Investing in the typical American “dream home” with a massive lawn is not the best way to support the environment. Fortunately, many creatively minded people have reimagined the traditional house, championing sustainability and reducing their carbon footprints by transforming their homes and habits. You could do the same by moving into a smaller house or investing in the tiny home movement. Tiny homes combat many problems associated with modern, wasteful households. All you have to do is downsize to get the environmental benefits.

What Is a Tiny House?

A tiny house is a home with a fraction of the space of standard dwellings — sometimes only a few hundred square feet. Still, these tiny dwellings include all life’s necessities, including bathrooms, kitchens, places to sleep and living spaces. 

The beauty of small housing is how many forms it can take. Individuals have repurposed old-school buses, while others have created a more conventional-looking home — many with wheels or other foundational changes to make them mobile. 

Eco-friendly tiny houses can also be more permanent structures built on existing properties. For example, a detached accessory dwelling unit (DADU) can be constructed alongside a family or friend’s home and have entirely separate utilities and electrical panels from the main house (depending on local codes). DADUs can be built from the ground up, or you could renovate a detached garage and expand it, to create your own little home. 

Tiny homes are part of a movement toward minimalistic lifestyles and reprioritizing. In our consumer culture, many people perceive a need to fill every available nook and cranny with furniture and decorations for a more complete appearance. If you want to live greener, downsizing to a tiny home could be your ticket to decarbonization. 

DADU vs. AADU

A quick note — a tiny home or DADU is a small residential living space separate from a primary residence or structure on a property. An attached accessory dwelling unit (AADU) differs in that it is part of the primary residence. AADUs thus have physical restrictions because they form part of the preexisting structure. Both DADUs and AADUs are considered to be accessory dwelling units (ADUs). 

What Are the Environmental Benefits of Downsizing?

How can getting rid of things lower your negative impact? Learn how tiny homes and intentional downsizing promote sustainable living by forcing you to reevaluate your stuff.

Reduce Waste

There is an undeniable connection between clutter and your environmental impact. The more you can buy, the more you can waste. Although decluttering and downsizing can help you on the right path, you still need to ethically dispose of items you no longer need to ensure you are, in fact, reducing waste.  

Better Building Materials

Smaller homes require fewer construction materials. Gathering and transporting essential building components, like bricks, concrete and wood, uses massive amounts of resources and energy. Smaller houses slash these demands.

Many people decide not to use eco-friendly materials because they tend to be more expensive. However, if you build a tiny home, it could be easier to justify more expensive, sustainable options because there is less square footage to worry about. Materials, like ethically sourced timber or recycled steel, are ideal for tiny homes.

Renewable Energy Compatibility

If you own a large, multistory home, you’ll need to install a large solar array or expensive geothermal heat pump to go green. A smaller footprint solves these problems by having fewer energy needs. The average home in the U.S. uses 899 kilowatt-hours of power per month. You can minimize this when you have fewer items to keep powered up and less space to keep cooled, heated and ventilated.

Improved Relationship With Consumerism

Look almost anywhere, and you’ll find an advertisement for a product. There are countless promises, especially on social media, that various items will solve your problems or fulfill unmet needs. This constant barrage of marketing has caused a wave of hyperconsumption and waste output, where people constantly buy things, but still feel dissatisfied. The only way to eliminate this feeling is to appreciate what you have, which is a natural side effect of downsizing. 

Obsessive shopping creates a constant cycle in which people throw tons of perfectly good items away, harming the environment. Downsizing into a tiny home will familiarize you with sustainable ways of decluttering, like selling or swapping. Plus, it causes you to care more about what you own and research the natural resources required to produce your belongings.

How Do You Declutter to Fit in a Tiny Home?

These eco-friendly tips for tiny home living will quickly get you and your family into a smaller abode.

Audit Your Possessions

Reducing your carbon footprint through downsizing starts with knowing what you have. Catalog everything and ask yourself whether you use or need these items. You might have a closet full of clothes you no longer wear, or stacks of books you’ll never read. Think about your lifestyle, habits and hobbies, and you’ll start to see what does and doesn’t matter.

Decide What to Keep

You might need rules or gamification to hold yourself accountable during this stage. Once you start getting rid of a few items, you’ll build momentum. You could research the famous method by Marie Kondo, which started a decluttering revolution. Or, you can choose a method like the 12-12-12 framework, which has you throwing away 12 items, donating 12 more and finally putting 12 back where they belong. Take care to dispose of items in the most sustainable way.

Become Part of a Community

If you feel like the task is impossible, remember every effort to clean the planet is a community-based one. Reach out on social media or to your neighbors and friends. Ask them how they downsize to stay motivated. These connections will be priceless by reminding you to stay true to your values.

Find online groups or environmentalist gatherings to seek advice and inspiration for overcoming downsizing’s challenges. Hearing success stories from those who made it to the other side is a valuable reminder anyone, including you and your family, can do it.

Embrace the Minimalist Lifestyle and Environmental Sustainability

Finding mental clarity through downsizing is one of the best side effects of moving into a smaller home. You’ll know what you have, live a cleaner life and save the planet while you’re at it. These benefits are priceless for people who experience eco-anxiety and stress about their living space. If this sounds like you, maybe it’s time to start paring away belongings in preparation for your transition into a beautiful tiny house.