Currently living in a ‘tiny apartment’ (less than 350 square feet), and I love it. Why? Let me share:
Benefits of a tiny home
- Less hoarding: Because the space is small, you cannot hoard that much stuff. Thus, having a smaller space is beneficial (note the notion of ‘horror vacui‘– that an empty space always tries to fill itself).
- Simplified living: I now live a more ‘streamlined’ life. I wake up, walk three steps left to the bathroom, take a quick shower, make a morning coffee, then move half a step right, and then start my day (reading, writing, thinking). I have more economy of movement; I don’t need to move around much to access or find my things. Saved movement is good — more efficiency.
- Better location: So essentially we live in downtown Providence (capital of Rhode Island), in a super great location, and we pay around $1550 USD a month in rent (for a tiny studio apartment). It is true, with living — it is all about ‘location, location, location’. Being able to walk everywhere and NOT have to own a car has made life 50x better. The more I walk, the happier I am! To be able to live in a city which allows me to walk a lot is paradise.
“Plug and play†living
What’s great about living in this tiny apartment — it comes with a washer and dryer in-unit (hyper convenient), as well as the gym inside the apartment complex.
Also, the apartment comes pre-furnished which I love. No having to go to IKEA and buy stuff. Also the upside: we can leave whenever we want, and not have to worry about selling or giving away our furniture.
Sleeping on the floor
Another useful life hack:
Just buy a 3-inch memory foam mattress topper, and put that directly on the ground, and sleep on it.
This replaces a mattress. When you’re done (like a Japanese futon), you fold it up.
Also the benefit: we got a king sized mattress topper, which means the space me and Cindy have to sleep is HUGE! Also I’ve found that sleeping on the ground is better for my back, and I sleep deeper and better!
The future of living?
This is what excites me. I prefer living in this type of unit: I pay my bills online, don’t have to deal with a landlord, I put in maintenance requests online through their portal, high speed WiFi is included (super fast), water is included, heating and cooling is included. It simplifies your life in a very good way, because it allows you to focus on what’s really important to you: creative and intellectual work.