Woman Lives Contently In Her 84 Sq.Ft. Home Made From Recycled Products

[DeSwiss]

Woman lives contently in tiny, tiny dream house



OLYMPIA -- Talk about down-sizing! One woman is living in a house that you really have to see to believe. "It's 84 square feet, so roughly the size of a parking spot. Actually, smaller than a parking spot," says Dee Williams, who decided it was time to move. She was living in a 1,500-square foot home in Portland, but decided the house wasn't small enough - yes, small enough!

Dee built the tiny cabin herself out of salvaged material. She picked the door out of a dumpster and retrieved the floors from a house fire. Dee's new tiny home sits in her friend's backyard. "In exchange, I do work on their house," she says. It takes Dee five steps, sometimes four, to get from one end of her house to the other. "Two steps through the kitchen and you're in my living room. Two steps into the living room, you bang into the wall," Dee says, laughing.

Two solar panels provide electricity. A tiny propane tank allows Dee to cook in her $10,000 home on wheels. Do her friends think the 44-year-old hazardous waste inspector is crazy? "My friends definitely thought, well, they had some questions for me!" she says. The obvious question: Why?

The simple answer: "A simpler life, time, more money. I don't have a mortgage. I don't have a big utility bill," Dee says. Her monthly heating bill in the winter is $6, less in the summer. "I'm able to offer money to my family if they need it, (and to) my friends if they need it," says Dee. To get to her bedroom, she walks up a step ladder to her loft.

"Every night I look at the stars and watch it rain over and over again. So this is it. Not much to it," says Dee. And that's the point. Not much to it. Simple. Small. A dream house tinier than a parking spot. "Right now there's nowhere else I want to be!"

http://www.katu.com/news/local/8499817.html

*** - She didn't mention the very best part of having such a small house: no unannounced visits from relatives!!!! YAY!!!

[Blue_Tires]

1. she might be on to something there

[DeSwiss]

15. I'm pretty sure she is....

...I know its got me thinking.

[NMDemDist2]

2. Tiny houses, and the plans to make them, the pics are great!

http://www.tumbleweedhouses.com/

[DeSwiss]

4. Thank you for that link!!!

Those houses remind me of the Katrina houses designed by http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/1002/p01s01-ussc.html">Marianne Cusato, although most of hers I believe are over 300 sq.ft.

At 392 sq.ft., this is my favorite from the Tumbleweed houses! :hi:



on edit: Here's the link to Ms. Cusato's webpage:

http://www.cusatocottages.com/index_content.html

[BlooInBloo]

49. Also must-see: Hobbit home...

http://www.simondale.net/house/

Phew! Been waiting 6 months or so for a suitable opportunity to share that one! lol!

[Terri S]

56. Wow! I want a Hobbit House!

Now THAT is awesome! I wonder if anyone has done anything similar here in the states? Looks like Bilbo would feel right at home there :)

[Richard Steele]

61. You shouldn't have waited- a house that awesome needs -NO- excuse to be posted!

Very cool, BiB- thanks for that link! :thumbsup:

[BlooInBloo]

89. lol! Noted.

[DeSwiss]

75. Whoa Bloo....

...those look absolutely fantastic! Thanks for that link! :D

[blogslut]

97. That structure looks similar to a Yurt

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yurt

[Double T]

3. This woman is brilliant! This is the CONCEPT every American........

should be adopting for their life and lifestyle. Energy conservation, resource conservation, space conservation, material (aka stuff) conservation, purchasing conservation and MONETARY CONSERVATION. Dee is an American hero, role model and human icon!! Dee is the epitome of one of my sig lines: "Live small and prosper".:yourock: :applause: :thumbsup: :toast:

[melody]

5. So much of our lives are lived in redundant space

The earth survives in a violent universe because it is small. That's something
Americans, in the days to come, should keep in mind.

[Maru Kitteh]

6. She's camping in her friend's back yard.

That's lovely right now. I hope it's a satisfying arrangement for them all, but it was smart of her to build the home with wheels.

I admire her commitment to the principles she is living by, and her ingenuity. If she needs use of what we usually think of as a 'real' house, she can avail herself of her friends residence in whose yard she lives.

