What I Learned After 4 Years in My Tiny House (Full House Tour) 

It’s such a relief to see someone talk candidly about the bathroom situation. Watching tiny house content and no one ever mentions how awkward it can be when someone has to use the toilet in a small space where you can hear everything

Thumbs up for the birthday squirrel 🧁 🐿️

Just a pro tip about staying warm in the winter: Buy yourself sheepskins to sew a sleepingbag from, and that you can sleep on warmer days or just roll to the side of your bed in the summer. You will love it so much that you will want to drag it down to the sofa daytime. I do viking markets, where the tents basicly is no different from sleeping outside, besides wind and rain, so it can get pretty cold at night. A normal feather quilt we use in the nordics (dyne) is the worst, it gets cold and almost feels wet in cold or humid weather. To clean the skins you drag it thorugh the snow in the coldest days of winter, and hang them out in the sun in summer, and those woolskins will be the cleanest bed there is (natural antiseptic). Brush it out once in a while. I bought four polish (I think mountain sheeps?), and they are large enough to sew to a sleeping bag, and really really thick. Ah, and remember to make buttons on the sides so it can fold out. It's pretty easy to sew skin, you need a skin needle and thread for leatherworks. If you ever wash them (wich rarely is neccessary, but could be), you can use use shampoo and conditioner for humans, and smear the backside with fat-cream so the skin don't crack (I use Locobase, wich they sell in large jars, and I also use it on my skin wintertime (helps for dry skin and prevent frostbites), and for the dogs paws so they don't crack from the cold). Do not use water based lotion, even on your own skin, as you will get frost bite. Another tip from me: The reason for åkle (woven wool art for walls used by our grandmas and traditions from waaaaay back), was to keep cold out. I might be wrong, but it sounds like you are danish? In that case you will find these sold in secondhand stores, at least in Norway. You could also get some nice wool curtains to close up at night, it will prevent you a lot of heat loss in winter. These things are a bit pricy if you don't buy fabric to sew them yourself, but will be an investment for life. Wool, wool, wool, everywhere, and layers of it on yourself and the dog. Knit him a sweater. _^.^_ I also bought myself a fur coat secondhand, and inherited another one, and (one of) these are not to look glamouros, but I use oit to wear when I shuffle snow, or go outside in general. There is nothing warmer you can wear. For rain I wear a waxed leather coat, tho, it can take it a couple of hours. I also got myself an XL size wool coat that I use kinda like a bathrobe inside in the winter, I even sleep with it. So just some tips from a norwegian to stay warm in the coldest conditions.

In Canada, that "buffer room" is called an "arctic entry." It's mostly used for temperature control. I saw a version of it once used beautifully in a Russian tea room, where thick red velvet curtains created a kind of vestivule in cold weather to prevent blasts of frigid air enveloping diners as their fellow patrons came and went. I imagine different versions of it are used in all cold-climate countries - I think even Inuit igloos, built completely from packed snow, use something like it.

I LOVE the Cold Room breezeway for the dog and you to shake off the dirt and mud! You have just added to my dream space, thank you.

Your comment about having a silent refrigerator is excellent. Odd that I have not heard anyone else make it.

I absolutely love how you get to the sleeping loft. Steps, storage, counter top, ladder. Genius!

when you mentioned insufficient insulation, it made me wonder - are the walls is the main culprit, or maybe you're loosing a lot of heat through windows? Replacing the windows with triple-glass-packs (not sure what the correct term here) - could allow you to save time and fuel in the winter. Also mounting large water tank on that woodstove, could serve as a thermal energy battery, releasing the heat during the night, without you having to stoke the fire now and then...

It’s a fabulous tiny. I particularly love the cold room addition, which gives you extra room in the warmer months. Great job!

People didn't use fridges in the past. They had a cellar under their houses or they just dug a hole. I slept in an old house a couple of years ago. The stove was not electrical, you had to put logs underneath it and start a fire. And in the bedroom I had to use a fireplace even though it was August, because it was so cold in the house. And one day I wondered why it was so cold and what was that weird square plank under the carpet that I kept stepping on. So I moved the carpet, removed the plank and to my surprise I found something like a cellar or maybe more like a big hole and the cold was coming out of there. So there must be a way for you to make a natural fridge and you won't need electricity for a fridge.

