The Tiny Life

As if the case for getting off oil wasn’t strong enough, just now reports are rolling in about an explosion on a oil/gas rig off the coast of Louisianan.  So far there hasn’t been any reports of oil spills, but CNN has reported that a “sheen has been confirmed” by the coast guard.  This platform was apparently not pulling any oil at the time.  I say it is time for us to get serious about getting off oil, let seem some legislation to drive up our reliance on sustainable energies.

I found this video and it got me thinking, what if we here in America had laws and the politicians thinking this way.  The other really good point this video brings up is with all the concerns about being eco-friendly, sustainable and peak oil, it can get overwhelming.  In a way it doesn’t matter whether or not peak oil is happening, whether there is such thing as global warming, we should be taking on the goals of sustainability for a plethora of reasons.

So one of the most frequent questions I get about Tiny Houses is: “what if I have a family?”  It is a good question.  To paraphrase Jay Schaffer, “it’s not the size of the house that matters, it is the size in relation to the number of people living in it.”

But this question always bring to mind a question for me

Is it ethical to raise children in such small spaces?

Now I would love to hear you all weigh in on this in the comments section, so please, share your thoughts, I love discussion!  But here is my take on it all, it might not be right, so take it with a grain of salt.  It is also important to know, as a matter of full disclosure, I don’t have kids, nor do I plan on having any.

Maslow's Hierarchy Of Needs

I personally think that the raising of a child is successful when the child is loved, is socialized properly, is taught life skills and intellectual ones.   This combined with consistency, safety, room to be a kid and financial resources are also very important.  I feel that as a young child, living in a 400-500 square foot home would be excellent so long as there is a safe place to play outside.

As a child my mother almost never let us watch TV, we didn’t have video games or a computer and if it wasn’t raining outside, out we went.  Luckily we lived on a decent lot in a small town in New Hampshire.  My mother would always dress me in a bright red jacket, which happened to be my favorite color (here I was thinking she encouraged it because I loved red), and I would make forts, climb trees, jump on the trampoline.  In the winter it was snowmen, snow caves and munching on icicles.  I couldn’t imagine having anything less for a child of my own.

The reason I tell this story is that one of the big appeals to Tiny Living is that it gets you outside and reconnecting with nature.  The outside world becomes your second home.  This rare in our society and it is to our downfall, in my opinion.

There are two instances where I think that a Tiny House might not be all that ethical or good for the child.  These two, privacy/boundaries and evaluation of social services, really concern me.  As a child gets older she/he needs their own space, they need their own privacy, a dedicated space solely to them is important in my mind.  It also builds in responsibility for keeping up one’s own space, cleaning, folding, how to make a bed, personalization, and a place for solitude when needed.

The final issue that I think that is a huge issue and this has yet to be tested in the real world is how a representative of social services / child protective services would view a child living in such a small space.  It is often the case that Tiny Houses are not legal, that they in fact by definition (however  deeply flawed) is not a habitable space and would be condemned.

I fear that a child would be removed from the home and the custody of the parents.  That the Tiny House would be boarded up, the parents might be charged with neglect.  It is simply a parents worst nightmare, to have their children taken from them because they are labeled bad parents.

What do you think?

What would social services think?

Is it ethical to raise a child in a Tiny House?

This is a great song by Malvina Reynolds, listening to it makes you think about how strong social influences are.  Are these influences the best for us?  Do they limit us? Do they stifle us?  How does it impact our happiness? It makes you think….

My friend Melissa found this one and sent it to me.   I was going to have a bunch of information on this particular mobile Tiny House, but the website is down.  Here is the link in case it does come back up, you all can read more about it.  I’ll try to update it as things become available.

This video is a bit long, but it is really well done and give some major food for thought, no pun intended.  See how this UK farmer re-evaluates her family farm and its future.

Recently I have moved the chicks, who are now all grown up, to their new home in the coop I built.  The first day was an adjustment for them because it was soooo hot outside, but they are doing well and seem very happy.

The Seattle Times has a great new article on a really Tiny Apartment that fit the needs of this bachelor.  Really interesting design elements here, especially the hidden soaking tube that is hidden under the floor!

Sauer likes this precision. Awkward spaces, wasted places annoy him. Two alarm clocks, two music sources, extra furniture. Needless, needless, needless.  “What I really wanted was one place with exactly what I needed and wanted. Quality is more important than quantity for me, and extra space only a problem,” he has written, describing his nearby too-big-for-him, one-bedroom condo.  To me he says, “I tend to like things in their place.”  And that explains it: The uber-cool, fully functional 182-square-foot home for two on the basement floor of a 102-year-old apartment building that Sauer is finishing after seven years of work. It could also have something to do with his line of work — airplane interiors engineering for Boeing. And education — a master’s degree in whole-systems design.

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I covered this house a really long time ago, I think it was one of my first few posts, but recently I found more photos, specifically of the inside which I wasn’t able to find before.

The smaller of the homes, named the Little Dwelle.ing is 4.9 meters by 2.65 meters (16×9.5 feet or 152 square feet) and costs around £20,000-£35,000 ($30,000-$52,000). Unlike its big sib, it’s meant to be more of a retreat, office or storage area than a main home, but it has almost all of the awesome features mentioned before. Just like in the Big Dwelle.ing, there is enough room for a bed that is lofted about the kitchen and main living area.

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This Scandinavian prefab is pretty interesting.  Its “add a room” concept allows you to start with their base unit, which is a small bedroom/living room, then add on rooms as needed.  You can add a kitchen, bathroom, extra bedrooms or storage spaces. I think one of my favorite features is the outdoor kitchen connector, it has these big doors that open to reveal a great workspace.

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