Content

• Steps
• Tips
• Warnings

Some houses are smaller than a bathroom or toilet in a posh mansion, and not everyone is able to live in such cramped conditions. But those who can be content with little, reap generous benefits, finding inner balance in themselves and taking advantage of every opportunity that the world presents. These tips will help those who are considering moving into a small home. Use them to learn how to live easier, and living in a small house will be enjoyable, and not seem like imprisonment.

Steps

1. 1 Do your research. Small house is a relative concept. The minimum shack may be as little as 0.8 square meters, but you can find a small house with an area of ​​77.7 square meters. There is also a wide variety of architecture, from traditional designs to ultra-modern forms. Some lodges are completely self-contained, including wind or solar panels, rainwater collectors, and bio-composting toilets.
2. 2 Decide what is vital in the home, and what you want to have in addition. Most people's needs include: a comfortable, dry and quiet place to sleep; clean place for personal hygiene (toilet, shower); comfortable place to sit / lie during the day; a place for storing food, cooking and eating. Additional amenities include a refrigerator for long-term storage of food, washer and dryer, etc. It is advisable to use combined devices that combine several functions at once. It is also worth considering whether drying is so necessary if the laundry can dry outside too?
3. 3 Evaluate the benefits small life: the need for cleaning is reduced; fewer unused clothing for breeding moths and rodents; fewer broken devices; electricity bills and environmental taxes are significantly lower; food is constantly fresh, since there is no place for long-term storage, and daily purchases ensure that the food is not stale; more time spent outside (near the house or outside entertainment); if a mobile home, it does not need to be sold when you move, if you can tow it to a new location.
4. 4 Estimate the cost of indirect housing costs for a small home. In small houses, each square meter is usually more expensive than in housing with a large square. Small appliances tend to be more expensive than larger appliances. The design and arrangement of furniture for small dwellings also requires more thoughtfulness in order to use the floor space as efficiently as possible, which increases the cost of furnishing the interior. If you plan to live in a self-contained trailer, you will have to supply water and equip the sewerage system. Such costs must also be taken into account in advance.
5. 5 Decide if you will build your own home, or you will be satisfied with the purchase of a ready-made house (it can be either a new building or a house in which people have already lived). The market also sells modular sets with ready-made blocks, from which you can quickly build your own home according to the instructions included in the kit. The cheapest option is to purchase a camper or caravan. Ads usually have multiple offers for less than $ 5,000. In this case, you will receive a fully equipped and finished home, but you will not be able to change its designs at will.
6. 6 Cut back on your possessions. Usually 80% of the time people wear 20% of their clothes. By getting rid of most of that unused 80%, you will greatly simplify your life: less need to wash, less uncertainty about choosing an outfit, etc. Also, you hardly need 3 TVs, 2 computers, VCR, Blu-ray and DVD player, and 3 different game consoles. One modern flat-screen computer can do all of these functions. Movies can be transferred to the hard drive, but to watch TV, you only need to add a video tuner to your computer, and a laptop with a TV tuner uses less power than a TV.
7. 7 Get creative with your multifunctional furniture. For example, clothes can be stored in drawers under the bed, and a built-in sofa (without a bed) can also shelter many things. The space under the table can be used to arrange shelves to store kitchen utensils. Another option is a folding table that retracts onto the wall after you have lunch, and at night this same table can be reclined closer to the ground, turning into a bed. Use wide and deep shelves (including built-in shelves) and drawers. Some things can be stored on the wall or on ceiling hangers - this way there is less risk of them falling off the edge of a small shelf and more efficient use of free space. Metal furniture is usually stronger, so the walls are thinner, which also frees up some space in the room.

Tips

• Think carefully about your needs and priorities. Add new items one at a time until you get the home that best suits your needs while keeping the floor space to a minimum.
• Take a test drive compact housing. Rent a camper for 6 months. During this time, you will understand what you need or do not need a relatively free area.
• Do not try to fit more things into your house - this will create chaos. This rule is doubly important for furniture. You will hardly even move around the house if you try to stuff big soft chairs, a "king" bed and a large dining table for 6 people into it. It is much better to limit yourself to a small folding table with two side chairs and a small sofa without a railing.When hosting guests, you can move the table to the sofa, using it instead of chairs.

Warnings

• Air quality in a small home requires special attention, especially if all parts are 'tightly' fitted to reduce heat loss, and also if there are several people and / or pets in the house. The large volume of rooms in conventional houses prevents CO2 from exceeding, leaving enough oxygen in the atmosphere for the occupants. With a small volume of the room, all parts of which are tightly fitted, it is advisable to install mechanical ventilation. Otherwise, the lack of oxygen can cause headaches and other symptoms in residents due to poor air quality. Of course, in good weather you can keep the window open, but in the cold season you will have to suffer.
• Check your local laws. In some regions there are requirements for the house to have at least one room with an area of ​​11.15 square meters, and the size of the rest should not be less than 6.5 square meters. There may also be requirements that a minimum land area is used to build a house. In some cases, there may be individual exceptions, this also needs to be clarified. In most communities, small houses are seen as a factor that lowers the overall assessment of the neighborhood (and, consequently, the value of real estate in it). At the same time, there are communities in which the attitude towards small housing is positive - there are less costs for electricity, sewerage and water supply, etc.
• Not everyone will share your desire to be content with small housing. Someone will consider it crazy if he is offered to live for a whole year in such conditions, where he can hardly stand for two weeks (and then at a resort). If you are married or dating someone and intend to maintain a serious relationship, be sure to discuss the possibility of moving to a small home with your partner. Consider your actions if you are planning to have children. Perhaps you will build another house to add to your existing home, or you may want to furnish a real big house.
• Building or buying a small home requires a significant investment. Make sure that you have enough funds and you are mentally prepared for this.
• Used campervans and composite houses are not uncommon for leaking, so when buying a home, it should be carefully inspected. When building a new house, you also need to carefully monitor the arrangement of the roof and all connections that are potentially dangerous for the penetration of precipitation.