can you live in a 450.sq ft house for long term survival

Discussion in 'General Survival and Preparedness' started by hank2222, May 3, 2011.


  1. hank2222

    hank2222 Monkey+++

    Ok my place is about 450.sq ft place it was design to be a small two room studio layout style floor plan with a combo liveing room and bedroom and kitchen all in the same area that is the area that is sized at 450.sqft room with the other room is stowage area for long term supplies .. ..


    When i have been asked how can i live in a small place and they say it would drive me up the wall


    So could you live in a small 450 sq ft house for long term liveing
     
  2. RightHand

    RightHand Been There, Done That RIP 4/15/21 Moderator Moderator Emeritus Founding Member

    Heck yes. I prefer small - sufficient to my needs. I have closed off most my house and live in two rooms and a bath. It suits me. Unfortunately, this town will not let you build anything smaller than 1,500 sq ft.
     
    hank2222 likes this.
  3. BTPost

    BTPost Stumpy Old Fart,Deadman Walking, Snow Monkey Moderator

    My Beach Cabin is 16' X 24' Single Room setup... Kitchen, Sitting area, Bed, and WoodStove. Big enough for One... Easy to heat, and keep clean. Has a Propane CookStove, Three-way Refer/Freezer, (120Vac/12Vdc/Propane) and Running Hot & Cold water, via ThermalSyphan Coils in the WoodStove Flue. Electrical is from a 3Kw Air Cooled Onan Diesel fueled Genset, feeding a Trace 2624SB, Modified SineWave, 120Vac Inverter/Charger, with 480 AmpHours of D8 Batteries. This Battery Bank also feeds a 24Vdc In/12 Vdc Out 25Amp Switching Power Supply that Charges a Group 27, 120 AmpHour Battery, for the 12 Vdc Cabin Buss. Lights are 120 Vac CFLs, as well as are the Wall Outlets. The 12 Vdc Buss runs the Comm Gear, Cellphone setup, the Sat Based Tv, and SAT based IP/Internet connection. All the conveniences of "Home"....
     
    Falcon15 and hank2222 like this.
  4. snowbyrd

    snowbyrd Latet anguis in herba

    I live in a cabin 12X14 with a 31' 5th wheel attached. Use the 5th wheel for sleeping and that is just about all. You have a huge place in comparison. Winter is 'cabin fever' time but hey, just get out and do something.
    Oh, been snowed in for a week or better several times, you adjust to small quarters, been here 18-20yrs....
    (with 4 dogs and a wife)
     
    hank2222 likes this.
  5. hank2222

    hank2222 Monkey+++

    When you have a family i can get it the need for multi bedroom home. But single and no childern or wife or girlfriend in the picture why do i need to build a super mansion when i do not need the space.

    the drawing i was showing someone it was a two room set up with one room beeninga one room liveing space with bedroom and liveing and kitchen with a inclosed dry style bathroom with shower and toliet and washer and dryer in the bathroom,

    the part of the drawing was the stowage space for the long term supplies that a person would need ..

    The unit is 45.ft long-x-14.ft wide-x-11.ft tall it more o a shotgun style house

    the liveing area is up front and it 14.ft wide-x-11.ft tall-x-20.ft long -x-

    the stowage area is 25.ft long-x-14.ft wide-x-11.ft tall with it bult in U shaped shelfs system to hold the supplies

    i got to get better 3D drawing software to make a really good drawing out of the hand drawing on the unit
     
  6. Seacowboys

    Seacowboys Senior Member Founding Member

    I have lived on boats or my shanty-boat (400 ft2) for more years than I care to admit. Our shantyboat did have a sleeping loft and a fairly large deck area to fish and party from. Small is effecient; it doesn't take long to learn how much stuff you actually don't need.
     
    hank2222 likes this.
  7. Falcon15

    Falcon15 Falco Peregrinus

    Is it fer rent? [beer]
     
    hank2222 likes this.
  8. Gray Wolf

    Gray Wolf Monkey+++

    We lived in a 5th wheel RV for 12 years, 256 Square feet. You learn to ditch the non-essentials in a hurry!
     
    hank2222 likes this.
  9. BTPost

    BTPost Stumpy Old Fart,Deadman Walking, Snow Monkey Moderator

    Nope, but it is available for any Monkeys that want to stop by for a visit.....

    ......
     
    Falcon15 and hank2222 like this.
  10. samintn

    samintn Monkey+

    we are pretty resiliant as a people, I think we could live anywhere just about. We may not like it to well, but we could probly do it..
     
    hank2222 likes this.
  11. gunbartender

    gunbartender Monkey+++

    i had an apartment in DC that was 460sqft and loved it.
    single, yes wife and two kids, no way.
     
    hank2222 likes this.
  12. Gafarmboy

    Gafarmboy Monkey+++

    Per square foot

    We, family of 4 or sometimes five, live in less that 1000 square feet. It is not the size of the house that matters, but how effective you are at organizing your stuff. With 2 sometimes 3 kids, we have a lot of stuff. Not to mention preps. But then again we have work barns, stables, tack rooms, hay barns,etc. Typical 1920's Georgia farm lay out..