[DeSwiss]

16. I admire her too!

She came, she saw, and she built it on wheels!!! :D

[Toots]

And where does she crap?

:shrug:

[AnotherDreamWeaver]

60. Toilet is shown in video

http://www.katu.com/news/local/8499817.html?video=YHI&t=a
I think that is the page from the link above that showes a video of TV news on this home.

Great story, thanks for the post DeSwiss.
ADW

[Toots]

46. And where does she crap?

:shrug:

[Greenboy]

52. Like a bear in the woods ?? :-)

Seriously, wouldnt she get cabin fever living in such a small place???

[Double T]

7. Thanks DeSwiss for your great thread, one of the very best for our times!!

K & R!!

[melody]

8. I second that "thank you"

Already K&R'd it, though. lol

[DeSwiss]

14. You're welcome!!!

:hi:

[DeSwiss]

11. I've been working in affordable housing development....

...for almost 27 years. My last project I still manage. A http://hometown.aol.com/johnneca/index.html">housing coop of all things -- in the South. One of three in the state. But our member's are paying the same housing rates they paid in 1997. So, I know a winner when I see one. This woman is doing it right. These small homes could be one of the answers to our many housing problems. But the financing part of system is setup and skewed toward the money. The housing industry and banks set the music.

That's why nonprofit banks and community trusts can do it better than the commercials. Most people don't know that Sunkist, Land O' Lakes, Ocean Spray and many regional labels are all nonprofit coop businesses. In this case, I think $4 grand is doable (which is what some of the house kits cost), for many low-income families and definitely middle income folks like in this article. Now where to put em'? Coop land, maybe?

Thanks for the props! :D

DeSwiss

on edit: correct link

[malaise]

48. Ditto

These houses are beautiful.

[Sen. Walter Sobchak]

9. that shack doesn't appear to be hooked up to any utilities,

and that toilet looks alot like a potty, for me simplicity has never included eschewing indoor plumbing.

[Double T]

10. You could always collect rain water or melt snow then store it.........

for your showers. Looks like the 'outhouse or privy' might have a rebirth.

[Donnachaidh]

12. uhh no -- try to live through a hard winter with an outhouse

Had friends who had NO running water and actually two outhouses. One was sort of in, to be used in the winter. A two seater built into a bench in a room off their porch. This was in Maine.

You'll quickly tire of chopping through ice to get water, and quickly forego any washing other than is absolutely necessary. They had the wood stove, etc., no electric. Using either outhouse facility in 20 below weather was a *delight*, and emptying the inside outhouse in mid-winter was ghastly.

It's all well and good to dream of a utopian back-to-nature lifestyle, but the reality of it quickly loses it's luster.

[Double T]

18. Certainly gives us an appreciation for our ancestor's way of life.

I'll need to look into high tech privies to see if they exist.

[in_cog_ni_to]

41. Here ya go: Envirolet composting toilet....

http://www.envirolet.com/

http://www.envirolet.com/faq.html


http://us.st11.yimg.com/us.st.yimg.com/I/sancor_1956_321587







How often does Envirolet® need to be emptied?

Once a year for vacation/non-permanent type use and 2-3 times a year for residential/permanent or commercial use.




The Science Behind Envirolet®

Envirolet® dispels the myth that all composting toilet systems are "created equal."

Only Envirolet® Composting Toilet Systems are designed and engineered around our unique, patented, Automatic Six-Way Aeration™ and evaporation process.

Automatic Six-Way Aeration Two Fans for Better Air Flow
Only Envirolet® features two fans (others have only one) and an Aeration Basket.

These dual fans, operating in conjunction with natural microbe action, continuously circulate a large volume of air at a high flow rate around a specially shaped Aeration Basket. The Aeration Basket lines the inside of the system and maximizes waste surface area for better efficiency.

Think Small
Our breakthrough technology dramatically improves both waste reduction and recycling by increasing aeration, evaporation and microbe activity. This patented design allows for significant reduction of the System size, while still maximizing System performance.

This superior System makes operation both convenient and simple, and eliminates the tiresome turning of waste required by some "manual drum" toilets.

Independent laboratory tests have proven that Envirolet®, with patented Automatic Six-Way Aeration™, provides over 100% more efficiency than others.

