Six Unexpected Ways Tiny House Living Encourages a Greener Lifestyle

The rise of tiny homes as an affordable housing option is bringing sustainable living to the masses. But the sustainability of tiny house living goes beyond the materials used to construct them: A compressed living space encourages a unique lifestyle focused on consuming (and wasting) less – a measure that’s good not only for our wallets but also the environment.

Here are six ways that tiny house living can help you embrace a cleaner, greener lifestyle.

#1: It encourages responsible purchasing.

When you have so little space to house your impulse purchases, you will be far less likely to make them in the first place. This will drive you to make more mindful purchases – that is, seeking only items that are absolutely essential for you and your family. Fewer haphazard purchases benefit more than just your family budget: It serves the planet by reducing the amount of waste that will inevitably accumulate in about a year when you trash the items you decide you never really wanted in the first place.

#2: It drives us outdoors.

Living in such close quarters can be challenging, which is why outdoor space is so valuable for owners of tiny homes. Utilizing outdoor space can also encourage a healthy change in habits. After all, there’s simply no room for a 70-inch television in a tiny home – but there is ample space to set up patio furniture, yard games, or other outdoor activities that you and your family can enjoy together. Taking advantage of nature rather than buying, using, then trashing and upgrading appliances that keep us sedentary and isolated can help us cultivate new, healthy habits, hobbies, and practices.

#3: It reduces our environmental footprints.

A small home naturally consumes less gas, water, and electricity – a shift that benefits both our wallets and the environment. The average American home is about 2,500 square feetand uses a commensurate amount of energy. In fact, American homes account for about 38% of the country’s total energy uses. By contrast, a small space uses just a fraction of this. Not to mention, tiny homes themselves consume fewer resources, from the materials used to construct them to the available land they consume. 

#4: It reduces wasted food and other consumables.

With two or more refrigerators and freezers in your home, you’re more likely to stock up on bulk items at membership stores like Costco or Sam’s Club. These types of purchases often lead to waste, with food items sitting forgotten in fridge #3 or spoiling before they’re even consumed. This type of waste not only blows our budgets but also takes up space in our landfills. The same problem arises with water use, as well as plastic and paper waste. Living in a smaller space means you simply don’t have room to stock up, encouraging mindful, small-scale purchases of only the essentials. 

#5: It embraces sustainable energy sources.

Many tiny homes utilize sustainable energy sources, like solar panels, rainwater recycling mechanisms, and more. Moreover, because they are small, it’s much easier to construct them using sustainable, recycled materials that simply aren’t available in the quantity needed to build larger homes. 

#6: It reduces costly repairs.

A smaller home necessarily entails a lower “life cycle” cost, meaning that it contains fewer fixtures – like sinks, light fixtures, and toilets, to name a few – that will break down and require replacement. In fact, a 2014 studyestimated that tiny homes reduce “life cycle” costs by 36%. A home with four or five bathrooms, conversely, will involve a much higher number of repairs throughout the life of the home, generating far more broken or outdated appliances that will sit in our landfills. 

Scale Back and Go Green

While tiny homes may not be the right option for every family, it’s worth considering how a compressed living space can benefit the environment. From less waste to a drive to find more creative ways to spend time, tiny house living does much more than just reduce the monthly utility bills: It encourages homeowners to pursue a more minimalistic, mindful, and sustainable lifestyle.

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At Harmony Communities, we feel strongly that each resident has a sense of home. That they come home from work and feel pride in their environment and in their place in the greater community. That families are comfortable raising children in our neighborhoods, and that couples and singles know that they belong to something bigger than their four walls. In other words, we seek to create harmony within each community, making our communities not just passable, but peaceful, safe, functional, and beautiful.