Are you drowning in clutter? Instead of walking into your home to decompress, you walk into a hodgepodge of stuff. Countertops covered with mail, dishes on the table, miscellaneous boxes huddled in the corner.

The tiny home lifestyle is all about simplifying and living a more fulfilling life. Not only do many tiny home residents enjoy a more fulfilling lifestyle, but they’re also leading healthier lives too.

Scientific studies show that clutter can cause chronic stress and weaken your immune system. Can you imagine what decades of living with clutter could do to your body?

Read on to learn a few tips and important considerations about downsizing into a tiny home.

Choosing a Tiny Home Lifestyle

Before you start making plans to build your tiny home, your first need to know why you’re doing it. When you know your “why,” it’ll be easier to overcome any obstacles that may present themselves. Right now, take a moment and write down three reasons why you want to downsize your living situation.

Here are three common reasons people choose the tiny home lifestyle:

• Financial freedom
• Low maintenance/more free time
• Environmental concerns

For your transition to be successful, you’ll need to identify what’s driving you to make this change. Dig down deep and find out your true reasons.

Once you know your reasons for getting a tiny home, you can move forward with confidence and certainty. Now, it’s time to begin taking steps to make your tiny dream home a reality.

Know Your Local Laws

You know why you want to live the tiny home lifestyle, and you’re ready to take action! Yet, you still have quite a few steps to consider before you can start planning your move.

Before you get too excited, you’ll need to check your local laws regarding tiny homes. There’s nothing worse than having your heart set on a specific location, only to discover they don’t permit tiny structures.

Local laws vary significantly from place to place. While some areas are completely happy to allow tiny homes to exist, others aren’t so welcoming.

Zoning laws, and building codes, in most cities around the country, can complicate the process. Watch the Living Tiny Legally documentary series to learn more.

Tiny Estates in Elizabethtown, PA

Slowly Begin Downsizing

You don’t want to wait for moving day to start downsizing your belongings. Instead, start cutting back now and avoid having to rush when the time comes to move.

We suggest you begin downsizing in stages. You can do this by cutting back on one type of item at a time.

Here are a few examples of things you can downsize:

• Office Supplies
• Kitchenware
• Clothes

All of the items on our list above, find ways of cluttering up your free space.

Downsizing Clothing

Go through your clothes and find all of the outfits your not wearing. Next, find all of the clothes that you rarely use, but are bulky. Separate these into three piles: yes, no, maybe.

Remember, the downsizing process doesn’t have to happen overnight.

Take your time as you go through your clothes in stages. Start with the clothes you rarely wear, then dig deeper into the closet and finally into any boxes with clothes. Once you have a pile of clothes you don’t want, get rid of them!

We sold many of our downsized items at a flea market to help fund our tiny house build

Donate and Be Free

Don’t just throw things away. Try to find a good home for them; it will make the process more fulfilling. Maybe a friend needs something your getting rid of, or you can donate them to a local thrift store. Once you’ve determined what clothes you don’t need, get them out of your living space.

Whatever you do, don’t put them in bags and pile them up somewhere. We find that if you let your old clothes sit around, they usually manage to work themselves back into your belongings. Instead, be completely free of the things you are no longer using, by getting them out of your space.

Maximizing Storage Space

While designing your tiny living space begins in the build phase, once your tiny home built, you can still easily modify it to better suit your needs.

Here are a few ways you can maximize space inside your micro-dwelling:

• Wall-mounted shelves
• Furniture with multi-uses
• Light color schemes

Wall shelves are a fast and simple way to create space in every room. Now, instead of belongings cluttering up the floor, they can be neatly placed on their designated shelf.

Yet, keep in mind, too many items on your shelves is a recipe for disaster. Overstuffed shelves will end up making the room feel cramped, suffocating the residents.

Instead, let your shelves have the appearance of open space by only placing a few items on them. Next, we suggest buying or building furniture that has more than one use.

Multi-functional furniture saves floor space and makes it easier to enjoy your home.

For example, you could invest in a small staircase that also works as a seat and closet. Or doors that not only close entryways but also serve as pantry storage.

Light Color Schemes

Studies show that the color white has a fantastic ability to help us feel calm. More importantly, the color white is also capable of creating the illusion of more space. This is why we suggest decorating the entire interior of your small home, using only light color schemes.

If white walls aren’t your style, that’s okay. There are plenty of other light color schemes that will still create the illusion of more space.

Here are a few light color schemes you should consider trying:

• White shades
• Pale pastels
• Light blues or greens

You also might want to avoid putting in too much dark wood. It could end up making the room feel instantly smaller, no matter how white your walls are.

Start Your Journey

Now that you know more about the tiny home lifestyle, are you ready to take your first steps? Having the dream to transition into a tiny house is an exciting feeling, almost like falling in love. Many other like-minded folks can relate!

