Your Tiny Home © had an exclusive and in-depth interview with Lia Kwan-Yin about her personal path to GOING TINY, what triggered her to simplify her life drastically and drive her to become a pioneer ahead of the TINY HOME MOVEMENT curve.

Your Tiny Home © Interviewer:

Q1. When did you first think that going tiny would be a feasible trending solution to a global affordable housing problem?

Lia: My tiny home journey started way back in 2009 as I awakened to the truth of the failing current system in modern society, the corruption in the powers that be, the endless rat race and hamster wheel and that the common people were being unconsciously programmed into the illusion or the matrix of government, education, banking and health sectors that were ultimately run by the 6 corporations that ruled the world and sat at the top of the financial tyranny pyramid.  The housing crisis was a rude awakening for many working professionals.  A serious reality check that quickly turned into horror stories of job losses, career shake-ups, home evictions, foreclosures and in several cases of sudden homelessness as a result of bankruptcy.  Having been privy to have worked in the emerging technology industry I had an intuitive gift of insights, trends and market predictions that even the high-earning working professional couple both in the IT field would struggle to buy that 2000 square foot house out in the city suburbia while still keeping the work life balance.  Due to the disproportional income tax brackets, goods and sales tax, and overall cost of living to run a basic single family home, car and household – I had a horrid incline that this typical day-to-day lifestyle would not be sustainable without a drastic change in the public’s mindset due to the fast depleting natural resources and countless of meaningless distractions and menial tasks that kept one from spending that quality time.

THAT LIGHT FINALLY WENT ON!  THAT AHA MOMENT THAT LEFT ME THINKING…HOW IS HUMANITY MEANT TO THRIVE AND SURVIVE WHEN EVERYONE LIVES IN SEPARATION AND COMPETES FOR NATURE’S RESOURCES AND EXCESSIVE MATERIAL WEALTH?

Your Tiny Home © Interviewer: 

Q2. Can you share that defining moment that set your tiny home story in motion?

Lia: Yes, after being a property owner of 2 houses and 1 condo in Toronto for 7 years and at the peak of my career as a Director of New Products (in the technology sector), I realized that the homeowner title really just gave one bragging rights, a superficial title or piece of paper proving ownership on a said property.  But really, the house was not truly yours because of the lifetime mortgage (french literal meaning being death bond) of 25 – 35 years that one was indebted to which seemed to be the equivalent to a life sentence in prison, and that the land it sat on was technically the property of the city with zoning laws, province, commonwealth or corporation-driven land development.

One powerful quote that sums up my defining moment and gave me the green light to begin my own tiny home story:

Normal is getting dressed in clothes that you buy for work, driving through traffic in a car that you are still paying for, in order to get to a job that you need so you can pay for the clothes, car and the house that you leave empty all day in order to afford to live in it.

Ellen Goodman

Your Tiny Home © Interviewer:  

Q3. What made you shift your paradigm from an automatic consumer-centric one to an experience-centric conscious lifestyle?

Lia: In 2010-2012 I got plugged into these new sustainable and eco-friendly living movements of eco-built houses that were built with organic, up cycled and chemically-free materials yet still offered those modern luxuries and creature comforts of home, I liked the idea of earth ships, self-sustaining homes and off-the-grid and infinite energy resources.  This was at the peak of the global housing crisis and seeing the downward spiral of the economy firsthand really gave me a reality check!  Natural gas, oil, clean food and nature’s resources were at an all time “false scarcity” low and seemingly depleted by mankind’s need for greed or having more more and more!

The underlying message in media mind controlling through movies, commercials and reality TV shows was to accumulate as much material possessions in such excess that a reality show called Hoarders was actually on prime television.

The message of more material possessions than you can handle, need or store was prevalent as more storage unit places began to crop up across major metropolitan cities in the Western world.  Meanwhile in Asia city centres, the overcrowding of major cities like Hong Kong, Korea and Indonesia left the average person living in an apartment the size of the storage unit 50 sq ft here in North America.  My European upbringing, Asian background and island roots has allowed me to gain extensive insight into global movements and trends across North America, Europe and Asia and everything in between.  I have been able to witness and appreciate the wide spectrum of cultural differences of family life and simple living in my worldly travels from the professional couple living in arts and cultural rich life in a European metropolitan apartment like Barcelona, to the simplicity of a rice field worker who lived a very humble life in a small 100 sq foot shack out in a rural village supporting his family of 5.  One big eye opener for me was the fact that the humble field worker was genuinely content with his simple and happy life – and not wanting or seeking anything more.