Nice with the squirrel 😂

Great video and beautiful house! I have learned that a small radio next to the toilet is very helpful for covering awkward noises with music.

He looks happy, and I'm happy for him

Your home looks wonderful but I realize how much work you have done to create it.

Interesting. I think of how people in the past lived. When I was young, my Dad did some renovation on our house. Guess what was in the walls for insulation. Cinders. When he opened the wall, they all fell out and what a mess! Windows were single pane, and for the winter, there was an extra window, called a storm window that was attached over the permanent window. It had some holes cut into the bottom of the frame, with a flap over it, so you could get fresh air into the home. Water for everything was heated on the woodstove. And water was hauled from the well. We live so easy nowadays. But I think we might be going back to the old ways. You are ahead of the curve.

This was such a nice video. No bells and whistles no fancy graphics, just a good man talking about his home.

Absolutely love the cold room with nice rustic feeling and lots of natural light

I think making the sofa higher is a good idea. You have more inner storage. I could see even making it higher for that reason and building a step across the front to step up w/ and rest your feet on.

Love all the windows and the sunroom, sitting at the table, enjoying a cup of tea with a book would definitely be the highlight for me. ❤

Your home is so beautiful! And impressive. It is certainly very inspiring. Thank you for sharing.

So having lived in houses in - 34 celcius in Sweden growing up couple of quick tips and some not so quick. 1) Thick draperies/ curtains on all windows and both doors and pulled at least during the dark - you can normally get them second hand among curtains / bed linnen 2) scrap rugs you can either buy them second hand or make them yourself check out youtube - you can put them out in the snow to wash them and just scrub them with a broom that was what you did in the old days cotton good choice at least for the main house) 3) thick wollen socks some for bed some outside of bed. ( again if you feel up to it knit them yourself and poss thick sheep skin slippers, fingerless gloves in wool, and one of those thin merinoull no mulesing tubes which you can use as a scarf or a beanie like thing or wollen soft toque ( no acrylic or polyester stuff and that goes for the rest as well actually cotton thick velvet curtains in the windows or similar thickness also if you can double curtains there are specific rods for that. That gives just like your outsidern an airlock. blankets in wool in front of the two doors. Also with more time wooden shutters in all the places you can - normally you can buy them used from old houses being torn down. There is also a trick which my Granma used to do warm bricks on the stove they retain a LOT of heat if you have a metal shelf under the stove you can put them there afterwards to slowly cool and generate heat. Also not sure if a watertank is an option to install on the wood stove - nerver let it dry out though.

You did such a great job presenting every part of the house and putting it into this video for us! What an incredible way of living nowadays, I envy how close to the nature you are and are basically part of it. Wish you and your dog lots of happy and relaxing moments and funny encounters like with the squirrel! 😄

Thank you for sharing Anders! We bought a piece of property with a house on the edge of town so we appear to be in the forest. The house is 2 story 1152 sq ft but we live in the main level in 576 sq ft of it. We are currently building a small off grid house of 204 sq ft. It will have water catchment, solar, loft for sleeping, living room, and storage, a wood stove for heat, and an outdoor shower and compost toilet. We currently spend under $7000 a year on bills but once we are able to live in the small house it will lower it to about $4000 a year. We currently have chickens but are repurposing a shed to create a mine barn for the chickens and planning on adding some rabbits and goats for dairy meat and eggs. And we are working on improving our garden! We want to live a simple life and enjoy the little things!

Congratulations on such a nice build. I live in 400 sq ft house and I agree storage is very important. I’m over 4 years in my house and I have also learned a lot. You just adjust as you go. 👍

Beautiful thoughtful home..love it and love that you have a small footprint. I just look at all the trees so close and get scared of a bush fire. But perhaps it’s not a worry for you? Here in Australia we have experienced scary fires that, should the wind have changed direction, would have wiped us out. Enjoy your life and enjoy having the strength both mentally and physically to live your dream.

Anders, Keeping the big white water pitcher on top of the heating stove all the time in the winter will lessen the time it needs to be heated on the stove top. The skylight above the bed is something I would really enjoy having. Thanks for posting this video.

Such a wonderful set-up and an admirable way to live.

