The Principles Behind Tiny Homes and How to Apply Them to Your Home
You may not be interested in living the tiny home lifestyle, but with minimalism and Marie Kondo trending you may find yourself inspired to declutter and reorganize your home. It is being said that millennials are less interested in material objects but highly interested in experiences, reinforcing the notion that owning a great many things does not necessarily make one’s life richer. In the last 10 years, as society reacted to the effects of the Great Recession and with the rise of urbanization and technology, we see minimalism at the forefront of industry. The minimalism trend is happening in construction as well, Minimalist home design includes:
- Simple architectural form
- Plain and clean wall finishes
- Light-filled open spaces
- Detailing free of unnecessary decoration
- Deliberate and strategic use of building materials
Once you realize how much of burden stuff is – in time, money, energy, stress, and distraction – you will realize the fewer things you own, the more time and space we have available to devote to the things we are most passionate about. We could suggest reading Kondo’s book ‘The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing’ but we know one of her tenets is to have less than 30 books. If you want to embrace the art of the simple and apply the principles of living with less and making room for more in your life, then we have a list of the 5 ways to adopt that tiny home/minimalism mentality:
- Every Single Item Has A Place and Everything in Its Place
Marie Kondo believes in only keeping the essentials, and that you show respect to the belongings you decide to keep. Tiny homes don’t have a great deal of space so there is only room for the essentials. Ask yourself: “Why do I need 6 of this one item,” we all have that set of things whether it be shoes or mugs where we have multiples, but we really prefer using a particular one or two. Those items should have a designated place where they go so that you can see how many of one item you’ve accumulated. The home you gave an item should speak to its function We would never store our wrenches and hammers in your bathroom linen closet, organizing your home and garage by giving each item a designated space is central to the principles of a tiny home and minimal living and it make cleaning easier. Some older homes lack these basic storage functions, so if you need to create some places for things contact North Canadian Construction, we are the creative builders of the general contractors.
- Be Purposeful with Space
Giving every item its space is a jumping-off point, being purposeful of space also means harnessing creativity. We often see some of the most innovative contemporary builders employ creative designs, drawers under cupboards or using the end or your cupboards as a cleaning cupboard, or pantries placed in-between wall studs. NCC Group can also help retrofit existing homes and garages to maximize space efficiency. Organizing your stuff is easier when spaces are designed with your needs in mind. If you find yourself struggling to reduce excess and organized spaces try tackling item categories, not entire rooms, this will make freeing up space seem less overwhelming. Being purposeful with your space allows you to free up more room in your home and your mind to enjoy the things that matter.
- Closets Cannot Be Overlooked
Folding your clothes is ideal, and there is a specific way to fold your clothes so that when you open your drawer you can see all items. Many tiny homes only have drawers for clothing, not conventional closet space, there’s no room! Avoid hanging your clothes saving closet space for only your favourite items allowing you to fall in love with your closet. Closets are a great space to store items, but the closet also be a space to showcase your favourite clothes and special items and we can build you a great closet organizer. By reducing your clothes to only the ones that make you feel good about yourself and displaying your favourite you allow yourself the space to rediscover your sense of style. Having your closet and drawers organized with mindfully selected clothing means laundry is quicker and easier as well. We can also build your closet organizers to help reduce clutter and give all your items a place to go.
- The Purge
The thought of purging can be very anxiety-inducing, however, it is very liberating. Purging is how we reduce to the essentials, eliminating everything we don’t need. Something you can get rid of are duplicates: if you have a place for everything, you’re going to see you have 5+ pairs of hammers but only need one or two. Over decorating, you may have found a bunch of items that speak to your aesthetic but by crowding them all together, they are competing for attention instead of standing out like they were meant to. This also ties back around to giving your items the respect and attention they deserve. The key to purging is if you do not use it regularly and it does not bring you joy, let it go. Your home is the space where you go that is all your own and by keeping it organized, tidy but also beautiful can increase the joy in your home.
- Consume Less, Waste Less
Living minimalist or in a tiny home means that everything you purchase must be done mindfully. You could be throwing away rotten food, so switch to meal planning and you could have a million cleaners, so switch to one good all-purpose cleaner, any way you look at it reducing consumption and waste means more money in your pocket. It is way less wasteful to donate something that you don’t need than it is to let that same item expire in the pantry, dry up in the cupboard, or go out of style in the closet. This also applies to your building materials wood can warp if left in a moist environment, wood filler can dry out, and paint can go bad (oil-based paints last up to 15 years and latex paints for up to 10 years). Purchases are then made mindfully, often employing multi-purpose functions, and allowing the items you buy to spark joy.
How much time do we spend buying new things, taking care of things, organizing things, and looking for stuff? We aren’t saying you need to go buy a tiny home (but if you are we can build one for you) and go waste-free or even that you need to throw away everything but your favourite jeans, we’re just asking you to reflect on this: Do you own the items in your home or are the items in your home-owning you? Kazuma Yamauchi said, “home is the one place in the world where one can exercise 100% governance to spark joy.” North Canadian Construction will build you that space where you can live efficiently and minimally.
Building Communities Together. North Canadian Construction.