Whether you live in a tiny home through choice or necessity, it will present certain challenges. Here’s my advice about how to make the best of it without going mad.
The trick to living well in any home is to consciously choose each item you own so that it reflects who you currently are and where you are headed in life. Your home then becomes a place that nurtures and supports you rather than holding you back.
This is even more important when you live in a tiny home, where there is no room for excess of any kind. Here are my twelve top tips for how to make this work…
1. Reduce clutter ruthlessly
Most people use 20% of their stuff 80% of the time. Keep the 20% you really love and use, a few luxury extras, and let the rest go.
2. When something new comes in, something old goes out
Keeping to this rule will prevent clutter building up without you noticing it.
3. A place for everything and keep everything in its place
Tidiness really matters in a small space. When you finish doing something, put everything back where it belongs. At the very least, develop a routine of tidying last thing at night or first thing in the morning so that you can start each day fresh.
4. Keep surfaces clear
Clear surfaces make a place feel bigger than it is. Have one beautiful centrepiece to create a heart to your home, and keep other items out of sight.
5. Invest in clever storage solutions
Learn from motorhome designers and use all the space you have creatively. Visit a motorhome show to get some ideas.
6. Hang a large mirror
Avoid hanging mirrors that reflect you in bed (this can interfere with the quality of your sleep) or while socializing (it makes people feel like they are being watched). But in other areas, a well-positioned mirror can give the feeling of doubling the size of the space.
7. Simplify your decor
Choose light colours for the walls to make the rooms feel bigger, and add few stronger coloured decorative items as highlights. Keep your colour palate to a maximum of three or four contrasting colours in any area so that it won’t look too busy.
8. Don’t put too many pictures on the walls
A panoramic landscape image that acts like a picture window can make a place feel wonderfully expansive. But avoid putting too many pictures on the walls because it will make it feel smaller and claustrophobic.
9. Go paperless as much as possible
Paper clutter stagnates the energy of a space so never allow a backlog to build up. Invest in a scanner to convert documents and images to digital media as soon as they arrive in your life, and replace as many books as you can with ebooks, which take up no physical space at all.
10. Install uplighting
This will make the ceiling feel higher and the space feel brighter.
11. Create a capsule wardrobe
Have a consultation with an image consultant to discover which colours suit your skin and hair tones best. Then create a capsule wardrobe of colours that all go with each other so you can easily mix and match.
12. Make the most use of outdoor areas
Extend your living space to outdoor areas in any way you can so that you don’t feel psychologically confined by the tininess of your space.
Copyright © Clear Space Living Ltd 2018, updated 2022
Resources
Fast Track Clutter Clearing online course
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Extend your living space to outdoor areas in any way you can so that you don’t feel psychologically confined by the tininess of your space.
Yeah. That’ll work on the 15th floor of a high rise.
Hi Sarah – I included the phrase “in any way you can” because I know it won’t be possible to extend a tiny home into outdoor areas in all situations. The next best thing is to do outdoor activities as much as you can, so I hope that’s something you can do in the area where you live.
I love this, thank you.