Consider using sheer curtains in winter, that are set into each window. They must reach/touch the sill or the floor to stop air flow. They help a LOT with regulating temperature.

I'm a 69 yrs young lady from USA....I Admire your intellect, wisdom for your age, perseverance, your ability to have peace with yourself....(and your furry friend❤)...Well done young man...well done 🌞🌠

Love the natural simplicity of your home. I own 2 acres on a river in South Texas. I am in a flood zone so my 3 tiny shed "homes" are raised on blocks. My favorite idea from your video is the ladder on top of the counter. Also you remind me of my original vision for my place was very off grid and rustic. I have been pressured to get electric and now septic and I did get a very expensive well dug on my raw land. The heat and humidity where I live are intense. I have huge old pecan trees and many deer. Thank you for sharing your beautiful place.

Love it! I had a tiny house off grid for 4 1/2 years. It was an amazing experience. I learned a lot about myself and about how to be very conservative with electricity, and like you said charging things when you have sun. I also had solar shading my panels. I had an acre of trees cut to get more sun ☀️. I know live in a truck camper. I look forward to having another tiny house off grid in the future. Thanks for sharing your wonderful home and passing on some lessons. 😃🙏

Thank you Anders ! It's very interesting for my personal project, espacially when you talk with honnesty about your regrets and errors. Simon, Canada

Andy! Thank you for the tour of your charming home! As my friend Nan says, “Don’t fret none!” We all have made mistakes. The important thing is that we learn from them, try not to repeat the mistakes, and instead, do better in the future. All in all, you created something that some people only think about doing. You ought to feel very proud of yourself for having had the courage and strength to have done what you only had once thought about doing.

you are living the dream man

Anders, I’m sure that you have seen those solar panels that cane be moved around on the ground. You can move them to take advantage of the angles of the sun & away from the trees. I hope that you are able to get the bigger battery for your power storage. I love your space & your property. Thanks for sharing all of this with us. Regards from southern Ontario, Canada 🇨🇦

Anders: I admire your commitment in living a sustainable life! It's not easy to do all the chores you listed to keep everything running smoothly! Can you still build a technical closet to heat your water etc.? Just add a ledge at the base of your sofa and get some bigger pillows on your couch to improve your seating! I think having storage rooms saves the day for storing all the extra stuff you acquire! Your entry room that has your table in it really is a good idea!😊 Cheers from Andy&Sandy in the Okanogan,Canada

I have seen black coiled hose at ceiling of greenhouse type room be used for hot water. Thanks for all of your input and ideas!

I have no interest in living in a tiny house, but I really enjoyed your video describing yours and your lifestyle. I love the focus on sustainability and leaving a light footprint during our time here on earth. Positive thoughts your way.

you just turned my dream tiny house into reality! good job! ill keep in mind the sofa size n suckets lol

Great to see a minimalist life. I am from India. THQ brother for your valuable time and sharing.

Thanks for taking us through your lovely rustic and sensible home. That is the life, truly! My takeaway is the use of natural light all around. Green 💚 for that skylight idea! Nice touch.

I love your addition. Perfect mud room during the winter and nice living room the rest of the year.

Well done! Thank you for the critical report. Greetings from Germany

Thank you for sharing your home. Very nice and practical. Love your loft skylight and that you are off grid. I also live in a tiny home in the USA in the mountains of North Carolina. I love it. Mine is 12'x16'. I am on the grid though. Your land looks so nice and private, love your food garden too. Admire you. It's such a freeing feeling to live so close to Nature and minimally. I have family from Ribe and Hillerod. Glad to find your channel.

Congratulations. You made the place a real home 😊 thank you for sharing 🌸

What a beautiful tiny home🎉🎉🎉

I love it. It looks super comfortable and peaceful.

“Doesn’t help when you have a dog like this”….❤ and he hit his face in response…😂😂😂. Most loveable.❤

Kind & thoughtful of you to point out the little things that you now see that you would do differently! ♡♡♡

Thanks for sharing your experience. I have a 8 x16 tiny for me and my 8lb Yorkie poo dog. On own my land and I am very happy. Lots of great ideas. 👍💙

Thankyou for sharing. You have a very cosy home. Ps. Love your dog ❤

right now at my dry cabin, I am looking at adding a deck with an insulated shed for a composter, wash area, storage, extra bed and office. Once completed about 6 feet from main entrance. I will be setting up rain barrels around the camp too for all but my drinking water.

