Homeschool Family lives in 320 square feet!

[cathmom]

These kits have a 960 sf house for $28k. You'd have to build it yourself though. Not that hard to do if you have more time than money:

 

http://www.firstdaycottage.com/Main.html

 

Going back to simpler homes is a great idea for many who have discovered more is not always better--because it isn't. I just don't think it's necessary to take it to a "newsworthy" extreme by moving into something so super tiny. (Great for them if they love it, I just don't feel guilty for living in a more typical house.)

 

What next? Family of 8 moves into an 8' x8' chicken coop? :lol:

 

There's a historic house near me, built mid-1700s, that is about that. The downstairs was a fireplace to cook on and a table to eat on. There's a narrow staircase leading to a loft where they all slept. This family had TWELVE CHILDREN!

[fairfarmhand]

All I could think was, they spent $20k on that, and their kid doesn't even have a room he can stand up in. It also looks like a good strong wind would carry it off (It's narrowness gives this impression most of all.). She said it was just under 8' wide. 10' or 12' would have not cost much more.

 

With a very small house, I would prefer at least a generously sized outdoor living area with a partially roofed & screened in porch. If I lived in that climate, I'd probably be doing most of my cooking & eating outdoors.

If one was a builder or had construction experience, I would think you could do quite a bit by sizing your house to standard lumber sizes (less waste) and I am sure there are other things someone experienced could do to cut construction costs.

[DianeW88]

Living in that storage shed would make me Lose. My. Mind. :lol: Bleh. We are quite happy and content in our large home. It's not stuffed to the gills and I have room to breathe and be all by myself if I want to. I just could not handle the crawling all over each other a house that small would demand. *shudder*

[MusicMama]

The overwhelming sense I got while watching that was one of peace--she seems very peaceful and content, and that is priceless to me.

:iagree:

 

My husband was very nervous when I excitedly showed him the video clip. While I don't have any desire to try to pack our family into such a small space, the ideals she strives for are very admirable. I need to declutter, live simply, and make the most of my space. Oh, and the biggie, focus on what I HAVE rather than what I HAVE NOT. :001_smile:

[RobinF]

I don't find anything appealing about this idea at all. I liked how organized, neat and tidy things were, but that can be done in any home. I didn't care for the tone that people with bigger homes, more stuff, and mortgages were not peaceful or content. And while I think her home is simple, which she really loved to use that term, so is my 1800 sq ft home. We aren't packed to the gills with stuff. We're happy.

 

I won't say I'm totally content though, because I do not like our smallish home. We downsized from a 3000 sq ft home thinking that moving into a smaller home would be easier. It's not! I miss having multiple rooms where we can all just BE and not get in each other's way. Her idea that brushing against one another forces their family to be more interactive is rather strange to me. I think personal space is extremely important. I don't think it's easier to care for my 1800 sq ft home over my previous 3000 sq ft home. The smaller home seems like it always needs to be cleaned because we live in every space. The larger home had areas that weren't used all the time and didn't need such attention. I'm currently sitting in my dining area which is attached to the kitchen. We have shelves behind the dining room table to hold books and supplies. It makes for a cramped feeling. I'm looking directly into the living room. We have either the tv or music playing all the time. If I want quiet, I have to go into my bedroom and shut the door, which closes me off from the family. And honestly ladies, I would have real teA trouble in that home. :tongue_smilie:

 

I just don't think smaller is simpler.

 

Editing to add: I'm a SAHM and my DH works from home. He's a computer software support specialist with HP and needs to be online all day. I'm not sure a small house like that would work for people who use their house for all day living. The family in the video have a workshop they can work in, and it looked bigger than their house. I wonder how much time they spend in there.

:iagree:

 

We live in just under 2000 sq ft for a family of 6. It is plenty of room for us. We also do school here and dh works at home. We could feasibly live in smaller but we wouldn't be comfortable at.all. Dh is an introvert so if he had to "brush" by people all day long, I am afraid he would lose his mind. Another downside is we entertain a lot. Last Sunday night we had around 40 people over. We will do that again the end of June. For church we routinely do childcare for small groups. In the spring when our small groups were active we would have 20-25 children over every Sunday night. All of those things would not happen in a smaller home.