As part of my own awakening, I realized that these countless material possessions actually ended up weighing you down, as it was more headache and stress to own something through fear of having it stolen, damaged or loss.

I sometimes found it comical watching the mass population run around like headless chickens, fight over parking spaces at the mall and having petty altercations for the sake of who had the bigger TV, the fastest car and most number of houses to his name.  This consumer-centric lifestyle that was being pushed as a pursuit of happiness to the masses like an all you can eat buffet of quantity over quality became a way of life in a developed western society. A life filled with instant gratifications and short-lived bursts of happiness but not really a deep rooted gut feeling of everlasting joy.

I knew that I wanted to own something tangible debt-free, that was essentially a principle residence that I could truly call my own, therefore going tiny made this possible.  Having it built on wheels was an added bonus since it was portable so easily moved to a new setting, new site or natural landscape on the other side of the country.

Your Tiny Home © Interviewer:

Q4. What are the main reasons or driving forces for going tiny?

Lia: In summary, going tiny was driven by 3 key factors with the underlying reason being to move to an authentic experience-rich life of precious memories and expanding horizons and less of that current consumer-centric stagnant “couch potato” in one’s comfort box concept that seemed to be accepted as the norm for the general population.  I truly believe that humans belong outside and need to living a progressive and dynamic lifestyle where change is the constant.  I am so passionate about getting people to unleash their true self and to get outside to explore mother earth’s natural beauty, hidden gems and breathtaking landscapes through life changing travel experiences that I have been running a sister Travel Magazine web property called Life Inspired Travels for 18 years.

As humans, we all have that natural wanderlust gene.

What is the wanderlust gene?  That itchy feet, the inability to stay still for too long.  That natural tendency for humans to keep moving, evolving and experiencing are ways in which the body and mind lets us know that our inner spirit needs to be unleashed!

Top 3 Lifestyle Reasons for Going Tiny

1. Freedom from the life long death bond aka mortgage – financial freedom.

2. Simpler and minimalist lifestyle so that LIFE can actually be enjoyed and experienced.  Less time working, more time living and enjoying life with loved ones.

3. Owning less is more.  Moving away from the consumer culture, therefore allowing people to get outside to enjoy life, their community, country or to travel the continents.

At first when one hears about going tiny, the immediate reaction is how crazy it would be to downsize your life into a 100 – 250 square feet foot print.

Yes that is very tiny relative to the average sized home in North America being 1500 square feet.  I wanted to bring some reality checks to your attention on how the perception of Square Footage Size in North America is a little skewed to the extent that it is perhaps a perceived illusion that a baby needs an excessive 1000 square feet to grow in.

The message of more material possessions than you can handle, need or store is prevalent in mass media advertising, marketing and social ideologies set by the consumer centric system.  More and more storage units (50 sq ft up to 200 sq ft) are beginning to crop up across major metropolitan cities in the Western world that one might consider living in a well ventilated storage unit if in serious dire straits or to address the affordable housing problem plaguing most major metropolitan city centres today.

The same housing issues and false scarcity of resources are even apparent in Silicon Valley of all places, whereby hi-tech Google employees try to seek rental accommodations that cost less than $7000 / month in Mountain View or surrounding Bay Area yet alone buying a decent piece of property for less than $2.5 million.

Meanwhile in some densely populated Asia city centres, the overcrowding of major cities like Hong Kong, Korea and Indonesia left the average person living in an apartment the size of a 50 sq ft storage unit here in North America.  