Clean, Sanitary and Odor-Free!
There are no bathroom odors. Our toilet systems feature an easy to clean, sanitary bowl design and trap that easily opens and closes for use. Click here to see the Bowl Trap in action! Waterless systems even have a removable bowl for easier cleaning.

Aeration Basket Operation is Easy
When you install your Envirolet®, you add aerobic microbes using the included Premix Starter Kit and Compost Accelerator (microbes) and periodically, a small amount of garden peat moss. Optionally, you may add additional natural aerobic microbes to provide maximum performance.

Occasionally, the Aerator Bar (with mulcherator) is used to improve composting. Single ply or bio-degradable toilet paper is recommended.

More Than Meets the Eye
Some composting toilets are basically hollow shells. Envirolet® is different. Envirolet® is truly a composting toilet system.

Combine the most advanced composting toilet system available with the longest warranty in the industry and the choice is simple.

[Double T]

59. Thanks for the info in_cog_ni_to. Looks like a great system.......

and I'll look into it further.

[Donnachaidh]

44. no kidding! But there HAS to be some updating

I went to school at the place I spoke of, and while myself and the other students had a chance to go home to electricity, heat AND hot running water, we also watched the owners suffer through some really hard times with their health. It is applaudable to *try* something like this, we also have to be realistic in just how far *back to the land* we really want to go.

The owners were getting on in years, and really had health problems that were aggravated by their lifestyle choices. One needs to be fairly robust to live that sort of life. :shrug:

[Double T]

58. Agreed. These are times when I believe the more self sufficient you can be the better off.........

you're going to be when the whole damn thing falls apart.

[EST]

19. I grew up that way.

Well, actually even worse. Not only did we have no running water, we didn't even have an outhouse.
We lived in the country, of course, and had a lot of woods around. Everybody had their own area they frequented and in deep snow the deed was done with no dawdling but the worst problem was the lack of toilet paper.

Summertime, it wasn't too bad, with leaves and weeds, but a handful of snow or a frozen stick in the winter left something to be desired. Of course, growing up that way, I thought of it as normal and the outhouses we had at the grade school I attended seemed like ostentation and a waste of money.

[senseandsensibility]

51. Wow.

You and your family are made of sturdy stuff. That's interesting to hear that people were living like that fairly recently.

[EST]

91. I'm not sure of the sturdy stuff part.

It's kind of like people who don't smoke or stay skinny because the the opposite doesn't appeal to them and there's no temptation, so giving them credit for resisting temptation and not overeating is more than they deserve.
When you don't know ary better, you just deal with whatever you have. You certainly don't like running outside naked and barefooted in the middle of the night when you have an extreme case of the back door trots, into a blinding snowstorm with a foot of snow on the ground so you can't even squat down.

You just do whatever you have to .

[Chico Man]

62. Thiis is how my wife grew up (in Maine also)

up there in blueberry country.. somewhere outside of Cherryfield.

[DeSwiss]

13. Not all small homes are like hers....

...the Katrina house is 300 sq.ft. and over. And the Tumbleweed homes have all the ameneties, some include an office:

(My fav)

Z.GLASS HOUSE $43,997 or build it on your own for about $16,000 The Z Glass House Is a new design. Details to follow
The cost to build it on your own is an estimated cost of materials. It does not include the costs for: foundation or trailer, plans, permits or other fees.
Specifications: About 392sf, 14'L x 28'W x 10'H
This utilitarian structure represents the confluence of luxury and simplicity. The kitchen, bathroom, bedroom, and storage are relegated to the ends of the structure, leaving the central area wide open. Stainless steel countertops, fireplace, and details contrast nicely with with the pine-ply interior. The exterior is clad in hot-rolled steel (as shown in picture) or corrugated metal.



The ENESTI is designed as a stationary house only, permanently affixed to a foundation. The plans are available for purchase. However, we can not build this house and ship it to you.
Specifications: About 770 sf, 30'L x 16'W x 17'H, 3000 lbs
This somewhat larger structure was created to show that small dwellings can house more than just one or two occupants. The Enesti model shows how as many as four people can comfortably cohabitate in a small home. Beyond the four private sleeping quarters, there's an office, a 120 sf great room, laundry facilities, 1 1/2 bathrooms, a sizeable kitchen and a dining nook. Efficient design keeps it feeling roomy.



