A single mum has revealed why she gave up her corporate job and a six-figure salary to move into a tiny house with her three young children – and she has no regrets about completely changing her life.
Tasha Garcia, 41, from Wellington, had just come out of a breakup with her ex-husband when she decided she wanted to alter how she was living in a dramatic way.
‘I was working as an IT Project Manager at the time, doing 80-hour weeks and feeling exhausted all the time,’ Tasha told FEMAIL.
‘When we split, I found myself thinking, is this how I want to live? And do I want to be tied to a huge mortgage and my stressful job forever or do I want to do something different and spend more time with my kids?’
A single mum has revealed why she gave up her corporate job and a six-figure salary to move into a tiny house with her three young children (pictured: her home)
Tasha Garcia (pictured with one of her kids), 41, from Wellington, had just come out of a breakup with her ex-husband when she decided she wanted to alter how she was living in a dramatic way
She decided she no longer wanted to work 80 hours a week in order to pay off a mortgage and so bought a $122,000 tiny house (pictured)
Tasha (pictured) wanted to see if tiny house living was viable for a family
The 41-year-old’s heart won over her head, and so Tasha started looking around online for an alternative living and working solution for herself and her three children.
After browsing Instagram, the mum-of-three said she stumbled upon Build Tiny, a company that specialises in slightly larger tiny houses, designed for families and multiple occupants.
‘I wanted to see whether our family could get used to and love living with less,’ she said.
Spending just NZ $130,000 (AUD $122,000) on her 8 x 2.4 metre unit, she said she moved it onto a friend’s expansive land in a hillside suburb of Wellington.
‘We moved in in April this year and I’ve dropped down to 20 hours of work a week for parliament,’ Tasha said.
‘I took a pay cut of around NZ $20,000 (AUD $18,800) per month, which took a little bit of getting used to.
‘But living in our tiny house has only brought us joy.’
The Garcia family’s tiny house features a kitchen, bathroom, living space and two sleeping lofts upstairs.
Tasha co-sleeps with her six-year-old daughter Olive in one of the lofts, while the other children, Alfie, 10, and Esme, 8, sleep in the other ‘loft’ bedroom.
The Garcia family’s tiny house features a kitchen, bathroom, living space and two sleeping lofts upstairs (pictured: the kitchen area)
‘The tiny house is off grid and powered by solar,’ Tasha said.
‘We’ve had to get used to the fact that we can’t just stick a whole pile of washing on if it’s a cloudy day as we need the power.’
The solar panels provide most of Tasha’s power, but she does have a back-up generator and gas bottles.
Tasha co-sleeps with her six-year-old daughter Olive in one of the lofts, while the other children, Alfie, 10, and Esme, 8, sleep in the other ‘loft’ bedroom (pictured: one of her kids in the house)
The house is off grid (pictured) and powered by solar. The solar panels provide most of Tasha’s power, but she does have a back-up generator and gas bottles
But Tasha said other than this, most things have been surprisingly easy to get used to.
‘Weirdly, when the kids fight, they actually find it easier to find little nooks to go off into to get space than they did when we had a big house,’ she said.
‘It’s also easier for them to help clean up, as the space is more manageable and so they don’t think it’s such a big chore.’
The mum-of-three said the kids (two pictured) actually much prefer living in a tiny house, as it’s easier for them to help around the house and they are more respectful of space than they were before
‘I wanted it to be a space where we could all come and truly get away from the world, and it really has become that. I found it liberating to get rid of loads of stuff,’ Tasha said (pictured: inside the house)
While she does have a storage unit where she keeps some of the kids’ items, she said she is leaving them for when they get older so they can decide whether they want to keep them or not
Nowadays, Tasha said she is able to spend much more time with her children, and she’s happier and healthier than ever.
‘The kids say they feel safe in the house – which we’ve called “La Sombra” or “Shelter”,’ she said.
‘I wanted it to be a space where we could all come and truly get away from the world, and it really has become that. I found it liberating to get rid of loads of stuff.
‘I will admit we do have a storage unit, where I keep some of the kids’ items they no longer use. I want to let them get a bit older so they can decide whether they want to keep christening gowns and things.’
Tasha said she would recommend unconventional living and tiny houses to any family, but it does take some getting used to (pictured: the exterior of their home)
She said that tiny house living is 90 per cent attitude and being positive about living with less
Tasha said she would recommend unconventional living and tiny houses to any family.
‘If you’re the sort of person who can happily live with less stuff, then it’s perfect for you. But it will take some adjusting psychologically,’ she said.
‘But 90 per cent of it is attitude. If you’re willing to accept that you won’t have as much space and stuff, then it is a viable option for families.’
For more information about Build Tiny, visit the website here.