From renting out an apartment in the middle of a busy city to living in a serene, dreamy trailer, one family of four jumped from one extreme to the other with no regrets.

Fatima and Croyden Wheeler have never been more elated as they fully embraced a minimalist lifestyle with their two children, two-year-old Zephyr and nine-month-old Zola. The big change was kickstarted when they moved into a tiny house on wheels back in August 2020, parked in a secluded area on the Gold Coast.

“We don’t own our land so we lease the land,” Fatima says. “We found the land after we put flyers that we made up in people’s mailboxes.”

“We just put in a family-of-three, at the time, looking to lease land, and we had a photo of our family. We got one phone call from a guy and we went to check out the property and that’s the property where we are now.”

The couple initially rented a two-bedroom apartment which cost them $550 a week. That is until they saved up enough money to buy their first family home – measuring just 7.2 metres long, 2.4 metres wide and 4.3 metres high.

They opted to downsize for a “more simpler life” away from their restless work schedules.


“We had very stressful, busy lives as we owned two fitness studios on the Gold Coast,” Fatima explained. “As you can imagine, it was quite stressful with a little baby at the time and we didn’t have much time for each other.”

When COVID came into the picture, the couple was forced to permanently shut their business down in May 2020. Then, they moved on to becoming first-time homeowners.

“We decided going ‘tiny’ would be something we would like to do,” Fatima said. “Now, here we are living in the most gorgeous spot in the middle of nature in an area where we have been dreaming of living for years.”


Their tiny house boasts a living area with a built-in sofa bed, a kitchen with a pull-out pantry, a bathroom complete with a shower, toilet, and vanity, their very own washing machine, and a storage-designed stairway that leads up to two loft bedrooms. Not too shabby, eh?

The nifty space, which cost the couple around $125,000, only took three months to build. It’s mounted on a tri-axle trailer so it can be easily relocated from one area to another.

To add to that, the house is also astonishingly self-sufficient. It’s equipped with a well-appointed laundry, shower, composting toilet, rainwater storage, and grey water systems.

But the real showstopper is the kitchen. Featuring a 2.7-metre benchtop with two stove burners and full-sized appliances including a fridge, oven, and microwave.



The couple revealed that they adore the “unique” features of the property – including the big fold-out window in their kitchen that brings the outside in.

“The upstairs loft is very unique and we have both rooms connected through the crawlway or the walkway with the netting, which is the coolest part,” Croyden says.

“When the kids wake up, they crawl into our bedroom with us - that’s pretty cool. Another cool feature that we love is the pull-out pantry.”

The couple came to the realisation that there was more to life after putting a halt to their business.

“We just didn’t want to be away from our son with both parents working,” Croyden said.

“We wanted to be more present, with Fatima being the full-time mum and me just working part-time. So that’s why we decided to make it work – by having a tiny home without having to pay high rent.”

“We didn’t want to work 40 or 50 plus hours just to pay rent.”

Fatima and Croyden were able to acquire their home through savings and superannuation.

“We also had a small loan that we paid off within two months,” Fatima says.

And now, they are thriving in their minimalist lifestyle, debt-free.


“We’ve never had a mortgage so we don’t know what it’s like having hundreds of thousands of dollars owing to the bank with interest on top,” Croyden says. “Living in a tiny home is a huge help. We don’t have to think in regards to paying it off - it’s really cool.”

The switch gave the family an opportunity to keep the number of belongings they have to a minimum.

“We had accumulated so much stuff that were just sitting there in empty space, not being used. So we just wanted to release all that energy and start afresh, being minimalistic,” Croyden shared.

“We had an infrared sauna, TVs, couches, desks... things that we don’t really need.”


But even with the limited amount of items, the couple insisted that living in the tiny house came with multiple benefits.

“The space is a lot smaller so we don’t have to spend too much time cleaning,” the dad detailed.

“It’s a lot more intimate too. We’re more connected as a family rather than being spread out in different rooms and spaces.”

And aside from these, they also have an option to relocate wherever and whenever they please.


“So if we decide this area isn’t for us, we can pack up and find another location around Australia to live our lives,” Croyden continued.

However, they also acknowledged a few downsides of living in a trailer.

“The only challenges we’ve had over the past six months were the rainy days. It was our biggest challenge, especially with two children, a small space, and trying to find something to keep them entertained.”

If you’re curious about the nuts and bolts of the home’s plumbing system, Croyden briefly detailed how their composting toilet works on their Youtube Channel. And yes, it’s definitely unlike the toilets we’re accustomed to.

“Our composting toilet has a switch at the top for the fan so it makes [the room] not smell,” Croyden explained. “It blows all the smell outside so you don’t smell anything.”

“For the guys out there, you do not stand to pee in it. You have to sit down and pee so that was a little bit to get used to at the start,” he said in fits of laughter.



Their toilet is split into two sections, one for urinating and the other is where all the waste is stored to go through the composting process.

“The urinal goes down into a pipe into our sewage system,” Croyden says. “But then your number twos, as you sit down on the seat, the composting bin opens up and that’s where your number twos go.”

When the composting bin needs to be emptied, Croyden said that he simply lifts a compartment of the toilet up to remove the bag.

“That’s basically it, pretty simple! So obviously no flushing whatsoever,” he added.


Fatima encourages anyone dreaming of living in a tiny home to just embrace the concept and lifestyle.

“For all those thinking of going ‘tiny’, it is very achievable,” she said. “We only made our decision in May 2020 and here we are.”

“Remember, if you can dream it you can do it.”

Have you ever considered living in a tiny house like Fatima and Croyden? Share your thoughts with us in the comments!

Want to see more of the family’s tiny house? Watch the video below: