Tour my Tiny House! (400 sq. ft)

Have you ever noticed how we're all kind of fascinated by tiny houses? Even those of us who would never actually want to live in one, we still click on the videos. We want to peek inside, see if everything fits and how people actually make it work. And so I've often wondered, why are we drawn to living tiny? What is it about it that pulls at something deep within us? And as I've thought about it more and experienced it myself, I don't think it has anything to do with square footage. I think what we're actually craving is freedom. Freedom from the excess, freedom from managing, organizing, tripping over and feeling weighed down by too much stuff. And for me, that realization came about 10 years ago, when I started to think about my home differently. When I stopped seeing it as a collection of things and started seeing everything as inventory. Inventory that I had to manage. Because everything we own, every drawer, shelf, closet, it's all inventory that we have to manage. But here's the craziest thing that I've learned, is that most of this inventory is not adding any value to our lives. In fact, it's the opposite. It is sucking the life from us. So maybe we're drawn to tiny living because deep down, we want to experience what life feels like without all that noise, to finally know what just enough feels like. So today I want to take you inside our tiny house and share how living with less has completely changed the way I see home, happiness, and freedom. And so I started the hunt for a tiny house at the beginning of this year, and I went around and I looked at a bunch of different models. And I just had a couple criteria that I was looking for. I wanted one main bedroom and then another sleeping space. So this one has a dedicated bedroom and then also a loft up above it. And then we also put a sleeper sofa here in the living room. So it fits me and my four kids very comfortably. Now, the idea was that we were placing it on my parents' farm for it to be a retreat for the kids and I to get away from. We've actually really been enjoying living with my parents. It's been awesome. And also I had been going away to these little cabins in Wisconsin pretty frequently. And I was like, how can I bring that back to my parents' farm? And so that's when I started the hunt for a tiny house. So currently I do not live in it full-time, but having it here and getting it all set up and everything into it, I have full confidence. I could live in this full-time very comfortably and enjoyably. So that's not a question at all. I mean, I love coming out here because it is so simple and minimal, but we still have every single thing that we need. And that has been so cool. So today I'm definitely gonna take you around, show you inside all the drawers, closets, cabinets, and how we've organized things too. Okay, so we'll start here at the door. This is the only entrance in, and then I'll just give a quick walking tour of the whole space. So when you walk into the kitchen, we do have four stools. They're just kind of spread throughout. But usually two around here is just fine. And so then we have the living space. Like I said, this is a sleeper sofa, so it pulls out to a queen sleeper. And then we have the electric fireplace. At first I didn't know if I'd like it, but it actually makes it feel really cozy in here. And you can change the colors and whatnot. So the kids have a lot of fun with that. But my parents' farm is located just outside of the Twin Cities in Minnesota. And so especially now when the temperatures are dropping, it's so cozy in here with the fireplace. So the kids and I really like it a lot. And actually you'll notice that there's hardly any storage here in the living space. We actually had a storage ottoman, but it just felt a little too big and bulky and we were always moving it around. So we just pulled it out of here and we didn't use the storage part of the ottoman. So it actually feels better and more spacious without it and we don't need it. And so I do have a new little bench. I'm gonna have Corbin help me put it together. We'll see if it fits right in here or not. But it's so funny because in the past, with our homes, it was all about storage. I need more storage. But there's something about being confined to this really small square footage that you really question everything and you're really intentional about every single thing that you bring in. And so what could feel very limiting, like we only have 400 square feet, could feel like, oh my goodness, how could you do this? It's actually this really fun challenge. And when you actually start doing it, you realize how you didn't need any of that extra stuff that we had in the past. We, I mean, we love this space so much. We're out here all the time, all the kids and I fit on here. And I mean, will it fit us forever like this? We'll know they're going to keep getting bigger and whatnot, but for now it has been perfect. And then we have the kitchen, which honestly is beautiful and feels a little too extravagant to me. I was right away drawn to the blue cabinets. The countertops are concrete, which wouldn't have normally been my preference, but I actually really like them and they're really durable. The appliances are kind of over the top. I mean, they're nicer than any appliances I've had in a house. But I love the simplicity of it. I like the white cabinets. And then we do actually have a fair amount of storage over here where the fridge is. And so technically this is a park model. I don't actually know what the difference between a park model and a tiny house is. This is what you would see set up at lake lots or vacation rentals. And so I looked at a lot of different park models or tiny houses, and this one was one of the fanciest. I wasn't necessarily looking for something this fancy, but this was one of the only ones in our area that actually was insulated to be used for year-round use. And so it's an Elevation park model. Now that I've gotten to know the gentleman who owned the company a little bit more, very pleased with our decision to get this. It is something that I want to last for a long time. Eventually we probably will move it off my parents' farm and onto a lake lot or something like that. We're in Minnesota, which is land of 10,000 lakes. We have a lot of lakes around us. A lot of people don't know that. So that would be super cool to eventually move it to a lake lot. And so I do have long-term plans for it and I wanted it to last