Monday, April 2, 2012

What is the Tiny House Movement?

So for those of you who are just now joining us on our journey, I'd like to share a little bit about what a "Tiny home" is and the motivations behind our choice to pursue micro-living.


First of all I should say that we are not doing this because of difficult economic times--we both have great jobs and have been steadily working our way out of debt (student loans and one car payment, no credit cards) by living very frugally and making big payments on debts every month. As we've been doing this, we have begun to adopt a generally more minimalist lifestyle, and have learned that by choosing to live only with what we need, we're not so burdened down by all the "stuff which begins to own us.

We've known about the Tiny Home Movement for a few years, and have always been interested in trying such a step, but we finally made a decision in February of this year to just go for it.


We are building a small home that is less than 200 square feet in size, on the foundation of a utility trailer for mobility.


This is an opportunity for us to take a very large step in the direction of simplifying our life. We want to live in a space that is only what we need, and stop living is spaces where we waste so much energy by heating and cooling spaces that we seldom use.

This is a great choice for us at this time because we are not planning to have children for a few more years, and although we may end up moving in the next few years for Jeff's medical school, putting the home on wheels gives us mobility to continue to be homeowners wherever we are able to tow it.


We are so excited to be on this journey together, pursuing a dream for a sustainable future. 

We are building our home primarily from salvaged (reused) goods, in an effort to show what a classy, well-crafted space you can create without creating new waste for the landfill.


Of course, this is a choice that works for us, and may not be right for everyone. We don't believe that everyone should make this step, only that it is the right step for us to take. We hope you'll join us on the journey as we learn how to build a home together.

MICRO-ACTIONS:
If you're interested in learning more, here is some suggested reading:
www.tinyhouseblog.com
http://www.tumbleweedhouses.com/blog/
www.rowdykittens.com

-M.

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