Lessons learned after living in a tiny house on wheels for a year

Today is my first year anniversary since the tiny house was built. It has been a fantastic experience building the tiny, looking for a place to park it and living in it! I learned so much along the way, met awesome people and gained 27,000 followers on Instagram. I’ve been asked so many times what lessons did I learn or what would I change if I had to do it again. Here are the answers to your questions.

Lessons I learned (the hard way) after one year of living in the tiny house on wheels.

Creepers and Crawlers

Mosquitoes, flies, maggots, earthworms anyone? Eww 😷 These were the unwelcome visitors I had to deal with at some point. The window fly screens are not fine enough for baby mosquitoes to get in. Someday I would replace the fly screens with super fine mesh.

Flies, on the other hand, get in the tiny through the front door. The curtains helped a little but it was a feat to get rid of them especially in summer. And those pesky flies breed just like the rest of humanity. But instead of cute babies, they produce yucky maggots! And where do you think they lay eggs? Your guess is as good as mine. A male friend once forgot, out of habit, to close the lid of the compost toilet seat after using it. A couple of days later I was shocked to open the lid and find maggots crawling out of the loo and into the bathroom floor. I spent the rest of the day cleaning and scrubbing everywhere until my hands ached. Big lesson learned: Close the lid when not in use.

If that was not enough, come rainy season the tiny house became a cozy shelter not just for me but for earthworms too! I almost died when I woke up one morning to find earthworms on the kitchen floor. I couldn’t deal with live worms so I sprayed them with vinegar (sorry!) and when they became stiff I grabbed them with thick paper towels and put them in a sealed garbage bag to make sure they didn’t come alive to haunt me. After another rainy day it happened again, and again. How did I make it stop? I discovered they made their way in through the gaps under the front doors. I sealed the doors using weather strips and door bottom seals.

Where has my hot water gone?

For a full summer I only had cold showers 🚿. Before that it was touch and go. It was difficult to adjust the water temperature because my water heater was meant for camping, not for indoor use. When I couldn’t take it anymore I had my hot water system replaced. I could have avoided the inconvenience and extra expenses if I did my own research and chose a reliable hot water system instead of relying on what my builder put in the plan.

Tiny space needs moisture.

When I first noticed the cracks in my hardwood stairs I freaked out. In the middle of the night or early morning I would hear a pop so loud it woke me up from deep slumber. I thought it was a structural defect. It turned out that when temperature is too hot and air is too dry, hardwood splits and cracks. After learning this I bought indoor plants, lots of it, to help keep the tiny house cooler. Plants release moisture into the air. And they add gorgeousness to the tiny house! 🌿☘️🎍

Ventillation is key.

Speaking of air – not all air are created equal. Those that pollute need to get out. I should have gotten a ducted range hood which vents air to the outside instead of the ductless one which filters the air but recirculates it back to the kitchen. I also have a tiny solar vent installed in the bathroom which could be bigger if I had to do it again.

Two-burner stove or four?

I still think four burners is a waste since I mostly cook for myself. But I could have opted for two burners that are wider apart. Two regular sized pots won’t fit so I end up using one burner at a time when cooking 🥘

When the ceiling is too high for the painter

After a year since the tiny house was built, the middle of my ceiling is still bare, not whitewashed like the ceilings above the lofts. And that’s because just thinking about climbing up a high ladder to paint it makes me postpone the task for another day. I should have stuck to my original plan to paint the wood before it was put up. Did you think that’s weird? A friend of mine painted his ceiling that way and it was clever of him to do so!

Shower corners or no corner?

I’m a tidy person. Sometimes too tidy to a fault. I freak out when someone walks into the house with shoes on. I keep my sinks dry after every use with super absorbent clothe. But I don’t want to dry my shower after every use. Life is too short. But those corners start to gather grime after a week. And even if it is only a five minute job to clean the shower using vinegar and water, I still would have preferred a smooth fiberglass shower with no corners – if I could do it all over again.

Parking the tiny is not a walk in the park.

For me, this is the most challenging part in the entire journey. There was a time when I was so traumatised that I didn’t want to sleep in the tiny house anymore until the problem was sorted. You see, I chose a spot where the ground is not flat. It goes down a hill. My 4.x ton tiny house moved during each attempt to level it using jack stands. My friend and I had no idea what we were dealing with. After four failed attempts I hired a pro to do the levelling. Problem solved.

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I hope you picked up something from the lessons I learned the hard way so you can avoid doing it if you’re starting on the same journey.

Up next will be the best decisions I made right from the start. So stay tuned 😊