Today’s post – How I Live in a 400 Sq. Ft. House – is by my wonderful staff writer Jordann. Enjoy! Also, if you are a new reader, please don’t forget to check out my monthly online income reports where I show you how I make over $30,000 a month while traveling in my RV.
Last week’s post about how I’m not always a minimalist got a lot of responses to the fact that I live with my fiance, my dog and my cat, in a 400 square foot house. Really, it’s more of a cottage. The story of how I came to live in this house is one of luck and a good relationship with relatives.
The bottom line for why I live in a tiny home: By living in this small space, I’ve been able to reduce my rent to $100 per month plus utilities, which has enabled me to pay off $27,000 of debt in 17 months.
That said, living in such a small space with so many other creatures isn’t easy, even for a minimalist like me. Sure, the sacrifice is worth it for the monetary gain, but it can get stressful at times living in a minimalist house.
There are a lot of problems that come along with small space living, so if you’re thinking about down sizing in order to save a little money or live somewhere more desirable, here are a few of my tips so that you can successfully live in a minimalist house.
Related articles on living in a 400 square foot home:
- 75+ Ways To Make Extra Money
- 8 Things To Sell To Make Money
- How I Live On A Sailboat
- 10 Ways To Make Money Online From The Comfort of Your Home
- 10 Things I’ve Done To Make Extra Money
- Ways To Make An Extra $1,000 A Month
- The Guide To Becoming a Minimalist
Adopt Space Saving Hobbies for a Minimalist House.
As much as I love things like having a home gym, painting, and having an expansive indoor plant collection, I had to give up these hobbies when I moved into a smaller space that couldn’t accommodate all of that stuff.
I didn’t intentionally stop these hobbies because I didn’t have enough space, instead, the hassle of lugging everything out and then putting it away became too much, and I started to gradually drift towards my more space-saving hobbies, like reading (getting something like a Kindle or an Amazon Fire can really help you have less stuff) and blogging.
Related: How To Live On One Income
Have Boundaries For My Minimalist Living.
I love my dog and cat, but in such a small space, they can get on my nerves a bit. That’s why I have a strict “No pets in the bed” rule. Being able to stretch out while sleeping has makes me feel so much less claustrophobic and crowded, that this little space suddenly seems a lot bigger.
Plus, I love seeing their faces in the morning after spending the night apart. Since we never break this rule, the pets don’t whine or fuss about it, they just accept it.
Take the Time to Clean In A Minimalist House.
Since 400 sq. ft. is so small, it doesn’t take a lot of time to clean every inch of space. That said, it can also get cluttered so quickly! With no place to hide stuff away and no rooms that I can just shut the door on and think “Out of sight, out of mind”, if I don’t keep up with the cleaning and organizing, this little house can become a disaster zone very, very quickly.
Take it Outside If You Live A Minimalist Lifestyle.
Luckily, my tiny little 400 sq. ft. house is situated on a good-sized lot that allows us space in the backyard for a fire pit and room enough for the dog to play a solid game of fetch.
Because of this, I try to spend a lot of time outside moving around. This keeps me from feeling too cooped up in our little house and getting cabin fever. If you decide to move into a small space, make sure you have either access to your own outdoor green space or plenty of amenities within walking distance to get you out and about.
Remember That Minimalist Living Is Not For Everyone.
I live in a tiny house because it affords me the opportunity to drastically reduce my rent and funnel more cash towards getting out of debt.
Before living here, I lived in a 700 sq. ft. apartment, and before that, an 850 sq. ft. space. I don’t plan on living here forever, in fact, I can’t wait to move somewhere a little more suited to my family’s needs. Not everyone is cut out for minimalist home living, and it’s definitely not easy. It’s not something everyone should aspire to.
That said, if you’re thinking about downgrading your current living situation and you are interested in minimalist living, living in a 400 sq. ft. space with two adults and two pets is totally doable. Heck, we could probably even throw a baby into the mix and still manage to get by (no plans to!). Living in a tiny space is a great way to save money in order to achieve other goals in life.
Have you ever lived in a small space (such as 400 sq. feet) to save money? Would you? Is a minimalist house something that interests you?
If you are new to my blog, I am all about finding ways to make and save more money. Here are some of my favorite sites and products that may help you out:
- Find ways to make extra money – Here are over 75 different ways to make extra money.
- Cut your TV bill. Cut your cable, satellite, etc. Even go as far to go without Netflix or Hulu as well. Buy a digital antenna (this is the one we have) and enjoy free TV for life.
- Start a blog. Blogging is how I make a living and just a few years ago I never thought it would be possible. I earn over $100,000 a month online through my blog and you can read more about this in my monthly online income reports. You can create your own blog here with my easy-to-use tutorial. You can start your blog for as low as $2.75 per month plus you get a free domain if you sign-up through my tutorial. Also, I have a free How To Start A Blog email course that I recommend signing up for.