a long time. And so it is nicer than what I felt like we needed for this space. And so every day when I walk in, I'm like, I just feel so fortunate to get to have this in this beautiful space. But yes, also I think it's super fancy and it wouldn't need to be this fancy. And then we go down the hall and we have the loft. So I'll show you that. And then bathroom on the right and then the bedroom straight ahead. And so I really like the bedroom a lot. And you know, I barely intentionally, we picked out these finishes together, but I wanted it to have a little bit of color and a little bit of fun to it, but also just to feel peaceful and cozy. And I definitely think that we accomplished that. It is nice. It has storage on the sides and then up around the top. And then when we flip around the other way too, two closets and then these drawers in the middle. We haven't even put up the TV in here yet, cause we just haven't really needed it. And something else you'll probably notice as you start living more intentionally is that you naturally start to take better care of your health and prioritize your sleep more too, because you know how important it is. So today's video is sponsored by Helix Sleep. And I'm often asked when's the best time to buy? It's right now with Helix's Black Friday Partner Exclusive Sale. You can save 27% site-wide. And so Helix makes premium mattresses and bedding that are customized to fit your needs and conveniently shipped right to your door. Did you know that the Helix lineup actually offers 20 unique mattresses? And so we were so fortunate to get to put a Helix Elite out here. It is hands down the most comfortable mattress that I have slept on in my life, anywhere out of all the mattresses I've ever slept on. I'm not exaggerating. And Helix also launched a variety of mattress toppers. And so we were able to put a premium mattress topper in Adeline's room. So if you have a non-Helix mattress that you want to make more comfortable, that's what we were able to do. And so it's just great that you can upgrade their comfort without replacing their mattress. You can extend the life of an older mattress, or even if you just want to improve a guest bed for visitors. And I just also appreciate that Helix makes it so easy to get matched with your perfect mattress. Helix's Sleep Quiz matches you to the perfect mattress based on your body type and sleep preferences. So for me, I'm a side and stomach sleeper. I also like my mattress just a little on the firmer side. And so I was matched with the Helix Dusk. So I have a Dusk in my bedroom in my parents' house. And then also this is a Dusk Elite out here as well. And so you take the quiz, you get matched with your perfect mattress, free shipping and seamless delivery. It gets delivered right to your door. It's super easy to set up. And then you get a 120-night sleep trial and a lifetime warranty. So you get to test it out for 120 nights and make sure that it's just the right fit for you. And did you know that Helix is actually the most awarded mattress brand? Helix has been reviewed against hundreds of competitors and always wins. But most importantly, I want you to win. I want you to get a really great night's sleep. And right now you can save 27% with the Black Friday exclusive partner offer. So just use my link, helixsleep.com slash minimalmom. You're going to save 27%. You're going to get an awesome night's sleep and you have all of the physical energy and mental energy that you need to get your house fully decluttered. Man, that's going to feel so good. So this way you can go up to the loft. The kids are in love with it. They think it is so cool. The whole thing, not just the loft. But this isn't a huge loft. Some of the other models definitely had bigger ones, but plenty big enough for two, three, four kids, depending on how big they are to sleep up here. And a supplemental AC unit so it doesn't get too hot. And then there's a full size air conditioning unit underneath the tiny house as well. There's also these cabinets up here and we can actually move them around. So that's kind of nice too. And then the bathroom too actually has a fair amount of storage. And you know, another thing too, when you have a tiny space is even the functional practical things, you sometimes want to be beautiful. And so I got these Turkish bath towels and I love how they look hanging on the glass. And you know, they're useful and they're beautiful. But really there's a good amount of storage in here too. Again, the shower is awesome. I would never expect to have a shower like this in a tiny house or a park model. It does feel a little extravagant or over the top to me. Yes, I understand it. It's just, it's what it came with, right? I didn't, I didn't pick out the finishes in here. I just came with all these things. So, but again, even though it is a small space, it's very functional and plenty of storage space to keep the things that we actually use in here. And so, you know, I've been a minimalist for 10 years now. And so this was a very natural step. In fact, something I was very excited to try. I had always wondered, could we live in a tiny house and make it work? And now, and like I said, now I feel so confident about that. But probably the thing that gets under my skin the most is when people from the outside looking in say, that's too extreme or that's gone too far. You know, you're depriving your kids. Or how could you possibly live with so little? Or somehow like you're making it up or it's not that great. And so what I'll often say is that minimalism isn't roughing it. It's not like tent camping. And we still keep all of the luxuries that make life easier, like a washing machine and microwave and laptop and cell phones. And so it's not about making life harder. It's about making life better. And so I think when you're forced to live small, you realize how little you actually need to feel content. And most of us haven't tried to fit our life into much smaller confines. And so we don't know. And until you've tried it, you also might not know how much freedom that you could experience when you're managing so little. I mean, because truly in a tiny space, every item has to earn its place. And so then because of that, that intentionality that goes into it, the whole home feels so peaceful. And so really at the end of the day, I don't even think it's that most of us want a three or 400 square foot home, but I do think we want what it symbolizes. We want freedom from clutter. We want clear