The hardest part of living in a tiny house (Part 2 of 2)

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“I take the good with the bad. I can’t love people in slices.” —Sean Connery

I feel the same about our life in the tiny house: it’s impossible to love it in slices, so I just loved it in whole. That doesn’t mean, however, that it was all easy.

Here are the rest of things we found most challenging while living in our tiny 95 square foot caravan. (And no, I’m not including the time we were pulled over on the side of Australia’s longest stretch of nothing with a blown tire.)

(Part 1 can be found here.)

 Adriel Booker Tiny house life_4606

5. Tiny house = bad weather blues

Because the house is so small, you become dependent on outdoor spaces to supplement your lifestyle. (Another one of my favorite things!) The problem is when the weather isn’t cooperating with your need for outdoor living. We were lucky that we were able to housesit for some friends during the coldest six weeks of winter last year. Not only was it frigid (yes, there are places that get cold in Australia!), but it rained for almost those exact six weeks. Ugh.

Tiny house, big love- life in our renovated vintage caravan — Adriel Booker-14

We were so grateful not to be confined to our little 95 square feet during that time. We could have done it—necessity is the mother of invention and creativity, right?)—but it was easier to shift the family for those few brutal weeks. Alternately, we could have driven someplace warmer during those weeks to avoid the brunt of winter, but that didn’t work for us as we were in the middle of house-hunting for a “normal” house during that time and needed to stay put.

Tiny house, big love- life in our renovated vintage caravan — Adriel Booker-13

6. Tiny house = constraints on hospitality

Right off the bat I have to say that I don’t define hospitality as something you do, but something you are. Because of that, tiny house life absolutely does not mean that hospitality needs to be thrown out the window. What it does mean is that you have to be more intentional and creative with the way in which you express your hospitality.

Tiny house, big love- life in our renovated vintage caravan — Adriel Booker-0691

For us that meant outdoor cooking and dining when the weather was nice, or sometimes meeting in the park rather than at our house. But we didn’t let our constraints limit us too much. We once babysat five kids under five in our caravan. Another time we hosted six neighbor kids for an impromptu Saturday morning pancake breakfast. And another time it meant we transformed our kitchen table (that folds down into a bed) for an out-of-state guest to actually stay with us for several days. (She was a close family friend so it worked.)

Tiny house, big love- life in our renovated vintage caravan — Adriel Booker-32

Where we did feel a bit constrained were the times we would have like to invite larger dinner parties or personally accommodate out of town guests with the level of hospitable care we’d normally prefer. Again, tiny house life doesn’t mean hospitality should go out the window, but it does mean you have to rethink how to express it.

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7. Tiny house = limits on baking and cooking and food storage

As an American, I grew up used to big, weekly grocery runs with my mom, which meant a full fridge and pantry. In later years, Costco came on the scene and—hello—it was all over. Buy big to save big—that’s the habit I had to break when moving into the caravan. It was a huge challenge for me to rethink our food and meal habits, but it wasn’t impossible. We learned to eat more European style—do quick runs to the shops for produce and dairy and bread as needed. Planning simple meals that don’t require a ton of ingredients helps, too.)

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The other challenge was not having an oven. I felt this a little, but Ryan felt it even more. He loves to bake (I know—how lucky am I?) and he found it a challenge to limit his cooking to not include an oven. Ultimately it worked though. We had a BBQ, two electric hotplates, a microwave, and a rice cooker. Originally I had thought I’d get a small slow cooker, but after looking in several thrift stores to no avail, I never actually got around to fulfilling that desire. If we ever do another long stint in the caravan I might consider adding that to the mix as a way to cater for all my BOYS, but for now, what we had worked. And besides, Aussies love a good reason to BBQ.

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8. Tiny house = life on the road meant huge tech/internet challenges

To be honest, this one shocked us. We knew Australia wasn’t the best in terms of internet coverage and access, but we were blown away by just how difficult it was for us to work on the road due to our lack of internet. After having spent a year in the States where internet is literally everywhere and every phone plan seems to include unlimited data, we were constantly frustrated by how hard it was to get online.