XS-HOUSE $34,997 or build it on your own for about $8,000 The XS-HOUSE comes ready-made with a retractile table and vanity, a desk, 100 cubic feet of storage, a cathedral ceiling, a tankless water heater, a shower, toilet, stainless steel counter, refrigerator, sink, a Dickinson stainless steel fireplace, a double burner, and a vented sleeping loft for two. Other features include your choice of cedar or metal siding, knotty pine interior wall finish, fir flooring, 15Rs wall and floor insulation

The cost to build it on your own is an estimated cost of materials. It does not include the costs for: foundation or trailer, plans, permits or other fees.
Specifications: About 75sf, 13'L x 7'W x 11'H, 4000lbs
Because its dimensions are well within the legal limits for travel on U.S. roadways, the XS-House can be taken almost anywhere. The porch and awning fold up for added convenience. The interior features a 100 cubic feet of storage, a cathedral ceiling, water heater, shower, toilet, stainless steel counter, refrigerator, sink, heat stove, a double burner, and a vented sleeping loft for two.

:)

[melody]

17. I had to chuckle at the Enesti -- it's the size of my house now lol

I didn't realize I live in a Tumbleweed-sized House.

Park that thing on a city lot in most of southern California, you could get 300K for it.

[DeSwiss]

20. Enesti is my second fav...

...but i like the ZGlass house. I can already see myself sitting there watching the sunset. Or better still, the ocean. Just roll it right up! :D

And I know what you mean about real estate in LA. There was a post quite a while back showing a cottage for 1/2 a mil. The vermin that came with the building exercise a perpetual right of redemption, so they're free!
:rofl:

[B2G]

43. $35,000 for a 75 SQFT house?

Seriously??

[OzarkDem]

45. Agree, that's too expensive

The web site a one of the links above quotes prices of $125 to $175 per square foot. That's ridiculous.

[DeSwiss]

76. While not all the costs for construction are the same...

...I would disagree with the idea that the price is too high. Remember, no mortgage and you can be significantly if not completely off the grid. The costs for maintaining a conventional home represent anywhere from 35% to 50% of most people's income. So it makes sense if you're not having to spend that kind of money.... IMHO

:)

[IndyOp]

35. Watch the video at the link - she has a gas stove for cooking -

it shows her making tea. She has solar panels for lighting. I was wondering about the toilet myself - she might be on a septic system - that would allow flushing the toilet and drainage from shower. I am willing to live without clothes washer & dryer, but I would be uncomfortable without flushing toilet and shower.

[pop goes the weasel]

21. small is good

I am considering building a small guest cabin in my backyard, mostly so I can have somewhere to live while repairs are done on my already small, but very old, house. The Little House plans from http://www.countryplans.com/ seem to offer everything I could want: small footprint, inexpensive plans, inexpensive to build.

[lynne]

23. I've thought about building one in the back yard, too -

- but for my college age daughter. Once she's out on her own, it would be great as a guest cabin.

[DeSwiss]

30. I've got a 22 year-old living with me....

...that I had the same idea about. He's never heard of "empty nest" syndrone.

And I've never had it. :D

[DeSwiss]

29. Those homes all look very interesting.

Especially the house in the snow scene. It look like me! :)

[pop goes the weasel]

37. like one you have or one you want? n/t

[DeSwiss]

77. One I'd want....

...if I can also have it at that very spot! :D

[OneBlueSky]

22. here's some more resources about small houses . . .

The Small House Society
http://www.resourcesforlife.com/groups/smallhousesociety/index.htm

TinyHouses.net
http://www.tinyhouses.net/

weehouse - little prefab on the prairie
http://www.weehouses.com/projects/weehouse.htm

[DeSwiss]

24. Love these link!

Thanks a lot. :D

[OneBlueSky]

26. you're quite welcome . . . the small house movement has interested me for some time . . .

and I've read a bit here and there about various projects, including available small house kits . . . far more environmentally sound than the mcmansions that keep multiplying all over the place . . .

