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Small space isolation and self-sufficiency may be new hurdles for most Americans. But for tiny house owners, it's business as usual.

tim and sam tiffany the tiny home
Tim and Sam of Tiffany the Tiny House.
Tiffany The Tiny Home

Many people may be struggling to keep cabin fever at bay, but for tiny house owners, cramped quarters are a walk in the park.

Tim and Sam of Tiffany the Tiny Home, a 270-square-foot house in Florida, told Business Insider that being in their tiny space, which they share with their cat, feels normal. "We haven't gotten cabin fever since this is our home and we oftentimes forget how small we live since it's been three-plus years now," they said.

To give each other room, they utilize different areas in the tiny house. Sam typically works remotely on her computer in the master loft overlooking the home, while Tim usually takes up residence on the couch. 

tim and sam tiffany the tiny house quarantine
Tim and Sam of Tiffany the Tiny House got savvy with storing goods during quarantine.
Courtesy of Tiffany the Tiny House

Living tiny has also prepared them for quarantine stockpiling. Since storage space is hard to come by in a tiny house, they've learned how to maximize every nook and cranny by including DIY shelving, creating built-in shelves, and having organizers everywhere.

This allows them to easily stock up on a couple weeks' worth of food at a time, they said. They repurposed an extra storage space under the stairs, where they typically keep their hurricane emergency stash stuff, to store canned food instead.

Space can still be hard to come by, though. Their kitchen counter is "super full" with goods, and they also "have a huge grocery bag of snacks in the living room that we are not dipping into until we have to, that can be a bit of a tight squeeze in the entryway but luckily it's only temporary," Tim said.

A low cost of living will help tiny house dwellers ride out a recession

Likewise, Ryan Mitchell of The Tiny Life, told Business Insider that the L-shaped kitchen set-up in his 150-square-foot tiny house offers adequate storage to keep stocked with food staples. Mitchell built his tiny house himself, so he was able to design its storage space and function according to his needs.

But tiny house living isn't all about the interior. "With tiny houses, you have a small space but have to extend living space to the outdoors," Mitchell said. With this in mind, he also designed a gravel patio off to the side complete with bistro lighting and chairs. The outdoor living space has proved to be an advantage during social distancing.

But Mitchell's biggest concern isn't that he'll end up climbing the walls by the time quarantine is over. He's more worried that, as someone whose income comes largely from his website and the freelance work he picks up, he'll suffer from some of the economic repercussions of the pandemic.

ryan mitchell
Tiny house owner Ryan Mitchell.
Courtesy of Ryan Mitchell

But, again, tiny house living puts him at an advantage. "We're in for a rough ride," he said. "But I do feel better about my situation because I have a low cost of living."

He spent $30,000 building his tiny house (which includes the cost of solar panels) over two years, and has since saved more than $100,000 over the past five years — a safety net to fall back on during a recession . He also parks his house on 32 acres of North Carolina land that his friend owns, which he keeps an eye on for the friend — "kind of my rent, if you will," he said, adding that his monthly costs for living in his house run about $15 for water and propane.

Not having a mortgage or rent is one of the reasons he went tiny, Mitchell added. The lack of these things "relieves the financial pressure," he said. "It was an intentional choice. Less money going out means more money saved for an emergency fund."

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