My European upbringing, Asian background and island roots has allowed me to gain extensive insight into global movements and trends across North America, Europe and Asia and everything in between.  I have been able to witness and appreciate the wide spectrum of cultural differences of family life and simple living in my worldly travels from the professional couple living in arts and cultural rich life in a European metropolitan apartment like Barcelona, to the simplicity of a rice field worker who lived a very humble life in a small 100 sq foot shack out in a rural village supporting his family of 5.  One big eye opener for me was the fact that the humble field worker was genuinely content with his simple and happy life – and not wanting or seeking anything more.

REALITY CHECK #1 – The Size of a Hotel Room

The average size of a decent 3-5 star standard hotel room across the globe is 132 square feet, in this space there is a bed for 2, a desk, chair, dresser, TV, kettle, microwave/fridge (in some hotels basic kitchen facilities), closet, night stands, 2 lamps and 2 arm chairs.  There is always an ensuite bathroom containing a vanity sink, toilet, bath tub with shower and in some hotels a separate stand up shower.

Now if this is technically all you need to be able to live comfortably away from home, when traveling out of town, overseas or across the globe – then it should be ample space for living more permanently right?  Technically yes?  Functionally yes?  After all the size of standard queen sized bed is 35 square feet of space to be able to lie flat and sprawl for a good night’s sleep.

REALITY CHECK #2 – The Size of Some of the Micro Apartments in Asia

Asia’s bustling metropolitan city centres including Hong Kong, Seoul or Jakarta are so over populated that they have a good portion of the working class population living below the poverty line in micro apartments that range from as little as 25 square feet to the average 100 square feet size.

The 40 square foot apartment is so small that the toilet is literally in the middle of the room with the kitchen stove right next to it.  In the 25 square foot cubicle home it is a 600 square foot apartment split into 19 units that look more like bunk bed cages, I can only assume that the bathroom facilities are shared among these units.

REALITY CHECK #3 – The Typical Size of an Apartment in Europe and North America

Living conditions and living standards differ so drastically across the globe, from the East to the West and everything in between.  When it comes to the metropolitan city centres in Europe, the typical size of an apartment or condo is 300-400 square feet.  Most of these apartments are designed with a combination of multi-purpose modular furniture and optimized storage solutions that are tastefully designed and finished for one to live comfortably and as luxurious as they need.

In some North American major city centres like New York City and Vancouver in Canada, the typical size of an apartment downtown for a single working professional is also 300 – 400 square feet, which is sometimes shared between a professional couple.  People are getting smarter when it comes to design, functionality and layout of their small living spaces.

REALITY CHECK #4 – The Average Size of a Suburban Home in North America

When it comes to the suburban outer city limits and surrounding towns and villages, the average size of a single family home or condo is 1500 – 2500 square feet.  Most of these homes are designed with a generous 500-1000 square feet per person in the household, even a new born baby gets it’s “much needed” 1000 square feet of space to sleep, roam, play and roll around in.

These newer single family homes come standard with his and her walk in closets equivalent to the size of a micro apartment in Hong Kong.  The 5 piece master bathroom is so spacious and luxurious you could literally fit a king sized bed plus a single twin bed in the middle of the bathroom.

Some of the baby nursery rooms are 4 times larger than the size of the kitchen in Jakarta.   In some luxurious and lavish houses the size of the kitchen island alone is bigger than some apartments in Asia.

Summary of Size, Change your Perception

Therefore, a tiny home that is designed strategically and built smartly is a suitable solution for creating a permanent affordable home that is actually paid off in full the day you start to live in it.  So enjoy the benefits of no more mortgage debt, so you can truly start to live a fruitful life with your loved ones and start enjoying the great outdoors more in your backyard or experiencing the sights and sounds overseas.

The countless of advantages for Going Tiny outweigh the disadvantages, and you don’t even have to go really tiny like 100 square feet, but choose a reasonable moderately tiny home footprint like 350 – 400 square feet.  More on the Tiny Home Sizes.

 

 

 

 

 

It is important to realize that going tiny means that you would probably be able to work much less while living and having fun more!  That’s life changing in itself right?  Working significantly less could mean not having to work in corporate slavery for 8 hours a day for 5-6 days a week in addition to that 1 hour commute each way.  What will you do with so much spare time?  How about living in the moment and making those precious memories with your loved ones?