[OneBlueSky]

25. here's a link to a small house library at amazon.com

Small House Books
http://astore.amazon.com/resourcesforlife/103-4512850-4925405?_encoding=UTF8&node=60

[DeSwiss]

28. Thanks again.

This has given me some ideas for possible synergy with what I'm already doing in housing. :)

[marions ghost]

27. very cool !

of course this works by being free standing in an open location where enough light can get in. If you had an apartment this size in a big building full of them in a city it would not be as appealing most likely. I have seen some small apartments that are well done, but they aren't quite this small.

But certainly this is inspirational. It does make you question why people seem to need those giant McMansions. Can't help but make that comparison.

Creative use of less space is the future in housing design.

[DeSwiss]

31. I was thinking the same thing...

...about those huge homes. I have a friend whose sons are now grown and gone, and his wife died last year. And so now he's kicking around inside about 3500 - 4000 sq.ft. by himself. I think the memories are what still have him held there. I couldn't do it. Ironically, he's a housing development consultant by profession.

[marions ghost]

33. looking into my crystal ball...

I think those McMansions will have to be carved up into apartments or used for multi family dwellings eventually. Nobody will be able to afford that kind of extravagance. They are going to become obsolete all too soon. Right, I can't imagine living in one alone or with only one other person. Unless you had a home business or something it just wouldn't make sense.

We had a friend who bought a McMansion as an "investment." Couldn't even afford to put curtains or blinds on the windows and just wanders around in all that space by himself. It seems kind of a sad and lonely place. Whole rooms go unused (unimaginable to me), but I don't envy him for a minute.

These McMansions have been way oversold.

[tblue37]

32. I wanted a better look at her house, so I

Googled and found better images:
http://www.theolympian.com/news/story/158109.html







VIDEO TOUR of house:
http://www.theolympian.com/multimedia/story/157692.html


Remember Steve Martin's "Get Small" routine? Well, a science fiction writer (I no longer remember which one) wrote a story entitled "Getting Small" in the 1970s or 1980s in which a young married couple decide that to save money, one of them (the husband) will have to "get small"--i.e., make use of newly available technology to shrink to Tomb Thumb size, thus saving enormously on food, living space, etc. But as he experiences being so tiny, he also changes, becoming more philosophical and meditative.

The article I link above indicates that this woman, as a consequence of "getting small," has undergone profound changes, too, in the way she thinks and in the way she feels about everything.

I find these tiny homes charming and daydream about living in one. It triggers my childhood fantasies. But the woman had to give up owning books and start using the library. That would be hard on me. I am a writer and a teacher. I don't know if I could live without having immediate access to my own books, though my daughter made me let go of about 600 of them 2 years ago when she came to visit me and help me get my apartment in order. We donated them to the local public library, which has a "Friends of the Library" sale each year to raise money to supplement its operating budget.

I was traumatized by having to give them up, though I must admit that it did open up a lot of space in my tiny apartment. I won't claim that I haven't bought some more books since then, but I try to keep the impulse under control, and if a book is just one I bought for fun reading, not because it might figure into my research on one or another topic, I go ahead and give it away to a friend who might like to read it, or I release it into the wild" (see “Book Crossing,” at http://bookcrossing.com/) for the serendipitous enjoyment of a perfect stranger—though even that is hard on me.

[DeSwiss]

34. Looking at the clip it seemed very roomie...

....the way she has it planned. Its like having stability and portability all rolled into one. As I said before, I really admire her innovation and courage to try something different.

Everyone seems to be hitting on the same lobes of their brains here, because your point about "getting small" is exactly what it made me consider. Getting one's life down to a manageable size.

We just "accumulate" so much STUFF!!! But living like this requires you to learn how to compact your life -- which means deciding what's truly important to you because there just isn't any room for Just Stuff. There are no endless walk-in closets and no attics or garages in which to squirrel away the pieces of your life.

Because your life is always right in front of you. Within arms reach you might say. But somehow that doesn't scare me as much as the idea of where we'll all be, if we don't learn how...

