We Tried "Tiny Living", And This Happened...

Ashlyn Scoggins and Michael Alvarez used to live in their car. Not in the “I’m so poor, I can’t afford rent” sort of way, but the “I don’t need an expensive-ass apartment and a lot of stuff to be fulfilled” sort of way. It’s called tiny living, I’m sure you’ve heard of it, but might not know exactly what it is. The short definition is: it’s kind of like camping every day, but better. 

Michael used to live in a basement, and Ashlyn in a cramped dorm room before they discovered tiny living. Michael is something of a handy man and built his own kitchenette while living in that basement. It was there that he realized he could thrive off the bare necessities, and that he knew he could live tiny. 

“He actually had planned on building his own teardrop trailer from scratch until I came along and ruined his plans,” Ashlyn laughed. 

Michael and Ashlyn with their van.

In between school and work, Ashlyn and Michael blueprinted, gutted and built their own collapsible bed, storage, and a functional kitchen (AKA a gallery) in the backseat of a Honda Odyssey. During winter break in 2018, they packed up the Odyssey and roadtripped to Nashville for a concert. They camped in comfort in their car for over two weeks without having to pay for any hotel rooms. On the way to the concert, they slept in well lit parking lots, campsites, and sometimes even street parking. 

A day in the Odyssey usually included: waking up, fixing the bed into “couch” mode, getting dressed (usually laying down because they’re both over six foot tall), making breakfast, and either hiking at the place they spent the night or driving to their next destination. When they stopped for the night, they usually made a campfire and either watched movies on an iPad or played board or card games. When they needed to shower, they looked for cities with a Planet Fitness or simply wiped down with baby wipes and used a whole lot of dry shampoo. 

cover image via JSTOR Daily