walls, no furniture or just white furniture, no possessions, no fun, etc. That could definitely be minimalism but that isn't what it is to us. To us it is just living with what we need and little to no extra. You don't have to throw everything away and move into a tiny house (unless you want to!) in order to get started. Also, as with fitness, your entire family might not be supportive which is okay. You can still start your own journey and I bet if you lead by example, they will follow!

We have this listed as a 30-Day Minimalism Challenge, but just like our fitness challenges, you need to adjust this to the time frame that you can handle.

This is how it works, each day/week/month tackle the room/item(s) listed. So for example, on Day 1 you will clean out your refrigerator. You can approach this however you want but go through what is in your refrigerator item by item to determine if it's something you will keep, toss, or give away. Continue this each day for what is listed. Some projects will be very short and some may take more than a few days, just depending on your schedule. One piece of advice, don't let your toss or give away pile sit around for too long. Get those items out of the house ASAP!

Time to get started!

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30-Day Minimalism Challenge

10 Things to Get Rid of for a Clutter-Free Home

I've received quite a few messages regarding all of the clutter clearing and purging we have been doing (see our weekly updates). I wanted to take this opportunity to share just a few things that you can easily go through and get rid of to start your journey. While some items (sentimental items like pictures, notes, etc.) will be harder to get rid of than others this list is pretty neutral so you should be able to clear these out without much struggle. ;-) We will be sharing much more on this topic soon but use this list to get started. I've also included where you can check the items off as you complete them! You can make your own timeframe goal, for example, you could do one checklist item each day and be well on your way in 10 days!

Just as it is with fitness, the hardest part tends to be maintaining. After you have cleared all 10 items off the checklist, set aside some time each week to make sure you are up to date on things like paperwork and maybe even take a second look through your closet!

You may also be interested in our money saving challenges and tips!

10 Things to Get Rid of for a Clutter-Free Home

1. Piled up paperwork

Everyone hates piled up paperwork but it seems to happen often and quickly for most people. Even if you don't have time to go through every item each day, you can sort them and throw away/recycle the trash and place the important items in a folder to sort at least once a week.

2. Old or unread magazines

How many stacks of magazines do you have that you just held onto for one reason or another? I'll raise my hand here! I recycled stacks and stacks of magazines a few months ago. You can find almost anything online now and even if you wanted to try something out of those magazines, it obviously wasn't important to you because it has just been collecting dust. If you want to take the time to go through the magazines and get the tips, recipes, etc that you want, that's up to you but I recommend just tossing them.

3. Expired food

Take a quick sweep of your refrigerator, freezer, and pantry. While I don't believe in all expiration dates, many are important. Take this time clean out your food supply.

RELATED: How to eat healthy on a budget

4. Duplicate kitchen items

The overload of items I found while clearing our kitchen was just disgusting to me. I got rid of all of our duplicate items and cut way back on how many plates, bowls, cups, etc that we kept. We haven't missed anything so far. There are a lot of people out there who would love to have some of the items we take for granted. If you aren't using what you have, donate it so someone else can! Take a good look at your items like whisks, measuring cups, knives, etc.

5. Broken items (toys, jewelry, etc)

This one sounds easy but many times we set broken things aside to fix them and never do. I am all for fixing something that is broken and using it but if things seem to pile up around you and you never get around to fixing said items, give them to someone who can or recycle them. Don't hold onto things because you feel bad for tossing them. Even if you don't realize it, your things are weighing you down.

6. Dust collectors (fake plants, decor on top of cabinets, trinkets, etc)

How often do you dust those fake plants and flowers you have? What about the collection of baskets, fake fruit, or other trinkets you have on top of your kitchen cabinets, inside your China cabinet, and in other numerous places around your house? If you aren't going to take care of it (i.e. dusting it), get rid of it. Not only will it make your home clutter-free but it will likely help your allergies also. ;-)

7. Expired cosmetics (dried nail polish too!)

I had a bad habit of holding onto those small travel sized items from hotels. I had so many and just kept adding to the pile each time. If they aren't expired, find someone who can use these, contact your local women's shelters, homeless shelters, or donate them.

8. Pens, pencils, markers that no longer work

This is another one that sounds easy but tends to be overlooked! Go through your collection of writing utensils. Immediately toss the ones that no longer work. After you have tossed those, take a close look at what you have left. If you have a ton of supplies, donate them to a local school!

9. Owners manuals & guides

Do you have owners manuals and guides scatter in different drawers around your house? When was the last time you actually used one? When something goes wrong most of us just pull out our phone or computer and google what we need. We had some manuals to items that we didn't even own anymore! Almost everything can be found online but if you are too nervous to toss some of them, keep them all in one place and discard the ones that are no longer relevant.

10. Clothing and shoes that no longer fit

This one might take you a little longer than the others but it's important. While I will go deeper into clothing and shoes in another post, now is the time to get rid of those clothes that you KNOW are too big or too small. You don't have to go through each item right now, only those that you are hanging onto that do not fit. Let go of what you "used to be" or what size "you want to be". Being happy and healthy is more important than a size. If you do NEED to lose weight, you can always purchase staple items after you lose the weight. You can even try to purchase those from a second-hand store.

Remember the whole point here is to get rid of things you no longer use. You don't have to get rid of your favorite decoration, pen, or pair of pants. We take a lot of things for granted so let go of what you don't use and give someone who might not have much the opportunity to actually use it.

Use the checklist below as you complete each task. Print it off and hang it up for motivation!

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