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Just like the title suggests, I will be listing some unexpected side effects of living in a Tiny House! These are some of the things that we’ve found, but of course everyone is different, so different side effects may occur for different "Tiny Housers" (a term I use to describe Tiny House enthusiasts)! You may find that some or none of these apply to you!
1. Talking shit
You start to get overly comfortable talking about shit… literal shit! When you have a composting toilet, lots of people become rather fascinated in the whole toilet shituation.
When guests come over you explain what to do when you poop or wee! (FYI the answer is basically a handful of sawdust/coco peat mix to cover your “business”) To future Tiny Houser’s you become the shitspert, the person they come to, to find out what your experiences are with pooping in a bucket! (Technically they aren't always buckets, sometimes they are fancy poop collectors) I've got to tell you, in all honesty I’ve become a major advocate for this composting loo. It’s waaay less smelly than using a normal toilet. As long as you have an inbuilt extraction fan, that shit’s magic. I can walk in after my husband has "dropped a load" and instead gagging, reversing and giving it a few minutes like I would after walking in on a "normal" toilet, I can whizz right in. TMI? See, I told you! It's a side effect, I no longer give a shit. Sorry for all the crappy puns, moving right along to number 2 on the list! 
Bathroom Vanity and Compost Loo on wheels were made by us over at Variant Spaces
2. Perception on the Weather Shifts
A very positive side effect for those living in a Tiny House is having a greater appreciation for different weather conditions!
3. You become more "Green"
For some people, a more eco friendly way of living was the main motivator into the Tiny House life. For these people, becoming greener will be a known side effect.
For some people however, finances are the main motivator into the Tiny Home. This is where the "green side effects" come into play. When living in a Tiny House, you become more affronted with the waste that you create. A small place can quickly become full of rubbish, and you don't want a massive bin in your Tiny House, so then you start working on reducing the amount of rubbish that you produce. If you own a composting loo you instantly start being responsible for your own toilet waste. In the word’s of ‘Formidable Vegetables’ (a group that create songs about permaculture) song you effectively are “turning brown into green” by way of composting your own waste, and turning it into top soil for plants.
You are in for a laugh if you choose to watch this. These guys are hilarious, and the music is so fun. #notsponsored.
Since you are composting your own waste anyway, it's not a difficult jump to then compost all your food waste too!
You may also start collecting rain water, and generating your own clean green power! You are forced to take a good look into the products that you are using around the house too, so that your grey water stays safe to reuse for watering trees, plant etc, or to go safely back into the earth. A common "sub side effect" under this category, is that you decide you want to attempt to grow your own food. The more food you can grow, the less veggies you end up buying from the supermarket wrapped in plastic! It's an impulse that most of us tiny housers have, even if we aren't gifted in the gardening department. We aren’t perfect in terms of zero waste, but we are striving towards reducing our impact, and that is mainly a side effect due to our lifestyle! 4. You have more freedom to choose how to spend your time!
After you have paid off/built your Tiny House, you may just find you won’t need to work as much to simply cover the cost of living, giving you freedom to decide how you want to spend your time. If you want to work less, because you don't need as much to cover basic living expenses, you can. If you would prefer to spend that freed up cash travelling instead, you can! If you want to start up your own passion business, but you've been too scared (due to worrying you might not be able to cover costs), well now might be your time! You get the picture!
Not only is your accomodation costs a lot lower/now free, but there are other savings involved too. If you’re off-grid you have no power bill, or if you're on-grid, the cost of power is greatly reduced. If you do end up successfully growing your own food, there's a cut in the grocery bills. There are even savings, and a potential income available if you wish to go away on holiday, as you can list your Tiny House on AirBnB to supplement your trip, or save money on catteries, doggeries (I know it's called a Kennel, but wouldn't it make sense to call it a doggery?!), and allow someone to stay in your Tiny House for free if they look after your animals. It's actually not hard to find "Animal Loving Tiny Housers"! 
A while ago a chiropractor came out to our land, set up the table outside, and our cat went nuts.
5. Your reaction changes when you go into “normal sized homes”
Perception on what is classified as a small house shifts in your mind. Now a 90sqm home, which pre-tiny house ventures you may have considered “small” now looks big. And when you step into a large home you may now consider them mansions, and automatically start calculating, “how many Tiny Homes could fit in here?” Look at all this unused space!
6. You start identifying Tiny House parking spots everywhere!
When you drive past bare land, the thoughts that occur are usually as followed:
7. You become a part of the “Tiny House Community”
There is such a network of people interested in Tiny Houses throughout New Zealand, and you find yourself engaging with many like-minded people! This side effect even impacts the pre Tiny House owners, as you end up joining all the online groups, and going to events where you can learn of others experiences and get tips from people who have “been there and done that.” When you have the Tiny Home, you become that “been there done that” person, and get to share your knowledge with others. You end up meeting quite a few Tiny House owners, and when you see pictures online, you start to recognise who's Tiny Homes belong to who!
Click here if you haven’t yet found our online Tiny House Community! Let me know if you think any or all of these side effects have applied to you, or you think will affect you! Kasia x |