Today’s guest post comes from Heather Levin, author of the blog The Greenest Dollar.

With a passion for personal finance and being green, she enlightens us on how the two can join forces to help us save money while being environmentally friendly.

Want To Live Frugally? Go Mini.

Can you imagine living in a home that’s only 300 square feet? You’ve probably seen the in-house models IKEA uses to showcase their furniture, and sure they’re neat to look at. But, most people truly can’t fathom living in 300 square feet.

Heck, many people’s closets are bigger than that, and the thought of trying to cram everything they own into such a small space is not only unthinkable, it’s downright terrifying.

But to others, myself included, the thought of living in such a small space is incredibly liberating. And, it’s not just crazy eco-hippies who are enthralled with the idea; more and more people are starting to see the benefits of living in a micro-home.
Welcome to the Small Home Movement.

You can think of the Small Home Movement as the backlash against the McMansion movement we’ve recently begun recovering from. And in today’s economy, coupled with the environmental problems we’re facing, small home living is making more and more sense.

Here are a few of the benefits to living in a micro-home:

Frugal Living

Stop and think about it for just a moment: how much do you think your utility bills would be in a home that’s less than 500 square feet? The answer: not a lot.

One company that makes pre-fab mini homes says that the average utility bills for their homes are only $300. Again, that’s heating and cooling costs for the entire year.

Plus, the cost of many micro-homes is very low. The cheapest pre-fabs start at $15,000, and go up to around $100,000 for the ultra-posh modernist designs. Or, you could save big and build your own, as many people are doing. Micro-home house plans usually sell for $300-$600, but you can find some online for free.

Simple Living

Living in a small home means that you don’t have the room for lots of stuff. This means that you can only keep the things that are most important to you. The rest has to go.

Living with less enables you to realize that you truly don’t need “things” to be happy. Instead of going out shopping, you hang out with friends. Instead of staying home to clean and dust around all your “stuff”, you can go outside and relax.

Because you don’t have mounds of possessions, you don’t have to spend time maintaining them. And, that’s a great feeling for many people. Micro-home living is a way to slow down and live a simpler life.

Green Living

As you can probably imagine, small homes also have a small carbon footprint. Which means they’re much more eco-friendly than those 5,000 square foot behemoths we’ve all got in our town.

Many, if not most, micro-homes are built green to start with. They use reclaimed or recycled materials, incorporate wind and solar power, and use composting toilets and greywater recycling. Your impact on the environment is very minimal in these homes and to me, that’s the biggest benefit.

Artistic Living

Now, don’t make the mistake of thinking that these micro-homes are cramped, dark, uncomfortable spaces to live in. They’re not.

Most are incredibly open, full of light, with an open, uplifting design. Think IKEA design at its best here, and you’ll get a good idea of what many micro-homes look like on the inside.

Micro-Home Designs

The great news about micro-home living is that there’s something for everyone. For instance, if you want to go super-small then you could check out some of Jay Schafer’s designs. He owns Tumbleweed Tiny House Company, and is considered the guru of small home living.

His smallest home, the one he chose to live in for himself, is a mere 65 square feet. And, it got Oprah’s stamp of approval when she featured Jay on her show. She went in and declared it to be warm and comfortable. So, it’s not a hovel.

Micro-Homes go up in size from there. Most homes that are considered “micro” are 900 square feet or less, with the majority falling in the 400-650 square foot range.

And the style? Here’s where it gets really exciting. You can a micro home that looks like traditional beach style cottage, or one that’s part of the industrial modernist movement. And, of course, everything in between.

There are some amazingly talented designers out in the world, and many of them are working on this new generation of ultra-small homes. This means that there are some truly unique and inspiring designs out there if you go out looking.

And if you don’t want to live in a traditional “house”, you certainly don’t have to! People are remodeling house trailers, tree houses, shipping containers, railroad cabooses and school buses, turning them into super-cool, super efficient living spaces. The Small House Movement isn’t just limited to traditional houses. It’s a whole new world out there.

So, are you sold on micro-home living yet? If not, that’s cool. After all, it’s not for everyone. If you are, however, you can check out some of these resources:

Tiny House Blog

Small House Society

Small House Style

This Tiny House

If you enjoy reading this guest post then please consider reading Heather’s blog here.