Spending an afternoon clicking through the likes of Property24 and other similar sites is often an exercise in futility.

Sure, you find the home you want, but then there are far too many zeroes attached to the price and you rage close the tabs and return to pretending to work.

That’s not a uniquely South African problem by any stretch of the imagination, and across the pond in the likes of Europe and the US, more and more people are embracing what has been dubbed the ‘tiny house’ movement.

According to Tiny Home Builders, here’s what the movement entails:

The Tiny House Movement is an architectural and social movement that encourages living a simpler life in a smaller space. People from all walks of life have determined that a large home, and more specifically, the large cost of living that comes with it, is both unnecessary and a detriment to their happiness. These people have turned to tiny house living to reduce the financial and emotional burden of STUFF.

If you’ve moved home recently, you’ve probably realised just how much STUFF you have, and how much of it you can do without.

A good storage unit can lighten the load and declutter a home, but the tiny house movement is about more than decluttering.

Having taken off abroad, the movement has now made its way to South Africa, and there was plenty of buzz last year.

The Daily Maverick covered it, saying it provided “the opportunity to explore and live closely with nature”, Cape Town Etc covered it, saying it was “taking South Africa by storm”, and so too did Business Day:

In SA, design duo Dokter and Misses, along with architect Clara da Cruz Almeida, created a tiny house in 2014, called the POD-iDladla [pictured below]…

“I prefer the term micro-or nanoliving,” says Da Cruz Almeida. “The concept is not about how much space you have, it’s about simplicity and mobility. A simpler life will allow you to concentrate on what matters: the experience of living. The house takes five minutes to clean, and even the daily task of cooking involves less effort and time because everything can be reached while you are standing on the same spot.

“And if you move, to another city or just from Soweto to Blairgowrie in Johannesburg, you just move the house with you, which saves you the time you would otherwise spend on house hunting.”

That’s because many of the homes are built on wheels, or trailers, so you simply tack it onto a car and you’re off.

Local company Wanderlust Co. offers three different designs, with the cheapest option, The J Bay, starting from R350 000.

Here’s a peek inside:

Obviously, you’re going to need to be ruthless with what you consider important because storage space in tiny homes is at a premium.

Some things are easier to turf out than others – goodbye, horrendous lampshade I’ve been hoarding for years for no apparent reason – but I guess there’s also the option to find separate storage for stuff you’re not quite ready to say goodbye to.

You’re going to be saving money on a number of fronts, so pop the rest in a storage unit at Stor-Age and you can have the best of both worlds.

There’s also the added bonus of scoring 50% off your first month if you sign up through 2oceansvibe – you’re welcome.

May your tiny home bring you an enormous amount of happiness.

[soources:tinyhomebuilders&businessday]