Connect with the community of tiny home enthusiasts dwellers by joining a local Meetup and Facebook groups. Further, you can find both design inspiration and community at upcoming tiny house events across the nation.

Happy tiny living dream pursuing!

The great thing about tiny living is that you not only get to lead a simple life, but you also tend to save more on mortgages, utilities, and other expenses. However, preparing to downsize and move into a tiny house can be daunting, and even debilitating and downright terrifying for some.

But you shouldn’t fret because it’s’s normal whenever you’re making a significant change or doing anything outside the norm. You should expect to experience a little healthy fear.

Though you shouldn’t let that fear stand in the way of your tiny house dreams. Review these top considerations before moving forward with your tiny house plan, and to successfully silence that doubtful inner critic.

Parking at Tiny Estates in Elizabethtown, PA

Maximizing Your Tiny Space is a Must

One of the key things you need to understand is that living in a tiny house will require you to maximize every little space available to you. Often, you’ll find tiny homes maximize their height with loft bedroom. Also, multi-functional furniture is quite common.

At times you’ll have to fold up kitchen tables or break them down into smaller spaces to create room for other activities. You’ll also have to be comfortable with tight-fit bathrooms (as compared to most American homes).

It Costs More Per Square Feet Compared To Larger Houses 

You also need to know that a tiny home’s design costs more per square foot since it is more complicated than designing full-sized houses.

For instance, items such as non-DIY built-in furniture have to be custom made to ensure they maximize the small space. You’ll also find some compact appliances costing a bit higher than full-sized appliances.

Determine What’s Most Important in Your Life

You also need to know if moving into a tiny house is what you most want. It’s time you need to distinguish between what you want and what you need in life.

Identify the essential factors that complete your lifestyle and the things that help you with these. Then create a list of what you’re willing to let go of if need be.

Compiling a list of your wants versus needs is paramount when you’re planning to move to a tiny house. This also helps you to understand what’s essential in your lifestyle and living space.

Downsizing & Decluttering Can’t be Avoided

Letting go of clutter is probably the most feel-good thing about living in a tiny house. Just think about the much time you spend selecting the clothes to wear, and you end up choosing your favorites.

Getting rid of all the other clothes that you rarely wear makes your life much simpler as it means less indecision about what to wear and even less laundry.

While decluttering may be an unnerving prospect at first, it may feel hard to do away with some of the things you own.

The thing is, by deciding to live in a tiny house, you’ll have to be comfortable disposing of more than half of the junk in your home and begin making the necessary shift to less stuff (but room for more experiences!). Start by getting rid of duplicates, whether it’s that extra TV set or excess pots and pans.

Learn to Ignore the Critics

It’s also essential that you know that by choosing to live in a tiny home you’ll inevitably find some naysayers, like parents or close friends. Prepare for a long list of questions and some criticisms about your decision.

Frankly, you might need to take a short break from some of these folks so you can focus on your goals. However, now’s the time to embrace people that support and respect your decision to move into a small space.

You shouldn’t entertain negative energy around you while you’re planning to transition to a tiny house; just the thought of downsizing in a tiny house is enough pressure, so it’s better to learn to ignore critics.

Cost Of Living Realities

Living in a tiny home means you’ll be using less water and electricity than the average homeowner. This will help you save massive amounts over the year, hence reducing your cost of living. What’s more, many tiny houses can be designed to be especially water and energy-efficient by installing rainwater collection systems or solar panels.

You could offset your savings; however, if you’re forced to use energy elsewhere to perform other tasks, your tiny home is lacking.

For instance, you may be required to take your clothes to the laundromat once a month or more because you can’t fit a washer and dryer. In such a case, that extra expense will slightly increase your cost of living. Upside: it provides an opportunity to strike up a conversation with a neighbor, or enjoy a little free WiFi.

Find Your Tiny House Community

It’s also necessary to seek out other people that live in tiny homes. Such guys can offer you invaluable insights concerning construction costs, building codes, zoning, and living minimally.

You’ll need this knowledge to make your living in a tiny house hassle-free and an exciting experience.

Join a local tiny house Meetup group, as well as Facebook groups, to connect with like-minded folks across the country and world. Additionally, follow tiny house blogs and YouTube channels for tips.

Preparing for Tiny House Living

Hopefully, this information will help you better prepare for the tiny house living transition.

Importantly, don’t forget about tiny house parking! Where do you want to live?

If you would like to avoid zoning complications, make sure that you choose an area that currently allows for tiny homes. Watch the Living Tiny Legally documentary series for an understanding of the obstacles and how they’re being overcome in cities from the east to west coast.

The perfect option for secure parking without any zoning concerns are tiny home communities. Fortunately, there is a growing number to chose from in various parts of the country.