priorities. We want calm surroundings. We want a space that is so easy to take care of. You know, when it's this small, it's not a big deal to sweep quick or to wipe down the counters. And you actually just find yourself very naturally wanting to keep it tidy and to protect the peace that's here. But also because it's so manageable and it's so easy, that doesn't feel costly. Again, it just feels very natural and like, oh yeah, that's just the natural thing to do is to pick up and put things away and to keep it clean. It just feels so good. And so again, it's very counterintuitive to realize that the less we own, the more alive we feel, the more confident we feel, the more we feel like we have autonomy and autonomy just being the ability to pivot. That when life throws us a curve ball, simple living or minimalism, it doesn't take away those hard times in our life, but I definitely feel like it makes it easier to manage. And so my hope for you is to be able to take some of these mindset shifts and to apply them to your house. You don't actually have to move to experience the same freedom, but this could be a fun lens to ask yourself, okay, if we were moving into a tiny house or moving across the country, would I want to take this stuff? Would it earn a spot in my house? And I often like to say stuff is just tools. Every item is a tool. It's supposed to make our life better or easier. It's supposed to work for us. And so often we've brought some of this stuff into our house as tools, and maybe it was helpful for a season, maybe it wasn't. But if we can look at it really clearly and say, okay, is this a tool that I would take into a much smaller space? Like, is it actually useful and helping me? I mean, for most of the stuff in our house, the answer is no. Either it was from a past season or it never actually did what we were hoping it was going to do. And so the real strategy here is to look at our stuff objectively and to be willing to move it out when it is not serving us anymore. I like to say no failure, just data. And so if we can just step back and say, no failure, just data. But if I were to give myself an opportunity to start fresh, to only have the stuff in my space that is making my life better, to tell my stuff, you have to earn your spot in here. You're not going to freeload from me anymore. Because it's really easy to think like, oh, well, it's in a cabinet. It's under the bed. It's in the top shelf of a closet. It's not really making a difference. Not true. It is still hanging out here over your head. It is all inventory that we still have to manage and you still feel an obligation to it. And so when we move that stuff out, when we only keep stuff in our space that we use and that makes life easier, and again, I know it's tricky. We bought this stuff thinking it was going to help us make it better. We don't want to be wasteful. What if I spent money on it? What if I need it again in the future? I know these are all, these same questions went through my brain 10 years ago when I was getting rid of 85% of my stuff. But don't let that stop you. We have ways of working through it. And so I have over 800 YouTube videos to help you declutter your house. And we also have a very vibrant and active membership community called A Well-Run Home, where we do this all together. We declutter together, we get our household systems in place, our meal planning, our to-do list, our calendar, cleaning routines. We get it all dialed in and we work together. We have a live planning meeting every Saturday morning where we plan our week and we look at these systems and we fine tune them. And it is so fun when we can do it together. It's one thing to get the tools, but we have to practice it. We have to practice it. And so we do that together inside of A Well-Run Home. So details for that in the description. But we really do have a lot of fun in there and I think you would fit in very well in there. But some of the other questions that come up are like, but do you and the kids all really fit in there? And is this really realistic long-term? And so yes, we very much do. Right now the kids are 11 through 16. Oh my goodness. And the kids have had friends out over here, birthday parties. I think the record right now is 10 kids out here spending the night and hanging out. You know, what I always think back to is some of my fondest childhood memories were camping growing up. And my parents had a pickup camper that had, they just pulled it out recently to sell it. And my brother and I went inside and I'm like, oh my goodness, this is so much smaller than I imagined it. You know, it had the one bed up on top and then the dinette went down to one. And all five of us would sleep in there and make it work. And so I know we've kind of gotten used to bigger spaces and all of this, but no, we all fit in here very comfortably. I think we'll fit in here for quite a few years to come. And yeah, does someone have to be on the pullout couch? Yes. But again, we're not roughing it by any means. And so again, if your initial reaction is like, oh, that's too small or that's too far, I would just challenge you that maybe it's because you just haven't tried it. I think that when you remove the excess, you discover that you were never craving more space. You were craving more peace. Living tiny or just living lighter gives you autonomy. That feeling that your home supports you instead of drains you. And I think we've been so far removed from that. Our homes have been sucking the life from us for so long that we don't even actually know what feels good anymore. Or we don't even understand that our brains were not meant to manage all of this stuff and all of this inventory. It's not how we were meant to spend our one precious life that we've been given. And so when we remove the excess, when we declutter it, we purge it, we let it go, oh my goodness, there is so much freedom on the other side of that. And it is going to be one of the best things that you've ever done. That's definitely what I think when I look back on it now. So I know it can be a little intimidating and daunting to declutter your whole house. I absolutely get that. But again, we have really great systems and tools now. So however I can support you in that, I hope we can spend more time together. So hopefully you'll subscribe. And also if you could use even more support, then maybe check out a well-run home too. But regardless, I love you. I hope you have a really good day and I'll see you again soon.