I run into my neighbours Linda and Richard every weekend at my local coffee shop where the three of us chat while perusing different sections of the Saturday newspaper. One day, Linda mentioned their Tiny home and I was fascinated to learn more about their experiences and more importantly, wanted to communicate the sense of zen it offers them. I hope you enjoy this guest blog as much as I did hearing about it.

Dihan, Organic Lifestyle.

There are many reasons for considering a Tiny Home lifestyle.

The primary reason I can put into words is for the feeling I get being in the Tiny Home. Every moment I spend in this 8’ x 12’ space is like traveling. While still being in Ontario, I arrive, I unpack and then ask myself what I want to do next. Often I just sit. I move slowly from activity to activity, with lots of silence and pause between. Movement is spare. Stimulation is reduced. Occasionally I spot movement out the window and notice a bird land on the tree outside. Then more space and time.

And the spaciousness feeds my creativity, so I always have a notebook nearby. I jot down ideas to pursue later. Sometimes ideas for meditation classes that I will be teaching later. Sometimes I write parts of essays to be edited for a future book I hope to write about recognizing death as it approaches. Sometimes I bring my acrylics and paint the view out my window. And sometimes I just notice the ever-changing clouds and sunlight on the trees and rolling hills, marveling at the beauty in front of me.

You see, a Tiny Home for me is not my only permanent dwelling. I have no desire to move there full-time. I spend a day or two in it at a time, probably more in the summer when I can use the outdoor space as well. It’s too small a space to contain all the necessities of family living. I still own a home in downtown Toronto. My Tiny Home is a cheap and escape. I chose to build a ‘Zen Shed’ on a trailer because we could build it and install the doors in two days and sleep in it the next week. It takes a bit more time to add the finishing inside and out, but all this for under $15,000. And because it’s on a trailer, we can move it when we want to down the road.

My Tiny Home is just large enough to hold a bed, a chair with ottoman (to put my feet up!), a mini kitchen with a two burner stove, and a flush camp toilet behind a screen. That’s it. No loft, so the 10’ ceilings just soar. It’s parked in a corner of my friends’ hobby farm outside of Dundas, Ontario. In the winter, I heat/cook with a single electrical outlet connected to their barn. Power for lights and computer/phone is provided by a 400W Zeti Power Bank and a 100! Net Zero solar panel. In the summer I can be totally off the grid by moving my kitchen outside under an awning and using a propane cook stove. I’m waiting till it gets warmer to finish the siding and roof, but for now, it’s totally functional and built to last 50 years.

This is paradise. Not a luxury paradise, but a simple, eco-friendly way to step away from my busy urban life and bask in the beauty of the moment.

Follow Linda’s adventure and for more photos at Linda’s blog – Live big in a Tiny home

Linda Hochstetler

Linda is a social worker in private practice who spends her time between Toronto and her tiny home with her husband Richard and dreams about the time when she can spend more time in their tiny home with a larger village. In her spare time, she is a meditation teacher and brings together people to think and talk about death at Death Cafes!