You could use your extra solar power to heat water using 12v elements. I think your tiny house looks great, very unique. Great video.

In Winter, I always have a pot (with lid) full of water on the woodstove. Use a trivet to keep it from boiling. That way there is always hot water for washing dishes, etc.

Love your tiny house & how you have it laid out. So beautiful ! 👍🏻🙋🏼‍♀️🇺🇸

I used to live on a boat that had a very similar feel to your tiny house, with the same chores and insulation issues. But I absolutely loved it there, despite the space being smaller than yours, it felt so cosy and was perfectly right for those two years. My dream would be to one day have a house that gives me a similar feeling, lots of wood and lots of windows, but preferably better insulated 😂

That setting is so beautiful. And the house seems extremely cozy and practicle

Thank you for posting. It was really helpful pointing out the flaws, not many do this and it's a good lesson that we can all learn from - so thank you for that. Wishing you every happiness UK

What a nice tiny home. Love the cold room that you added. Beautiful views🤗

You can use your dear four-legged friend as a companion to sleep together under a woolen blanket. Very eco-friendly, and you have a natural heater.

I also have an outhouse (privy), and I have a suggestion for you. Paint the inside white, and get a bit of greenhouse plastic (like metal siding, except clear plastic) for the roof. Makes it nice and light inside, and easy to clean.

I love your tiny house, and I appreciate your advice based on your experience building one, such as the height of the sofa in a living room, the thickness of the insulation, and so on. Also, your advice about the gas heater pump is very helpful. I subscribed your channel today.

I like your addition, gives you more space to kick back and nice and sunny and able to view the scenery even better

What a beautiful homely home you have made for yourself and your dog, it's so cosy. I love it. I agree with you about the windows, having windows to look out on each wall at the woodlands makes your home feel bigger but it's also magical 👏👏👏 👍😉🇨🇮☘️Eire /Ireland

Thank you for generously sharing your experience. Many elements of your house remind me in a familiar way of living on a (very low-tech)sailing boat. I like the simplicity of your set up - not much to go wrong. Your dog is adorable and so beautiful.

How interesting. The other day i was reading the story of how he decided to live away from the city and left his 9 to 5 job in an office. The article talked about how his mom wasn't to thrilled about his move. He had a masters degree and she was worry about his fanancial challenges ahead of him. However, she later understood his reasons and supported him. Not easy to live the way he is living, but i am kinda jealous of his courage.

It's nice that you don't downplay the difficult sides or design regrets 👍. I often wondered about heating. Because a tiny house is so small, you will always have a large surface to volume ratio, so you would need very thick insulation to stabilize temperature. In our 130 square meter house, we have very thick cellulose insulation, and a heat exchange ventilation system. When I look at your wood pile, I would say that it would be more than enough for a winter for us. We have a 5 kW wood burner as our only heating (except for our body heat and heat from the electric stove we use to cook). Obviously we do not live off grid, and use a LOT more electricity!

Hi Anders, that was a really interrsting video, as usual by the way 👍🏻. That remark on the technical room is really useful for a newbie as me. I’m planning to move to a tiny house and the harddest part - I would say - is to find the right place, the right small piece of land. I just simply love your piece of land. Did it take you a lot to find that place? Could you talk about that in some dedicated video? Keei it gong, you rock it 🙂👍🏻

Thank you for showing us round. A very clear-eyed appraisal of your work so far. So much more restful and believable than hyper-enthusiastic 'tubers. As you said, thicker insulation would be a major improvement. Do you put up curtains in the winter, as people have suggested in the comments? I loved the multifunction kitchen cabinets/stairs up to the sleeping loft. The whole house was beautifully infused with natural light. And the tall, airy sitting area was genius - it appeared so spacious. Glad you have a laid-back 4 legged friend, to share the space! Probably very warming in winter, too.

Tiny house is coming, thank you for your knowledge!