Perhaps you will need to have an extended stay-cation for the first few months, but the itchy feet syndrome that is in every human will soon begin to show itself after that first season.  As humans, we were meant to be moving, progressively dynamic, always changing, evolving our self-awareness and living life to its fullest.

Going Tiny means you can kick back, relax and truly experience life for all it is – the beauty in nature, the countless of cultures to explore in your travels, spending quality time with your loved ones and friends and ultimately touching other peoples’ lives in the process.

Some Common Excuses, Misconceptions and Limited Beliefs for Going Tiny

“I need more room, I can never go tiny”

“I am 6 ft 3 how can I even fit in a tiny home?”

“Me and my wife cannot be in the same room yet alone in the same house for more than 1 hour at a time”

“I will get bored in such a cramp and small space”

“I don’t want to rough it for the rest of my life”

“No pool table?  No sectional couch in the basement?  No man cave?”

“What about my two dogs?”

“How about my two toddlers and baby?”

“What if we need more than one bathroom?”

“What about the 1000 square feet per child in my family?”

“How about all that furniture, belongings, possessions and clothes I have accumulated?”

“What will my neighbours and friends think of me?”

“What if the home gets damaged or blown away in the windstorm?”

“I’m not an outdoorsy person, I like the comfort of my couch and 70″TV to give it up.”

Here are the individual responses from Your Tiny Home for going tiny despite these limited beliefs.  Please be warned that these may contain some tongue and cheek humour, by no means is the following answers meant to offend anyone:

“I need more room, I can never go tiny”

Your Tiny Home answer “come see and walk through one of our designed houses to get a feel for the space, 400 square feet sounds smaller than it really is in a Your Tiny Home build.”

“I am 6 ft 3 how can I even fit in a tiny home?”

Your Tiny Home answer “you can decide whether you want the 10ft ceilings in the kitchen, in your great living room or for your main floor bedroom – that’s right a main floor bedroom is our unique selling feature”

“Me and my wife cannot be in the same room yet alone in the same house for more than 1 hour at a time”

Your Tiny Home answer “no offense but maybe you need to rethink your relationship if you cannot tolerate each other for 1 whole hour in the day – tiny home probably wouldn’t work for you in your current situation”

“I will get bored in such a cramp and small space”

Your Tiny Home answer “from your current standpoint you may think you will get bored.  But life will have new meaning in a tiny home as you can now get outside to live, experience and travel this beautiful world instead of working in corporate slavery just to pay off the large 4000 square foot house that you hardly get to enjoy.  Less of the consumer culture, more of the experience culture!”

“I don’t want to rough it for the rest of my life”

Your Tiny Home answer “what makes you think you have to rough it?  You can build your home as basic and primitive as you want, need or not.  You can build those creature comforts and modern luxuries that you have come to expect – just in a smaller and sustainable footprint for your wallet and the environment.”

“No pool table?  No sectional couch in the basement?  No man cave?”

Your Tiny Home answer “well unless you like to play pool with just yourself, maybe you should go to the local arcade hall to play pool with your son, or meet your buddies at the bar for this social and gaming experience outside of the home”

“What about my two dogs?”

Your Tiny Home answer “dogs actually prefer to be outside anyway, why not make an amazing 10 x 10 cedar deck that is covered and warm, multi-functional for your outdoor enjoyment and the dogs.  With the open railings around the deck so they can peek through would make their new home perfect for those dog days of snoozing in nature – at all other times they will be running happily in the backyard or green space you have surrounding you”

“How about my two toddlers and baby?”

Your Tiny Home answer “design the house around your growing family so everyone has their own personal space to retreat to at night or when they need that quiet time alone – ask Your Tiny Home about smart designing bunk beds that provide privacy and individuality for each of your kids”

“What if we need more than one bathroom?”

Your Tiny Home answer “if your family life is so fast that it has all 4 of you wanting to use the bathroom at the same time, well it’s time to slow down and rethink your life so that you can go to the bathroom not out of desperation because you left it to the last minute having got too busy or didn’t want to miss that goal in the NHL game on TV.  Instead you can listen to your body’s needs and health so that you can restore the balance in the body, mind and spirit”

“What about the 1000 square feet per child in my family?”