- You should know your credit score – Check your credit score with Credit Sesame for free!
- Answer surveys. Survey companies I recommend include Swagbucks, Survey Junkie, American Consumer Opinion, Pinecone Research, Prize Rebel, and Harris Poll Online. They’re free to join and free to use! You get paid to answer surveys and to test products. It’s best to sign up for as many as you can as that way you can receive the most surveys and make the most money.
- You can save money and get cash back at the grocery store. Read my review and learn how to here.
- Sign up for a website like Ebates where you can earn CASH BACK for just spending like how you normally would online. The service is free too! Plus, when you sign up through my link, you also receive a free $10 cash back too!
- Save money on food. I recently joined $5 Meal Plan in order to help me eat at home more and cut my food spending. It’s only $5 a month and you get meal plans sent straight to you along with the exact shopping list you need in order to create the meals. Each meal costs around $2 per person or less. This allows you to save time because you won’t have to meal plan anymore, and it will save you money as well!
- Try InboxDollars. InboxDollars is an online rewards website I recommend. You can earn cash by taking surveys, playing games, shopping online, searching the web, redeeming grocery coupons, and more. Also, by signing up through my link, you will receive $5.00 for free just for signing up!
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I absolutely LOVE this post! I live in 220 sq.ft on wheels with my boyfriend and our two dogs! Since the transition 3+ months ago we couldn’t be happier. Yes, there are things we miss but the extra money and freedom is SO worth it. I wish we could figure out how to not get our dogs to sleep with us!! they always figure out a way to sneak in! 😀 Thanks for all the great links and tips! Xx
Lauren Jade
Hey! I follow you on Instagram and I’m a big fan 🙂
Sounds like we have a pretty similar story. Me and my husband live in our RV with our two dogs and just started doing this in July 🙂
I’m glad to read that there are lots of folks that, along their journey, experienced living in a small space bc it’s a good memory to retain in making these options to minimize our lives. However, I want to add that today’s 400sf living areas are intentionaly designed very different than a dorm room, small apartment, little home of yester year. Compost toilets, hide away spice racks, rain catch systems, solar panels, efficient small appliances, beds set on storage units and plenty of other modern additions to making small living do able. Just saying…..
Interesting, but if you earn $30,000 PER MONTH blogging, why on earth would you need to do this at all? You could have paid off that debt in ONE MONTH ($27,000)!
For the math challenged, $30K a month is $360,000 a year. Even in pricey places like NYC or San Francisco, this would be plenty for a 2 bedroom apartment. In most cities, this would support a fairly luxurious lifestyle — big house, nice cars, travel.
BTW: the upper “1%” as often defined in the media as the most wealthy Americans, starts at …. $365,000. You are almost there, buddy! But hardly in a position where you “must” live in a tiny cottage.
Lastly: I actually have that “digital TV” via antenna. It works horribly. Pictures goes out constantly, you get channels where the picture breaks up into green “squares”. You don’t get the shows people want to see on HBO, A&E and so on — just the crap on regular TV, and awful local movie channels that show the same 20 movies over and over. Products that advertise as if this was “free cable” are lying to you. This is 10 times WORSE than the old analog (non-digital) antenna TV, and you are lucky if you can pull in 8 channels at most. I live in a big city, too. It would be worse in a small town or rural area.
Please read the first sentence in this blog post. My staff writer actually wrote this post, not me. Also, this is from 2013 and I was not earning $30,000 a month at that time anyways. Please do not be so rude.
Also, I’m not sure if you understand how the digital antenna works. They don’t advertise it pretending that you’ll get HBO. It’s just local channels, which is what I prefer anyways.
Plus, I live in a town of 10,000 people and I receive over 10 channels that come in great with my antenna… 🙂
Regardless, and not being rude here, I actually find it absolutely amazing that Jordann is able to make $30,000 a month blogging (assuming she wrote the post and thus posted her income, otherwise congrats to you). Less than 50% of plastic surgeons earn that much. Not saying it isn’t impossible by any means (I have huge dreams that seem pretty impossible, but I’m determined), but it’s impressive to have what’s probably the most lucrative blog in the country! An inspiration to any aspiring blogger for sure. Maybe I’ll kick one off because you never know! 🙂
I’m quite intrigued… I’d be happy to simply make $100/mo blogging. I love writing and have lots of things. How do you get started and how do you best build income and followers. I’d love the freedom of a minimalist life and to be home more, even loving my job and having an 820 sq ft home
Hello,
I recommend checking out my free blogging course – https://fund-rise.live/freecourse%3C/a%3E%3C/p%3E
Excellent and insightful article on lifestyle minimalism!
This is a great real-life story of making the switch, and raises the question around housing size. You were saying that even with a smaller living space, the proportionate clutter could actually feel just as – if not more – overwhelming compared to a larger space. In order to really make the switch to a stress-free, optimal life in a tiny home, would we need to look at ourselves and our physical possessions first before making the downsize?