[Th1onein]

36. I've got a little house like that.

It's called a Titanium RV. It's one of the best RVs you can buy and it cost me $32,000. It's completely sealed so that, while everyone else's water is freezing in the winter, mine is flowing. It's got hardwood floors, and a bed in the couch (one "upstairs," too). Even a tiny bathtub and a shower, a satellite dome for the TVs. It's just big enough for me, and allows me to travel to my work, all over the country, with all of the comforts of home. My heating bill is about $20 a month, and the electricity is about $100 in the summertime. The refrigerator runs on electricity when I'm "in port," and on gas when I'm on the road. Same with the hot water heater, although I can choose to run it on either. I had hookups installed at my house, down near Galveston, so I don't even live in the house anymore. Of course, I don't get home very often, either.

It beats the heck out of staying in hotels, and lugging printers and paperwork around all the time. On the downside, I have to have a big Dodge diesel duelly to pull it around the country. And, when I park it somewhere, so I can work, I have to drive the duelly around town and that gets expensive. Usually, though, I find a place to park it that is close to the client's office, if possible. And, being a workaholic, it's straight to work and straight back home, most of the time. Also, I have to go to the laundromat for my clothes. I don't like that, but I would rather not buy an RV that is bigger, and more costly to heat and cool, and lug around the country, just to have a washer and dryer, so it's worth that inconvenience.

It's an inexpensive, yet luxurious, way to live. Plus, if a storm is coming, I can get out of the way. I think that this might become important, in the days ahead, what with global warming's effects on our weather.

[Buns_of_Fire]

42. That's my dream...

Although I tend more toward the self-contained types (like a small Class C), the principle is much the same. After all, how much space does a person really NEED? I mean, really need. Not much, when you come right down to it...

Most of our lives are spent expanding to fill up whatever available space there is. Subsequently contracting our lives is a conscious effort, but I think worthwhile.

Heck, most of the space in my apartment (and previously, my house) is simply a place to store STUFF that I've accumulated. I figure with some judicious tossing-out and paring-down, 160 square feet or so on wheels is more than enough for me.

And I believe I read somewhere (I'm still trying to find the article) that total resource usage in an RV is actually less than even in a teeny-weeny apartment. (Notwithstanding the petrol that'll be used if you're on the road every day of the year, of course.)

*sigh* I'm working on it. All too slowly, but I'm working on it.

[ikojo]

64. Ever since I watched Trapper John MD when I was a kid

I've wanted to simply live out of an RV. My fantasy would be to work as a temp and drive across the country. Of course I'd have to learn how to drive one of those things!

[Buns_of_Fire]

78. The "Titanic". Of course.

I think that's when the bug bit me in earnest. And now that I'm divorced, the kids are out and married with kids of their own, and I don't have any serious ties to anywhere in the country, the idea has become almost an obsession with me. A week at Burning Man, wintering in Slab City, watching the leaves turn in New England, exploring Route 66, head up the Alaskan Highway and get eaten by a bear... and when I gotta pee between hither and yon, just pull to the side of the road and say "hi" to Ma Nature without running into some prevert/politician in a public rest room somewhere. Work temporarily at either a commercial campground, for free as a volunteer somewhere, or not at all when I don't feel like and can afford not to. Visit my relatives and friends without imposing on their space, just put the key in the ignition and move when I feel less-than-neighborly towards my current neighbors or there's too much of a chill in the air...

Oh, God, it's starting again. I'm getting Happy Feet. Must be the Gypsy in my soul.

[DeSwiss]

67. In looking at these homes...

...and reading the comments here, it occurred to me that this kind of housing is where we sort of started out in this country. Self-sustainability was not an option but a necessity. It seems as though that when everything became part of the grid and when mass-production and the consumer society took hold, that's when it began to come undone.

Which is what John Kenneth Galbreath wrote about in the 60s. He said then it couldn't last, and I know now he was truly a Cassandra warning us of the future. And like Cassandra, no one wanted to believe. And now I look around in my attic and my 2-car garage that has the detritus of my mom and dad's stuff, my daughters and my own junk and realize the best solution is to give away what's useful and throw-away (or recycle) everything else.

