The Shrinking House

Smaller is smarter

By Leah Etling on Sep 27, 2012 in News, People | 1 Comment

For Ryan Mitchell, the attraction of small-sized living hit home after a layoff.

Despite an advanced degree and strong performance reviews, the Charlotte, N.C. man lost his job as a corporate recruiting consultant in 2008 due to the economic downturn, learning abruptly that “a job isn’t always a guaranteed thing, even if you’re a hard worker,” he said.

The aftermath of the layoff led Mitchell not just to change his career path, but to reconsider how he’d live his life in the future. Now 27, the New Hampshire native works in non-profits, runs a successful blog, The Tiny Life, that focuses on small space living, and is about to custom build his own tiny house, which will be mobile.

Immersing himself in the growing discussion and dialogue around living smaller and smarter has been eye-opening for Mitchell, and has revealed that he’s not the only one who wants to downsize. With a new job in the non-profit sector, he’s been saving up to build a house with a utility trailer as its foundation, so that in the future he can move anywhere for work if needed.

He’s found that many of the visitors joining the discussion on The Tiny Life are retirees or soon to be retirees who are trying to figure out how to stretch their savings and retirement funds further.

“Even if they have weathered the economic storm, they may have not saved enough, and life expectancy is so much longer now that money has to last longer. Retirees are trying to wrap their head around the question: ‘How am I going to have a good retirement with the money I have available and still have good quality of life?’” said Mitchell, whose highly-trafficked blog gets attention from around the world.

One way to do so is to downsize.  And it doesn’t necessarily have to be drastic. Though it might be possible to live happily in an apartment that’s 105 square feet, or in 130 square feet like Ryan plans to do in his micro mobile home, the realistic approach is a slimmed down version of our current average home.

The trend is mirrored in expectations from the National Association of Home Builders. With the average U.S. home size topping out at 2,700 square feet in 2009, the expectation is that by 2015 that will decrease to 2,152 square feet.

The sizable reduction indicates that the days of classic American super-sized living may indeed by numbered. The tiny living trend is most evident in urban areas. Developers have pushed city governments to allow apartments as small as 220 square feet in San Francisco, and New York City is sponsoring a design contest for a micro-unit building project, with units as small as 300 square feet. The winner gets a piece of city land on which to build their creation.

But despite the attention these initiatives have garnered, it’s unlikely that those of us not living in a major metropolis will ever find ourselves trying to figure out how to fit all our belongings into a 300 square foot studio.  Instead, Mitchell sees them as a motivator to think about how we can all live smarter.

“Tiny houses are extreme alternatives for most people, but they highlight the fact that you can live smaller, you can live more reasonably, you can have a quality – I would argue a better – life  in a smaller house,” he said. What would you do with the money you saved? Could you work less and spend more time with friends and family? Pursue a side project you are passionate about or devote more time to your hobbies? The options could be endless in a smaller space.

After a stint in Americorps following his layoff, Mitchell took a job that pays less, but helps build community. He also has time to travel and work on side projects like his blog and future home. Similar sentiment is espoused by many Millennial employees, who are known for valuing time off, flexible scheduling and remote work opportunities

Whether you’re just starting your career or getting ready for retirement, what thoughts have you entertained about adopting a smaller-scale life? What will you do differently to save money or reduce your living space?