Sometimes we need to have fun and think outside the box when it comes to how we live.
There is a movement in the United States, and throughout the world, called “Tiny Houses.” These eco-friendly houses can be for one or two people or more.
As I learn about tiny houses, I am reminded that I can live with a lot less than I have assumed is necessary. It has sent me back to my closet to de-clutter once again.
On CBS News, Jay Shafer of the Tumbleweed Tiny House Company gives us a tour of his 96-square-foot home.
Additional resources and ideas about tiny houses can be found at:
- How to Start Living in a Tiny House
- Small House Society
- Tiny House Living Weekly Newsletter
- Tiny House Blog
- Design Boom Contemporary Tiny Houses
YouTube’s videos on Tiny Houses can entertain you for hours if you are interested.
But seriously, let us think together. What if we didn’t spend most of our income on our houses and cars, how much more of a difference could we make in the world? I know it’s a crazy way of thinking.
So tell me, what do tiny houses get you thinking about in your life?
That looks a lot like the home my brother-in-law and his wife started with over 15 years ago. It was a 10×10 cabin that was meant to be a retreat for Patrick, but the two of them ended up living in it for several years. They moved it to a bigger lot a few years ago and built onto it.
Here’s more about them: http://www.zafu.net/lovingsmallspace.html
http://www.zafu.net/lovingpart2.html
Are you familiar with Phoenix Commotion, builders in TX?
They build houses out of unusual materials and things they salvage. They are on FB. Have a look.
http://www.phoenixcommotion.com/
I lived in a 10×12 log cabin in Alaska for a few years after college (no indoor plumbing or running water) and these remind me a lot of that – but with a bathroom inside! I really loved my sleeping loft, which just had room for my bed and a few baskets of clothes.
Nowadays I have a 1200 sq. foot house with a master bedroom as big as my old cabin, and it’s nowhere near as cozy. The idea of the tiny house is appealing, but one of my great joys of living in my small but not tiny house is that I have a space to spread out all my craft projects and I don’t have to pack them away when I want to eat dinner.
Ellen thanks for sharing your experience, wow, a 10 X 12 log cabin in Alaska! I am so impressed with your no indoor plumbing and running water. Glad you love your craft projects now and have room for them.
Claudia, thanks for the heads up on Phoenix Commotion in Texas, what a creative and compassionate work!
Cherie, I loved reading about your brother-in-laws small living space. This is an example of someone who has really gone for it!