You did it. You signed your purchase agreement and paid for your tiny home. It’s yours. Celebrate this significant purchase and relish what this next chapter in your life will be like.
Once the initial celebration is over, stress and overwhelm might start to set in. There’s a whole lot to do after you buy a tiny home to ensure it’s the positive life transition you’re hoping for. But it’s nothing you can’t handle with the proper preparation and guidance.
Here’s some insight into what you can expect after you buy a tiny home and how to ensure the after-purchase process is manageable.
Make Plans to Transport Your Tiny Home
Many people buy a tiny home intending to move to new land. If this is you, one of the first tasks to check off your after-purchase list is to make plans to transport your tiny home.
Determine the weight of your tiny home. Then, make sure you have the right trailer and vehicle to tow it.
You’ll also want to ensure everything is squared away with where you’re moving your tiny home to. Certain states, like Georgia and California, are more tiny-home friendly than others. Not only that, you can’t build or park a tiny house anywhere due to zone regulations and federal laws. So, make sure you’re transporting your tiny home to a place where it’s legal and most suitable.
Get to Work on Functional Interior Design
You’ve probably been thinking about this throughout your search for your tiny home. But now that you’ve officially purchased one, you need to hammer down the details of what you want your tiny home to look and function like.
The latter is probably the most important. A tiny home is likely a lot smaller than what you’re used to living in. Being able to function day-to-day without issue is much more fundamental to your quality of life in a tiny home than aesthetics.
For example, having a table that also functions as a desk is more useful than having an antique glass table that’s stunning to look at. Or, a loft-style bed would make it easier to move through your tiny home rather than having a huge, plush bed on the same floor as everything else.
The best-case scenario would be to balance function and stylistic flair in your tiny home. But if you have to choose one over the other, prioritize functionality. For example, you can replace your windows with double-hung windows to facilitate proper ventilation and energy efficiency. You might want to revise your kitchen’s layout to minimize movement while cooking and ensure everything is durable enough to withstand daily use. Another option would be to update your bathroom fixtures with low-flow showerheads, faucets, and toilets to reduce water consumption and lower utility costs.
Consider how you’ll use your tiny home and how long you’ll be there. Also, think about whether you’ll have guests over often and what your budget is when defining the function of your tiny.
Commit to Necessary Lifestyle Changes
A new lifestyle comes with the purchase of a tiny home. You can no longer live like you did in a large home or apartment. Instead, you’ll be required to live simply and learn how to function in a smaller space.
For example, you’ll have to determine what’s most important to you and reduce your reliance on material things. You may need to become more environmentally friendly if you’re goal is to eventually live off the grid in your tiny home. You’ll need to become more organized because there won’t be enough space not to be.
Your lifestyle will change with tiny home living. Make sure you’re ready for it.
Start or Continue the Downsizing Process
Downsizing isn’t just the act of moving to a smaller living space from a large one. It’s also the process of decreasing the amount of stuff you have so that you can live comfortably in your smaller home.
Trying to take all of your furniture and physical media with you are two of the biggest mistakes you can make when downsizing. You can’t bring everything with you. Think about the lifestyle you’ll be living in your tiny home. Then, make decisions about what you need and what you don’t.
For instance, you may not be able to bring your exercise bike, but you can bring your free weights and bands. That family-size round couch may not be suitable for your space, but your love seat is. You can bring the clothes you wear but you may not have room for the clothes that have been hanging in the back of your closet for special occasions.
Your goal should be to start your downsizing process well before you move to your tiny house. But at the very least, you should make it a top priority once your tiny home purchase is finalized.
Go through each room with keep, donate, and throw-away boxes. Ask your family, spouse, and kids to help to speed up the process.
Complete downsizing before you move so that packing is easier and you don’t have as much to haul to your tiny home.
Decide on Any Renovations
If your tiny home doesn’t have all that you need right now, consider doing a remodel. Home renovation construction is trending right now for a variety of reasons.
Inflation is impacting budgets and renovation is more cost-effective than building something brand new. Renovations can increase the value of a home, making them more appealing to complete. They can also improve how you live by adding essential features to your home that accommodate your needs.
Sit down and decide on any renovations you want to make to your tiny home. Detail exactly what you want to change and what the process would be to make that change. Determine your renovation budget and what help you’ll need to make your upgrades.
Then, you can start bringing your tiny home vision to life.
Conclusion
It’s just the beginning of your journey when you finalize buying your tiny home. There’s a lot to do after signing on the dotted line to make your tiny house a home and ensure it supports your needs and lifestyle. Use the guidance in this article to simplify what’s next once you purchase a tiny house.
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