Would I Ever Move Back Into a Regular-Sized House?

Attempting to Answer this Nagging Question for Myself

Gah! It’s like the elephant in my tiny living room, isn’t it? After all, if I was really so happy living in two-hundred-and-sixty-seven square feet, wouldn’t I stay there forever? 

I could! I even might, but if I sit with the question, the most honest answer is yes, I would move back into a regular-sized house. In fact, I might even say it’s likely.

This is the part where you unfollow me on Instagram, isn’t it? Where you unsubscribe from my YouTube channel and leave Google reviews calling me a charlatan?

I mean, please don’t, but that’s the fear in offering this vulnerability. 

Perhaps, I should explain.

I love my life. And I love my tiny house! The Tiny House of Peace has changed the game for me, and I couldn’t be more grateful. It forced me to examine my values, stand by my beliefs, and choose a few themes upon which to build the life of my dreams. 

This house made me a writer. It dramatically cut my carbon footprint, made me radically self-sufficient, financially stabilized me, and offered hope for the future. This is the house that taught me the power of tiny house magic.

But if those things are true, why would I ever consider leaving it all behind?

Well, the simplest answer is this: my story is just beginning.

Somewhere inside, each of us has a truth. We have things we desire, people we aspire to become, and seasons of life that may or may not correspond with our age. 

You can't predict the ending when you're standing at the beginning.

If you’ve followed my journey for a while, you know that I was thirty-one when I quit my life and thirty-three when I started over in a tiny house. I might be pushing thirty-five now, but quitting my life caused a rebirth, and so despite my age, I find myself at the beginning of my story.

Someday, I sense that I will feel more settled. I picture living in a vibrant community with a beautiful wife and enjoying a seasoned writing career. But today, I am just starting out. So as much as I love my tiny house, there is no feeling of this, is it, you know? And how could there be at the beginning?

I tell you all of this because I want you to understand where my answer is coming from. I wouldn’t leave tiny life behind because of the composting toilet or surrounding legality issues, but I would do it if it felt like my most authentic truth. And I just have a hunch that someday it might. 

So now you know my deep, dark secret!

While we’re on the subject, though, can I just go on the record and say that I wouldn’t want to upsize to anything too big? I might someday enjoy a bedroom I can stand up in, but I can’t unlearn the correlation between one’s values and the size of one’s house.

Whatever happens next, no mega-mansions for me, thanks!

Whatever happens next, tiny living has taught me powerful lessons about how the American narrative isn’t serving us, and I wouldn’t trade that knowledge for anything. I now understand that large rooms look empty without things to fill them, and I’ve learned that things must be purchased, stored, maintained, and eventually disposed of. My tiny house has shown me that owning things comes with responsibility, and if I take on too much, my things own me.

I don’t want a life in service of things; I want to remain free. But if someday a free life comes with a little more closet space...

Yes, I might go for it.

*Insert hand-covering-mouth emoji*

Can we still be friends?

- 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.