In addition to providing profound financial benefits, living in a Tiny House can also reduce ones carbon footprint sustainably: Here’s how.



Editor's Note: This guest blog post was written by Michael Hulleman, a Canadian copywriter living abroad in South East Asia. You can find more of his blog writing over at Hobo with a Laptop.

In today’s economy and ecological landscape, more attention is being focused on living sustainably. With this mindset growing in popularity, many North Americans are turning to Tiny House culture in good faith that they, too, can save a few bucks while doing their part to reduce their carbon footprint.

Here are few ways that Tiny House living might just save the world, and help fix a broken economy along the way.

1. Less Support for a Flawed System

Owning a home debt-free is a cornerstone of The American Dream.

In recent years this hasn’t been so, with inflated mortgage interest rates and property values making home purchases difficult or impossible.

The cost of entry for home ownership is far too high for new families, many of whom are also burdened by another flawed system of student debt.

As with any dream, it seems that the newest generation of home owners must be asleep to dream The American Dream, too.

Since a Tiny House can be built or purchased for not much more than a down payment on a “normal” house, many are considering the switch.

2. Less Throwaways

..and the switch doesn’t just allow new young home owners to breathe a little easier, or sleep better at night. The cost savings from buying a Tiny House create an echo chamber of cost reduction, in ways that may not seem apparent at first.

Over the last 60 years, a throw-away culture has been bourn out of two debt-shackled generations. Consumers are being forced to purchase low cost alternatives to products that were otherwise built using quality parts.

Metal gears, sprockets, building supplies, electronic guts, and the like have all been replaced with low-cost, disposable plastic counterparts. No appliance or fixture has been left out of this trend, resulting in a cyclical repurchasing of everything from blenders to personal grooming equipment.

It is also a trend wholly embraced by companies like Walmart, who leverage our demand for inexpensive products to enforce strict cost (and quality) reductions of the manufacturers who’s products they peddle. https://money.howstuffworks.com/wal-mart.htm

By moving into a Tiny House, its inhabitants have the financial opportunity to upgrade, and buy quality appliances, fixtures, and products to populate their home. Even your Tiny House itself can be made from up-cycled materials at no cost at all.

3. Less Consumption by Design

By far, the most divisive factor when it comes to those who either love or hate the idea of living in a Tiny House is the lack of space.

And that’s ok. Most Tiny House inhabitants wouldn’t have it any other way.

Less space means less hoarding, or accumulating stuff that many later feel they didn’t need in the first place —which may also result in a sense of freedom and mental clarity few have been able to articulate without embracing a smaller living space.

It means new purchases must be carefully measured and thoughtfully considered, and the acquisition of one new possession often means the off-loading of another.

4. Less Reliance on the Grid

Perhaps one of the most attractive attributes of Tiny House living is the realization of a life lived with fewer utility bills, or none at all.

The cost savings of off-grid living, whether completely or partially, come through the implementation of a number of ecologically sustainable technologies.

These technologies range from ultra-modern solar equipment, to timeless water-catchment, grey-water management, cooking, heating and cooling solutions. The use of these technologies encourages an ethos of conservation that is always present.

5. Stronger Family Values

While not immediately thought of as a “sustainable” benefit; a closer-knit family can prove both incredibly ecologically sustainable and financially equitable.

Close quarters with your loved ones at all hours of the day and night have the potential to create a bond many families in larger homes simply cannot experience.

Due to the number of physical objects between family members such as doors, walls, and floors, many in larger homes can go days without seeing each other very much.

Respect of one another's needs, privacy, and personal space becomes paramount in a Tiny House, which can instil a strong sense of human understanding within each of its inhabitants.

Purchases made will need to factor in the needs of the family before the needs of the individual, and young ones will learn about sacrifice and give-and-take. I personally believe these circumstances can help a child maintain a healthy sense of confidence and compassion for others.

As a result, families will be able to avoid frivolous purchases that are often made daily or weekly to pacify their child, and will remove the sense of material validation that consumerism promotes.

This guest blog post was written by Michael Hulleman, a Canadian copywriter living abroad in South East Asia. You can find more of his blog writing over at Hobo with a Laptop.