Thanks for sharing, it's a good food for my thoughts. And I love the squirrel story! Blessings 🙏

I very much enjoyed this video . The squirrel story was wonderful .. . Thank you for sharing . 😊

I love your life my dream man..❤😊🙏

What a well built, designed little house. It is cozy and comfortable. You did such a good job. May you be happy.

I covet your house, and the presentation was concise and enjoyable.

5:05 dog: what are you doing in my bed?

What a wonderful little home you have ....

Your tiny House is a dreem. All look cozy and nice. I wish can me live like you. From Tenerife Canary islands Spain 🇪🇦👍🌴 thanks very much amd good luck.

You can swaddle your adorable tiny in a greenhouse !

Such an attractive build and cosy too.

Your house is beautiful and I admire your determination, well done!!!

Like the kitchen/bedroom stairs genius.😊

I love this design and set-up. Well done!

Was good to hear what you have learned through your experience! Will save a lot of folk a lot of time and dissappointments!

Thanking you ever so kindly !!!😊❤😊

Loved this..And others have said the cold room with a table just the best..Blessed beyond measure I think..Kindness your way..Lochness Scottish Highlands..

That is how it is done ! Simple and easy. Not a lot to go wrong. I would do it the same way.

Thanks for sharing! I love the simplicity of your build. I also built my own 17m2 Tiny but I have the opposite problem of keeping heat out as I live in Queensland Australia. I also tried to build lightweight and only have 70mm insulation. I’m not sure it will be enough for the summer heat. We’ll see in a couple of months 😂 take care.

Thanks for the walk through! Love your setup. We have 27m2 (our bedroom is 3mx3m, living area is 6mx3m). I wanted an outdoor toilet from the beginning. I felt so strongly ablutions should be separate. We made a ferrocemment romdavel for our loo. Best decision. Everyone said 'what if you need the toilet in a storm?!'...it's happened once in 2 yrs so 🤷‍♀️ 😅. I also love the windows in your space. Having a window facing every direction was a game changer for us, too. You have made such a lovely home. Living off grid is challenging in some aspectd for sure but it is also fulfilling on a soul level for us. Channels like yours really encourage and inspire. Much love from south africa ❤

Very helpful thank you, as well I love the three season room. The whole house is adorable. I live in Northern Ontario at a cottage. That’s maybe 500 ft.² so not a tiny home but a small home, a very small home in North American standards and I love it.

You have a lovely tiny space set up 😊 I first lived fully off grid in 8sqm, then 20sqm and now in a timber octagon of 29sqm. I also have an outside toilet (with an amazing view) and could not imagine one in a tiny space. My shower is on the yurt deck along with washing machine and plants. Life living small is the best! I’ll never live any other way and I’m sure you won’t either.

It's never too late to build that technical room for your water heater and batteries etc. Build on a small, insulated room edition on the back side of your home. Maybe get some help to build and install. Insulating your floors could help. This might be a little tricky now that you've built your home. Thanks for sharing.

Your house is awesome! Thanks for sharing.

Mandela Tea (from here in South Africa). 😊🎉 Beautiful house and life, including your dog. ❤

Thank you for the video. I’m not going to live in a tiny home and we aren’t thinking of downsizing just yet, but it’s making me re think how much of our homes resources I use and waste. Will be going down the research rabbit hole and actively putting tips into saving energy, consuming less and making the most of our small three bed home in the uk. Many thanks have also subscribed xx

Greetings from New Zealand. I love your hammock chair. It would save you from the head banging, and switches sticking in your back!

Great job with the house and the off-grid living. I started my vegetables garden this summer and became pretty proud with all the produce. It is very satisfying and a great feeling to produce (part of ;)) your own food…

Me pareció una hermosa mini casa ! tiene todo lo necesario para vivir, es justo lo que es y se siente auténtica ! no pretende ser el modelo la "imagen Instagram" perfecta y eso está bien. De la experiencia se aprende, pero dejame decirte que no existe la casa perfecta ;) Por mi parte felicitaciones, saludos desde Tandil Argentina.

Thank you for sharing your home with us. Your willingness to share what you've learned in the building process and actually living there to help others in their tiny house off grid experience is very important and helpful. Best wishes.

What kind of fridge do you have that is silent? I live in 330sq ft and I’ve been trying to find the best options for a quiet fridge - silent would be amazing! An outdoor separate toilet is a great idea too!