Your Tiny Home answer “if you want to keep working like a slave for the next 30 years of your life to pay the monthly mortgage on your 4000 square foot home, then please continue what you are doing.  This consumer culture that society promotes, is not the most fruitful or fun-loving lifestyle – just look at the number of depression and emotional breakdown victims who have literally been steamrolled by life, countless of heartbreaks and disappointments”

“How about all that furniture, belongings, possessions and clothes I have accumulated?”

Your Tiny Home answer “move away from the consumer culture, detach yourself from these material possessions for owning them end up owning you.  Don’t let these material possessions weigh you down from attaining your dreams in life.  Want to drive that $400,000 Ferrari?  How about you don’t own it but buy the Groupon to experience this exotic car for a couple of hours costing you $400!”

“What will my neighbours and friends think of me?”

Your Tiny Home answer “if what other people think of you is more important than doing what makes you happy – well then you have bigger issues to work on than going tiny.  It’s your life after all, not their life – their judgements, stereotypes and prejudices will remain but remember they are not personal for they do not know the true you”

“What if the home gets damaged or blown away in the windstorm?”

Your Tiny Home answer “home insurance works the same way so you can cover the financial cost of the home in the case of natural forces.  If it is completely trashed from that landslide, well then build another with more robust materials or move your location so its not prone to the elements”

“I’m not an outdoorsy person, I like the comfort of my couch and 70″ TV to give it up.”

Your Tiny Home answer “good luck being a couch potato being programmed what to think, believe and feel by that oversized mind controlling device called the TV for the next 30 years!  Your Tiny Home hopes that you have more reasons to get outside than to stay indoors for so long rather than to make those memories and experiences with your loved ones”

Downsize your Life for a Simpler Way of Living.  Detach yourself from the Materials that Weigh You Down.  Own less and experience more!

The initial reaction to going tiny for most modern families in western society is “I can’t go tiny” or “I need at least 800 square feet minimum just for myself”.  Of course when compared to the usual 2000 square feet that one is used to, it’s hard to imagine how you could even begin to fit yourself yet alone your life plus your possessions into less than 500 square feet.  Here’s news for you, well it most definitely can, and it just takes some careful strategic thinking about your lifestyle:

What are your day-to-day needs?  Do you have to go to work?  Are you out of the house for more than 6 hours of the day?  During the weekends, are you a home body?  Watching TV for hours and the only sports or exercise you get is watching NBA, NHL or Tennis on TV?  If so, then I guess you may want that big screen TV in your living room.

If you are true to yourself as to what really matters to you in your home – it would probably be a comfortable, clean and modern style place that you can call home and spend time with your spouse and family.  Airy and inviting, with little to no clutter, with some of those finer luxuries of quartz counters and hardwood worked into the finish.  Do you appreciate a large outdoor deck space over an oversized living room or kitchen?  Are you much of reader?  Do you need to use the computer for your work or pleasure?  All these need to be carefully thought about and multi-function surface areas and modular furniture are a must have in a smaller home footprint.

Need a comfortable place to sleep, shower, eat and read?  Or an amazing modern kitchen to cook in or an extra guestroom for sleeping?  It’s important to understand that when you stay in a hotel while traveling you are getting the best of 130 square feet to basically sleep, shower, use the desk and watch TV.

It is important to realize that going tiny means that you would probably be able to work much less while living and having fun more!  That’s life changing in itself right?  Working significantly less could mean not having to work in corporate slavery for 8 hours a day for 5-6 days a week in addition to that 1 hour commute each way.  What will you do with so much spare time?  How about living in the moment and making those precious memories with your loved ones?

Perhaps you will need to have an extended stay-cation for the first few months, but the itchy feet syndrome that is in every human will soon begin to show itself after that first season.  As humans, we were meant to be moving, progressively dynamic, always changing, evolving our self-awareness and living life to its fullest.

Going Tiny means you can kick back, relax and truly experience life for all it is – the beauty in nature, the countless of cultures to explore in your travels, spending quality time with your loved ones and friends and ultimately touching other peoples’ lives in the process.