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Some of that challenge could have been addressed by changing service providers, but since we were locked into contracts, it would have meant paying huge penalties. Even still, much of the areas we drove through had zero access anyway, regardless of service providers. There were times where we were offline for days. Yes, that can sound appealing. . . but only when you’re planning for it and hoping to have an uninterrupted holiday. When you’re trying to maintain working remotely as you go it serves as a major roadblock. Other times when we finally would get access, we’d spend three hours doing 20 minutes of work because the connections were so terrible. Both Ryan and I had moments of wanting to throw our laptops and phones under a tire on the highway many times. (And I won’t even tell you about the time when Ryan drove several hours in the wrong direction because he thought google maps was working when it wasn’t.)

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Tiny house, big love- life in our renovated vintage caravan — Adriel Booker-0688

For those that read my favorite things post, please don’t assume that my eight worst things cancel out my six favorite things about our life in the tiny house. (Apples to oranges and all that.) We loved our year in Vinny and we’d do it again in a heartbeat if the timing and circumstances were right. (If you missed Part 1, you can read it here.)

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If you haven’t already, you can see more of the day-to-day of what our life in the caravan looked like by following the hashtag #livingsmalltolivebig on instagram.

Adriel x

 

Tiny house, big love- life in our renovated vintage caravan — Adriel Booker-0798

 

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Living small to live big—our tiny house on wheels

LIVING SMALL TO LIVE BIG: A SERIES ON TINY HOUSE LIVING WITH A FAMILY

Ever wondered what it would be like to move into a tiny house on wheels… with a family? Join the boys and I as we spend a year #livingsmalltolivebig and travel around Australia in our renovated vintage caravan. (This series is still in process—I’ll add the links below as the posts go live.)

Do you have other questions about our time living in 95 square feet or about tiny house life in general? Please let me know in the comments and I’ll do my best to answer your questions or add to this collection of posts.

 

 

 

About Author

Adriel Booker is an author, speaker, and advocate based in Sydney, Australia who believes storytelling, beauty, and the grace of God will change the world. Adriel has become a trusted voice in areas of motherhood and parenting, Christian spirituality, and global women's issues. She's also known for her work with the Love A Mama Collective—serving under-resourced women in developing nations through safe birth initiatives—as well as her years spent as a Bible teacher and leadership coach. Her latest book is Grace Like Scarlett: Grieving with Hope after Miscarriage and Loss and she's made the companion grief journal available for free. Find Adriel across all social media platforms at @adrielbooker or sign up for LoveNotes, Adriel's 'secret posts' that aren't published anywhere else online. ✌️

7 Comments

  • Ivan Jordon
    16 June 2016 at 2:39 pm

    I like this kind of lifestyle though. Sounds cozy..

    Reply
  • Amanda
    27 June 2016 at 10:49 pm

    I have a teeny slow cooker and I love it! Woolworths stock them (they’re 1.5L or there abouts) for maybe $20! I got my original after a long hunt, back then Target used to have them. I still love it and used it tonight actually – and there are 6 of us by now! (Meat and sauce only of course!) I give them as wedding gifts to newly married couples to slowcook their dinner in because it’s perfect for two 😊

    Reply
  • Paula Pierce
    3 August 2016 at 11:41 pm

    I’ve also tried the European style shopping when I lived at my grannie’s house for a couple of months and I loved it! Also, I lost body weight during the stay because I had no stockpiles of snacks and chocolate bars in the cupboard.

    Reply
  • Nicole
    5 August 2016 at 6:07 am

    Could you post a list of the books you have there? I’m interested in some of them, like Pursuing Justice – is that the book by Ken Wytsma? Just fascinated with the idea of tiny living, living simply to live big, live simply that others may simply live, etc. for the purpose of God’s Kingdom on earth… that sort of thing… and I’m interested in what resources you’ve found valuable! Thanks 🙂

    Reply
    • Adriel Booker
      11 October 2016 at 12:41 pm

      None of them are really specific to that topic Nicole 🙂 but here are a few of the ones there:
      Bandersnatch
      With
      Pursuing Justice
      Torn
      The Art of Memoir
      Writing Down the Bones
      Common Prayer
      The Memoir Project
      Bossy Pants
      Where is God When it Hurts

      Tsh Oxenreider has a book on intentional living. It’s called Notes from A Blue Bike. You might like that one—she has lots of wonderful stories from her travels around the world! x
      Adriel Booker recently posted..Teaching kids body privacy, personal agency, and consent begins while they’re in diapersMy Profile

      Reply

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