Kim Roquemore Shares Her Tiny Journey

Tiny House Alliance USA Tiny Journey Series

Kim Roquemore shares her tiny journey in the first of the Tiny House Alliance USA series of stories of individuals and families who want to inspire others to live tiny.

In 2020- My Job Was Elimated

My early twenties were spent pushing myself to become the best within my industry. I got the right certifications, earned the right promotions and had an impressive arrangement of alphabet soup behind my business card signature. Up until that moment, much of my identity had been wrapped up in my career. I was good at what I did and I received a healthy paycheck to do it. From the outside looking in, I was a “successful” young professional. On the inside, I was exhausted and empty.

In early 2020, my job was eliminated. I found myself at a crossroads: to continue walking my current path that would inevitably lead to complete burnout or do something different. Different… different is unknown. Different can be scary. I chose different and I’m so glad I did.

I Wanted Simpler: I Wanted Connections

Choosing a different path meant I now had to adjust the way our life functioned to match what I wanted my future to be. I wanted simpler. I wanted connectedness. I wanted richness in what matters most. And when all those things aligned, I realized, I wanted tiny living.

Downsized To A Tiny Home Built By Hawks Tiny Homes

This revelation took my family of three (plus two large dogs) on an adventure of downsizing from a three-bedroom, two-bath house to a custom 425 square foot home in a tiny house community. While working with my fantastic builder, Hawk Tiny Homes, to design my house, I realized more and more that we were building our haven. And I still, to this day, love coming home to it.

We Will Be Debt Free In Two Years

I took a $50,000 pay cut and now pay three times the amount on my school debt. We are on track to be completely debt free in two years. Tiny can lead to financial freedom.

I lost my fancy work title and fully embraced my most important titles of being a mom, wife, friend and daughter. Tiny can lead to clarity of purpose.

I stopped living to work and started working to live. I was, for the first time in years, purposefully present. Tiny can lead to balance.

Happiness Comes In Tiny Packages

It took a large, life-changing event for me to suddenly realize that the future I truly wanted was not wrapped up in titles, careers, large paychecks and large houses. There was no certain level that I needed to reach in life in order to qualify for it. Instead, had I taken a deep breath and removed myself from the chaos that our society normalizes. I embraced the “different” to start living more fully the one precious life we’ve been given. So, I encourage you today, don’t wait to start painting the future you want for your life. Largeness of self, love and happiness sometimes comes in tiny packages.