In a mission to collect experiences over material possession among our family travels, our last road trip was one for the memory books. Instead of hotels, I secured 3 airbnb rentals for us to stay on our way to the Oregon Coast. One of which was a Tiny House.
Tiny House living is not something we’re accustom to, we live in a 2,100 square foot home in a suburb of Vancouver. But we’re never ones to shy away from an experience. And seeing as the Tiny Home was located on a property with 2 goats that we had to care for, I’d say this was something worth experiencing.
I panicked a little bit after booking the airbnb Tiny House. Not because of any sort of change of heart, but because I wasn’t sure how it would all go down. I mean, could all 4 of us survive Tiny House living or even living in a Mini RV? 184 square feet is really quite small. And neither of our girls have ever slept in a loft, not even a bunk bed.
The tiny-house movement is an architectural and social movement that advocates living simply in small homes. As of 2018 there is no set definition as to what constitutes a tiny house. However, a residential structure under 400 square feet is generally considered a tiny home. The tiny-house movement promotes financial prudence, economically safe, shared community experiences, and a shift in consumerism-driven mindsets. (definition by Wikipedia)
KNOW YOU WILL GET IN EACH OTHERS WAY
If you go in with the mind frame that you’ll all at one point be sitting on each others lap, enjoying a meal around a TV tray, while just steps away from your single shared bathroom, then nothing can go wrong.
Going into the expereince knowing ahead of time that you will have very little privacy is important, leave nothing to surprise.
SLEEP RATIO: 1 PARENT TO 1 KID
The airbnb Tiny House we stayed in had 2 lofts; 1 with a queen bed and the other with a double. We split up and both slept with a child for safety and for our best chance at survival.
If a child needed to use the washroom in the middle of the night, they had a parent there to help. The whole house did not need to wake for the 3am pee party. Also, with children who’re not used to loft living, or don’t do bunk beds, they will likely take great comfort in having a parent sleep on the edge.
BRING THE WHITENOISE
If you don’t sleep with whitenoise now, you’re going to want to start getting used to it before you move onto Tiny House Living.
Let me paint a picture for you if I can. It’s 7:30pm, and bedtime for your kids. Thanks to living in 184 square feet, it’s now your new bedtime as well. Everyone gets in their pajamas, including dad because YOU ALL SHARE A BED NOW and the night noises begin. The sheets rustling, the coughing, the snoring, the night talking.
A buffer between all these noises and your ears is sounding pretty amazing right now eh? Believe me, pack the whitenoise and bring ear plugs too. You can never be too prepared.
If you’re staying in a Tiny House temporarily, for a family vacation, another tip is to only bring in what you need. Take only the clothing you need inside, leave anything extra in the car. Our stay in the Tiny House was for just 1 day, so I took out a set of clothing for everyone, pajamas and our basic toiletries, leaving luggage and anything extra in the car.
Tiny House Living long-term is not for everyone, but as a family vacation accommodations, it can be quite an enjoyable and memorable expereince. We will definetly do it again one day, but I think we ruled out ever being able to live in one. We all enjoy our personal space way too much.
The airbnb Tiny House we stayed at was located in Olympia, Washington. Planning on staying in Olympia? Check out our post we wrote on “The best things to do in Olympia for Families“.
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Tara says
It’s a lovely tiny house but I think they need to re-assess the banisters in the lofts and put in something a bit more secure if they are renting it out to people not used to loft living! I’d be worried about a roll as well (even me! lol)