It is quite sad to note that there is a housing shortage in the United States. According to an online article, (https://docs.google.com/document) people in the city are transferring or moving out to the suburbs. It also reported that only 1.16 million U.S. homes are for sale, and sales have decreased by 20.5% in the past year.  

With the shortage of housing and many people losing their jobs, tiny homes movements are getting popular these days for saving money and avoiding mortgage, as some owners indicate. More people are changing their lifestyles by living simpler in tiny houses that promote saving money with lesser financial costs to maintain and avoiding housing mortgages that may eventually ruin their financial condition and give them more stress.

The tiny house movement is described as “an architectural or social movement” that initiates “living simpler and less.” Tiny houses A tiny house is also described as " a dwelling place with a maximum of 37 square meters (400 sq. ft. of floor area excluding lofts."(https://en.wikipedia.org/).

Tiny houses are reaping popularity among families. It is reported that the market size for tiny houses could “increase by $5.8 billion between 2020 and 2024.” The good with having a tiny home is that it is an “eco-friendly solution to the housing industry” and also beneficial for those people who have no shelter or the homeless.

A Short Background

Jay Shafer made tiny houses on wheels popular. He designed and lived in a 96 sq. ft. house then eventually offered the first plans for tiny houses on wheels founded first by Tumbleweed Tiny House Company, and later on by Four Lights Tiny House Company on September 6, 2012.

The Great Recession from 2007 to 2009 paved the way for the small house movement's popularity. 

Aside from making them as permanent homes, the small houses were also utilized to house "other members of the family such as aging relatives or returning children, a home office or as a guest house." Tiny homes cost around $20,000 to $50,000 as of 2012 (https://en.wikipedia.org/).

With the tiny home movement getting popular and active in America, other developed countries such as Australia, Canada, Germany, New Zealand, and Spain, among others, became also interested in this movement.

Today, the tiny homes movement with its increasing popularity is soaring in sales possibly because of the coronavirus pandemic which caused some people to be in financial difficulties who opted to make their lifestyles simpler. less expensive and less stressful for them.

Advantages of Living in a Tiny Home

• Practically, smaller homes are cost-effective or less expensive than bigger ones when building, taxes, heating, maintenance, and repair costs are concerned.
• It is more beneficial for those families who have not much savings and for those senior citizens who are living with their monthly retirement pension.
• It also promotes simplicity in lifestyle, less cluttered, easy to maintain and clean, and with less ecological impact on the residents.
• It also offers a more sustainable environment, more mobility, aside from being less expensive
• It was also found that it is perfect for singles and starter families. The biggest demographic in the United States are single adults who live solitary life. The make up 28 percent of the population and almost "half of the population are adults who live with other adults without children” (https://www.insider.com/).

My friend who is single lives in a tiny home together with her partner in Arizona. They are happy because they were able to build a tiny home with their savings. My friend’s partner told me that since their tiny home is easy to maintain especially during the cold season, they can still save some money for the future. Luckily, because of the less cost of maintenance, they can still save a little money for their future plans of traveling abroad.

They said that they only need some pieces of furniture built-in or knocked down. The loft serves their sleeping area with built-in cabinets on the walls so that it is easier to make the sleeping area clean and neat. There are spaces for the pillows and blankets to store up as well as small spaces for books and a reading lamp.

The first floor has the living area and the kitchen which looks spacious because of the paint color which is off-white mixed with pastel colors for some emphasis. The bathroom is small but spacious enough to move around with all the bathroom essentials arranged neatly on the built-in racks around it. 

The Internet connection is also placed as the couple needs it for their work from home set up. Luckily, they have fast internet and there are no issues so far with it. Outside their tiny home is a pocket garden where they grow flowering plants that serve as beautiful accents for the entire facade of the home.

So far, they are living with a lifestyle that they both came to love since the pandemic. They do not feel stress about money or other things concerning their new tiny home. |They have adjusted to this kind of living in simplicity away from the hustle and bustle of city life.

Recently, I have recommended to them to purchase a desk converter from FlexiSpot. The desk converter can be used for working on their laptops which can be placed on their knockdown table for ergonomic reasons.

The standing desk converter is called  GoRiser Standing Desk Converters ML2, a space-saver that is height adjustable with its six-height setting. It rises and folds up and down to maximize the workspace.

It has an ultra-sleek design ideal for a small workspace, compact and lightweight to fit on tables with limited surface area. The workspace is 26" that can hold any size laptop up to 26.4 lbs. 

It is also sturdy with its steel frame that provides a steady foundation for computing and other tasks. The base is skid-resistant that keeps it from sliding or shifting.