Some Common Excuses, Misconceptions and Limited Beliefs for Going Tiny

“I need more room, I can never go tiny”

“I am 6 ft 3 how can I even fit in a tiny home?”

“Me and my wife cannot be in the same room yet alone in the same house for more than 1 hour at a time”

“I will get bored in such a cramp and small space”

“I don’t want to rough it for the rest of my life”

“No pool table?  No sectional couch in the basement?  No man cave?”

“What about my two dogs?”

“How about my two toddlers and baby?”

“What if we need more than one bathroom?”

“What about the 1000 square feet per child in my family?”

“How about all that furniture, belongings, possessions and clothes I have accumulated?”

“What will my neighbours and friends think of me?”

“What if the home gets damaged or blown away in the windstorm?”

“I’m not an outdoorsy person, I like the comfort of my couch and 70″TV to give it up.”

Here are the individual responses from Your Tiny Home for going tiny despite these limited beliefs.  Please be warned that these may contain some tongue and cheek humour, by no means is the following answers meant to offend anyone:

“I need more room, I can never go tiny”

Your Tiny Home answer “come see and walk through one of our designed houses to get a feel for the space, 400 square feet sounds smaller than it really is in a Your Tiny Home build.”

“I am 6 ft 3 how can I even fit in a tiny home?”

Your Tiny Home answer “you can decide whether you want the 10ft ceilings in the kitchen, in your great living room or for your main floor bedroom – that’s right a main floor bedroom is our unique selling feature”

“Me and my wife cannot be in the same room yet alone in the same house for more than 1 hour at a time”

Your Tiny Home answer “no offense but maybe you need to rethink your relationship if you cannot tolerate each other for 1 whole hour in the day – tiny home probably wouldn’t work for you in your current situation”

“I will get bored in such a cramp and small space”

Your Tiny Home answer “from your current standpoint you may think you will get bored.  But life will have new meaning in a tiny home as you can now get outside to live, experience and travel this beautiful world instead of working in corporate slavery just to pay off the large 4000 square foot house that you hardly get to enjoy.  Less of the consumer culture, more of the experience culture!”

“I don’t want to rough it for the rest of my life”

Your Tiny Home answer “what makes you think you have to rough it?  You can build your home as basic and primitive as you want, need or not.  You can build those creature comforts and modern luxuries that you have come to expect – just in a smaller and sustainable footprint for your wallet and the environment.”

“No pool table?  No sectional couch in the basement?  No man cave?”

Your Tiny Home answer “well unless you like to play pool with just yourself, maybe you should go to the local arcade hall to play pool with your son, or meet your buddies at the bar for this social and gaming experience outside of the home”

“What about my two dogs?”

Your Tiny Home answer “dogs actually prefer to be outside anyway, why not make an amazing 10 x 10 cedar deck that is covered and warm, multi-functional for your outdoor enjoyment and the dogs.  With the open railings around the deck so they can peek through would make their new home perfect for those dog days of snoozing in nature – at all other times they will be running happily in the backyard or green space you have surrounding you”

“How about my two toddlers and baby?”

Your Tiny Home answer “design the house around your growing family so everyone has their own personal space to retreat to at night or when they need that quiet time alone – ask Your Tiny Home about smart designing bunk beds that provide privacy and individuality for each of your kids”

“What if we need more than one bathroom?”

Your Tiny Home answer “if your family life is so fast that it has all 4 of you wanting to use the bathroom at the same time, well it’s time to slow down and rethink your life so that you can go to the bathroom not out of desperation because you left it to the last minute having got too busy or didn’t want to miss that goal in the NHL game on TV.  Instead you can listen to your body’s needs and health so that you can restore the balance in the body, mind and spirit”

“What about the 1000 square feet per child in my family?”

Your Tiny Home answer “if you want to keep working like a slave for the next 30 years of your life to pay the monthly mortgage on your 4000 square foot home, then please continue what you are doing.  This consumer culture that society promotes, is not the most fruitful or fun-loving lifestyle – just look at the number of depression and emotional breakdown victims who have literally been steamrolled by life, countless of heartbreaks and disappointments”

“How about all that furniture, belongings, possessions and clothes I have accumulated?”