    Would not trade it for the world...
    Gafarmboy

    If you can not protect what you own, you won't own it long
     
    hank2222 likes this.
  13. Yoldering

    Yoldering Monkey+++

    Before I got married I lived in a 400sf garage apartment for about 7 years. You just have to be really careful about what you bring into your house. Also, clean often!
     
    hank2222 likes this.
  14. ghrit

    ghrit Bad company Administrator Founding Member

    Living alone, I've gotten by with less than 400 (more like 200 with some basement storage and kitchen privileges) but that was before the prep mindset got a really good start. Even living alone, storage is a greater space eater than living space.

    Would NOT want to repeat those days. BO was the only option, and having a place to go was problematic at best.

    Can it be done in 450 sq ft? Sure.
     
    hank2222 likes this.
  15. chelloveck

    chelloveck Diabolus Causidicus

    The Micro Lifestyle

    Hi Hank,

    Living in a 400sqft abode is definitely doable, and there are plenty of ways of making the best use of the space available.

    Space may limit some activities, and for some, it is a significant psychological limitation. However, if your abode is mainly for eating, sleeping and other basic body functions, and much of your life is spent outside of the apartment, then small will work well for most.

    Henry Thoreau spent a year or so in a small cabin in Walden, and lived to recount his experiences living there.

    Small home living does require some discipline (keeping goods and chattels to a minimum), requires a commitment to regular house keeping, and a degree of ruthlessness, to toss out junk. Unless you are keen on Goldfish...or perhaps a canary, small spaces are not conducive to large livestock, like Great Danes. A Micro apartment may not be much of a chick magnet, unless your dates are the kind of gals that like working out Rubic's Cube puzzles ; )

    Small spaces are probably less friendly to long term live-in relationships, where distance may be a necessity at times, particularly when relationships are a bit stressed.

    Hope this helps,

    Cheers from Chelloveck

    http://smallspaceliving.blogspot.com/
    <?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:eek:ffice:eek:ffice" />
    http://myso-calledjapaneselife.blogspot.com/2007/02/20-tips-for-living-in-small-spaces.html

    http://www.backwoodshome.com/articles2/wolfe92.html

    http://inhabitat.com/small-space-living-tiny-house-trend-grows-bigger/

    http://www.wisebread.com/small-space-survival-strategies

    http://www.treehugger.com/files/2007/10/20_tips_for_liv.php

    http://www.bachelorsdegree.org/2011/01/31/dorm-days-50-best-blogs-for-fabulous-small-space-living/
     
    hank2222 likes this.
  16. Byte

    Byte Monkey+++

    I lived in a basement under the stairs for a year during college. The stairway leading up had 3 turns in is. The first was after 4 steps and the second, another 9 stairs. My roll-away was right under the middle section. When I lay down flat on my back with my toes pointed straight up they would hit the sloping wall below the stairs themselves. I had 3 feet from the edge of my bed to the wall. A very small 4 drawer dresser was pushed into the back corner. The room was about 6'x6'. 36sqft. No closet and no garage/storage space. I had use of the kitchen and one 2'x4'x2' cupboard for my dishes and spices as well as the bottom shelf in the refrigerator. And all for the low low price of $90/mth.

    Currently, I live in a small 900sqft house that I share with one other person. I'd almost prefer to live under the stairs again...

    Byte
     
    hank2222 likes this.
  17. Dubs Chops

    Dubs Chops Monkey+

    I could,

    But I do not think with my wife and a 3 year old It would be a good option unless it was a necessity.
     
    hank2222 likes this.
  18. ylisa7

    ylisa7 Monkey+

    I could...but I might need more space for stocking up, lol.

    My DH and I traveled the country in a motorhome with our pug for 3 1/2 years. We had no problems...then again we didn't have a lot of "stuff".

    Now we have a home that we built and boy we have accumulated a lot of stuff in the past 3 years.

    Life was easier when we were traveling...but our life is safer today. BTW, our house is about 1100 sq. ft and we don't need most of it.
     
    hank2222 likes this.
  19. dragonfly

    dragonfly Monkey+++

    I spent some 2 years in a camper on the back my pickup, with a wife and baby!
    It was not as hard as we thought at first!
    Now recently, I have spent a lot of time in a travel trailer that's only 7 feet wall to wall wide, by 18 feet in length.... 126 sq. ft., not necessarily all floor space, but much bigger than the camper!
    It can be done...!
     
    hank2222 likes this.
  20. Witch Doctor 01

    Witch Doctor 01 Mojo Maker

    Do stints living in tents and conexes count?:oops:
     
    BTPost and hank2222 like this.
survivalmonkey SSL seal        survivalmonkey.com warrant canary
17282WuJHksJ9798f34razfKbPATqTq9E7