Dear Ladies, There is No Tiny House Permission Slip

By Alaska Wagoner | January 31, 2023

There is no tiny house permission slip.

As women, we are conditioned to believe that we must be granted permission for things. And while Gen Z is doing an excellent job of stepping away from that conditioning, it's still a prevalent part of our culture.

So in case you need to hear it again, there is no tiny house permission slip.

Maybe your friends and family have expressed doubts about your tiny home plans. Or maybe you're finding it hard to justify buying a tiny house when there is still so much about the tiny home industry that has to be developed.

Of course, we each have our specific concerns (many of which are valid!), but they all lead to doubt. And doubt leads to, you guessed it, waiting for permission.

Let me dive a little deeper by sharing something about myself with you.

The Tiny House of Peace - my tiny home

My tiny home journey sans permission slip

Many times in my life, I have felt drawn to something. Often that "something" was sparkly, whimsical, ephemeral, expensive, unnecessary, or even straight-up frivolous. (Or at least society and certain ex-boyfriends would have me believe it was frivolous.)

And so, throughout my twenties, I consistently pushed away beautiful things and experiences simply because they didn't make sense on paper. I let my callings pass me by because no one gave me a permission slip.

But then, in my thirties, I got divorced.

Now everyone has their own experience of divorce, but mine was devastatingly sad. And sometimes, when one is devastated, one needs things that are sparkly, and whimsical, and ephemeral, and expensive because now these things are necessary and are not frivolous because it's literally what the soul needs to survive.

And so, in the midst of my grief, I skipped the permission slip, and bought a tiny house.

The Tiny House of Peace has taught me a lot of lessons, but here is one of my favorites: inspiration is divine.

There are two definitions of the word 'divine':

Divine = delightful
Divine = from God

When I say that inspiration is divine, I’m referring to the second definition. I truly believe that that feeling of being drawn is a direct message from whatever higher power we as individuals subscribe to.

Why do I believe this? Because as soon as I stopped waiting for a permission slip and said yes to a tiny house, the rest of my life came together in a really big way.

I went from being sad, unemployed, and living in my mother's basement apartment to being the happiest I've ever been, running my own business, and living out my tiny house fantasy.

This life might be whimsical, but it's also the reason I'm not worried about retirement!

My new belief system

So now I have a new set of beliefs.

If something repeatedly catches my attention, and I feel a deep pull toward it, I don't have to understand why, and I certainly don't have to justify it. My only responsibility is to move toward it with curiosity.

I do have one caveat, though. It takes a bit of practice to know the difference between a deep pull and a passing fascination. And I only suggest taking action on things you feel deeply drawn to. So please do not take out a line of credit to buy yourself a little Harry Winston because The Tiny House Concierge told you to "say yes to sparkle." (I did not say that.)

But if you do feel truly inspired? That's a different story. In the words of Gen Z, IYKYK. (If you know, you know.)

This practice of not waiting for permission will always be that, a practice. I'm not perfect at it, and I doubt I ever will be, but you can be damn sure that I'm going to try and let go of my conditioning.

So bring it on, Universe! If it's sparkly, whimsical, ephemeral, expensive, unnecessary, or frivolous, and it has my name on it, I'm leaning in.

After all, those are the things that led me to tiny house magic.

-Alaska

Alaska is a writer, realtor, and tiny homeowner living in the great state of Colorado. She is the founder of The Tiny House Concierge, a company that offers consultation and copywriting services for people looking to rethink their housing and rewrite their lives. In addition to her website, she can be found on Instagram and YouTube.