Have you ever noticed that tiny house trash cans are considerably smaller than the ones we use in traditional homes?
Small spaces naturally help us reduce our consumption, but while your tiny house will do some of the heavy lifting, (like by encouraging you to use a smaller trash can, for instance!) you will
also have to do your part to keep waste in check.
Do you worry about smelly garbage in a tiny home?
Don’t worry. This tiny house blog post will teach you how tiny home dwellers manage waste without having awful smells or taking out the garbage every ten seconds.
Here’s everything you need to know about dealing with trash in a tiny house!
In a traditional home, the average size kitchen trash can is about fifty liters (or thirteen gallons for our American friends).
In a tiny home, however, the trash can is more like twenty liters (or five gallons)!
Not only will your tiny house kitchen bin be less than half the size, but you’ll also likely have fewer trash receptacles in your home than you’re used to. This means you’ll have to manage waste differently.
Fortunately, the tiny home dwellers who’ve gone before you have thought this one through. Here’s how they keep garbage in check!
Reducing consumption is the name of the game when it comes to the Tiny House Lifestyle.
Don’t want to take out the trash every ten seconds? Then don’t! (But you will have to create less garbage.)
Here are a few habits you can practice to reduce consumption and prepare you for life in a tiny house. Remember, your tiny house will naturally guide you to do the things below, so you won’t be on your own out there!
If you plan to live in a tiny house, you’ll want to start making a mental note of each time you pull out your credit card, come home with more items than you left the house with, and receive gifts.
One of our clients estimates that approximately four items a day attempt to make their way into her tiny house.
Receipts, hummus, a candle I got as a gift, a pen from the dentist’s office… it all adds up, she tells us.
Noticing our consumer habits is important because most things that come into our lives have some level of waste associated with them.
In the example above, the receipt itself might be considered waste. Eventually, the plastic film and container for the hummus will be too. The pen will someday die, and unless we’re in the
habit of reusing jars to make our own candles, the waxy candle pot will also end up in our tiny trash can.
We’ll give tips for actually reducing consumption in a minute, but step one is to notice every time you bring things with an element of waste into your life.
Do you dream of an idyllic lifestyle where you shop at farmer’s markets, bulk food stores, and your neighbourhood egg stand?
If so, we have good news! Once you become a tiny home dweller, these things will actually be easier than shopping online and buying individually wrapped things at grocery stores.
Why? Because shopping online and at traditional stores comes with a lot of packaging, and guess what?
Nothing will fill up your tiny house trashcan faster than packing peanuts!
So if you want to do yourself a favor, buy local so you can reduce waste.
Coincidently, this practice of rethinking how you shop will also lower carbon emissions, strengthen local commerce, and help you build relationships with your neighbours! It’s also more fun.
#TinyHouseWins
Just because you live in a tiny house, doesn’t mean you’ll stop being tempted to make purchases.
Malls, thrift stores, and our favorite online retailers are all rife with inspiration.
But wait!
Once you become a tiny home owner, you’ll want to consider each purchase more carefully. Is the item you want to buy truly in alignment with the life you are crafting?
Remember, each purchase likely has waste associated with it. Even the thing itself will (probably) someday become garbage, so you’ll want to think carefully before taking responsibility for a new item.
Keeping trash under control in a tiny house is so much easier when we’re only managing waste from things we truly love!
In addition to volume, there is one other thing we need to talk about regarding tiny house trash, and that’s smells!
Smells come largely from food scraps, so if you like to cook and plan to live tiny, here’s a tip that will make your life easier:
You need to get yourself a freezer box.
The freezer box is a very simple concept. Simply line a small plastic bin with a compostable bag, throw food scraps into it, and store the bin in your freezer.
Use your regular garbage for things like used paper towels, tissues, or packaging and your freezer box for things like coffee grounds, eggshells, and banana peels.
This practice of sorting your wet and dry trash will keep smells at bay and substantially reduce how often you have to empty your bin.
Using the habits above will shape your tiny house lifestyle in a way that drastically reduces the amount of garbage you create.
So, if you were worried that trash was going to take over your tiny home, don’t be. With a little practice, you’ll see that staying on top of trash in a tiny house is (dare we say it?) easy.
Are you tired of emptying the gigantic smelly garbage bin in your regular-sized home? If so, it might be time to go tiny!
Our team is standing by to help you make the transition, so just click here to book your free tiny home consultation.
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