Your Tiny Home answer “move away from the consumer culture, detach yourself from these material possessions for owning them end up owning you.  Don’t let these material possessions weigh you down from attaining your dreams in life.  Want to drive that $400,000 Ferrari?  How about you don’t own it but buy the Groupon to experience this exotic car for a couple of hours costing you $400!”

“What will my neighbours and friends think of me?”

Your Tiny Home answer “if what other people think of you is more important than doing what makes you happy – well then you have bigger issues to work on than going tiny.  It’s your life after all, not their life – their judgements, stereotypes and prejudices will remain but remember they are not personal for they do not know the true you”

“What if the home gets damaged or blown away in the windstorm?”

Your Tiny Home answer “home insurance works the same way so you can cover the financial cost of the home in the case of natural forces.  If it is completely trashed from that landslide, well then build another with more robust materials or move your location so its not prone to the elements”

“I’m not an outdoorsy person, I like the comfort of my couch and 70″ TV to give it up.”

Your Tiny Home answer “good luck being a couch potato being programmed what to think, believe and feel by that oversized mind controlling device called the TV for the next 30 years!  Your Tiny Home hopes that you have more reasons to get outside than to stay indoors for so long rather than to make those memories and experiences with your loved ones”

 

 

 

 

 

New Finds is a concept founded by Cecilia of Liapros in her numerous house moves over the course of 5 years, whereby she felt the need to downsize and clear out her material possessions, goods and gadgets by at least 20% in order to make the move across the country from East to West.  It was then when she realized that owning things ended up owning you so she wanted to be free to move, travel and roam as she pleased without these material possessions weighing her down both physically and mentally.

This started a trend in her and her husband Anton’s life, whereby they realized it was important to review, purge and refresh their entire home, closets, storage spaces and household appliances almost seasonally to remove anything that was taking up dead weight in their home, that no longer served its purpose or put simply, had no space or use in our lives for the time being.  Their long term goal is to downsize into a micro-home of <700 sq ft where LESS IS MORE because you can begin to truly LIVE and EXPERIENCE life with no limitations or burdens.

Cecilia was concerned about the wasteful factor of donating almost new goods as there was still lots of use to be had in the hardly worn clothes, once worn outfits and electronic gadgets that were no longer needed in their household.  After all, “one person’s trash is another person’s treasure” – depending on the need, the price, the timing and availability of the particular item.  Another issue that interested Cecilia was the passing along of clothes that had been outgrown between siblings in a family, and thought why not widen the circle of benefactors to smaller sized cousins, friends and other children in the local community.  NEW FINDS can be brand new items, worn or used once items or items that have hardly been used and are in mint working condition.

Cecilia being an innovative designer decided to create her very own OPEN HOUSE ONLINE SHOP of items that needed to be sold, donated, purged or passed along to someone else.  Similar to how working mothers would open up their home for Tupperware or beauty product parties – the concept of our very own product sale seemed to be something she wanted to facilitate.  Cecilia is not one for disposing of something simply because she cannot use it at a given time (whether it is food, clothing, goods or appliances), as she would much rather sell it on for a decent price, donate it to someone in greater need or re-purpose/recycle it.

ALL PROCEEDS GO TO A GOOD CAUSE

That said, the money that is raised from the selling of all goods in the New Finds Online Store will be donated to a good cause in matters close to Cecilia and Anton’s heart: Animal Welfare, Refugee Funding, Preserving the World’s Freshwater, Peace in the World or Humanity in Poverty.  Cecilia believes it is important to PAY IT FORWARD and to have an ATTITUDE OF GRATITUDE in life so that the universal abundance can be realized for all of humanity.

Depending on the success of this new concept – Cecilia will make a web site template available to other people looking to downsize and purge their belongings in the same way as part of SIMPLIFYING THEIR LIFE as LESS IS MORE!

Your Tiny Home © offers Affordable, Hassle-Free Tiny Home Designs, Builds and Site Setups so you need not worry!

Going Tiny with Your Tiny Home © gives you Financial Freedom and More Quality Time with Your Family!

Moving away from the consumer culture gets you outside to enjoy and experience life!