Though not directly related to tiny houses, Simply Car-free is right on when it comes to simplifying your life, which in my opinion is part of the tiny house movement. My friend and fellow blogger Tammy Stobel who publishes the RowdyKittens blog has written a wonderful ebook that I would highly recommend to you. Quoting Tammy from a portion of her book on Rethinking Necessities & Overcoming Fear I think this can be applied to a person looking at downsizing to a tiny house.
“Our simple living journey has taught me that less is more. Having less stuff and no car in my life has helped me establish the priorities of building solid relationships, being debt free and living with less stress.
Success is not defined by whether or not you own a car. In fact, I think it’s just the opposite. The intended function of cars is comfort and convenience. However, cars represent an enormous amount of time and money. Because of the work stress I endured to maintain this depreciating investment, I felt inconvenienced by my cars. By selling the cars, I have more time and money. A surprising side effect of selling our cars was becoming debt-free.”
Five years ago, we lived the “normal middle class” suburban lifestyle. We were newlyweds with flashy rings, living in a two-bedroom apartment, driving two cars, commuting long distances to work and living well beyond our means. The idea of living without a car didn’t seem possible.
By changing our perspective and planning small steps, we learned lessons that simplified our lives and got us out of debt. Going car-free was part of our downsizing process and was one of our first big goals toward living intentionally.