Its coming up on my 1-year anniversary here at DU and there have been plenty of threads that have enlightened me, pissed me off or made me consider a point of view that I hadn't. This thread (ironically started by me) has had the biggest impact of all of them. Having worked in the field of trying to provide home ownership opportunities for families for almost 30 years, I wish I had come across these ideas before now. But its never too late to start again.

P.S. - To a fellow workaholic: slow it down. I'm trying to (re)learn how to stop working. And I'm getting better at it. I work primarily from my home and it was hard at first finding a line of separation. But its there and you have to find it. For you own sake....

:)

[Maru Kitteh]

98. Gee. I wish I had THIRTY -TWO THOUSAND DOLLARS to avoid hotel rooms

like the common serfs and yeomans around you. Damn. And yes, I DID read the whole post. Congratulations on your luxury.

[Th1onein]

99. I bought it for several reasons....

One, yes, was to avoid hotel rooms. When you work ALL the time, it's nice to have a little bit of luxury. It wasn't the rooms I was avoiding, it was lugging everything in my car across the country, and then lugging it into the rooms. Forgetting stuff and having to have it overnighted to me, etc. It was difficult living and working like that.

Then, there was the tax break. Because I use it for my business, etc., I get a tax break on it and on the truck used to pull it.

And, by the way, I've spent almost $60 thousand on OTHER PEOPLE in the past year and a half to pull them up out of poverty (and am STILL spending on them). I think I deserve to spend a little over half that much on myself. And, as a former welfare mother who put herself through college, and who has worked for over 18 years to get to the position of partner in my firm, I think I deserve everything I want to spend on myself. Nothing was handed to me. Nothing. I've earned every single dime.

[SoCalDem]

38. Here's a fun site too.. Housing, clothing, etc.

http://www.inhabitat.com/

[eppur_se_muova]

79. Warning: site may crash some browsers. nt

[in_cog_ni_to]

39. My heart's set on buying one of these some day. They're so cute and I could easily live in any one

of them.


http://www.tumbleweedhouses.com/houses.htm











(MY personal favorite!)

[RamboLiberal]

47. I've been looking at these myself

thinking if I get to retirement age and have the finances available I'd love to get some land out in the country and put one of these up. I would like to have plumbing or at least a septic system. With solar power and possibly propane it would be a great way for a single like myself to live.

[in_cog_ni_to]

40. I LOVE her house! It's very cute! It's so cool that she built it entirely from recycled materials!

:thumbsup:

That's how I want to live after my son's off to college and settled in his own life. I just need to find a small plot of land somewhere...and I'll be a happy camper.:)

[malaise]

53. You know we have thousands of these homes

in the Caribbean. It's funny watching people tear them down to mash up the environment



These are from Barbados, but you see them all over the Caribbean. Guess the energy saving part can be brought up to date.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/spl/hi/picture_gallery/07/americas_chattel_houses_of_barbados/html/4.stm

Another link
https://barbadosfreepress.wordpress.com/2006/07/15/barbados-chattel-houses-become-american-fashion-statement/

Sp., add link

[goodgd_yall]

50. I like it

But no storage! Where would I put all the ridiculously useless stuff I've accrued over 20 years?

[DeSwiss]

68. Three words...

Throw. It. Away. (Re-cycle)

I know, it hurts. But after 28 years of marriage and living in a 2100 sq.ft. house for the past 24 years, I see now its the only sane solution. :D

[yella_dawg]

54. HUGE problem.

Where's she keep her books?

[BlooInBloo]

57. She's American. Not a problem.

[yella_dawg]

101. Based on some of the responses to my comment.

I guess you're right.


Sigh...

[DeSwiss]

69. That's the only thing I'm concerned about....

...because THIS American loves his books.

Right now I'd estimate I have close to 3000. A few I inherited from my parents and some are very rare. My mother took me to get my first library card when I was 7.

I can't live without my books.... :D

[chaska]

81. Be creative, already. Put books in plastic lidded tubs and store them under the house....

get a storage building. etc. Where there's a will....

[DeSwiss]

86. Of course!!!

A mobile library. What was I thinking!!! :D

[yella_dawg]

100. You miss my point

My library has a volume greater than this house. And my books absolutely do not reside in tubs or rat-infested storage units.

[Nevernose]

84. An Eastern European once told me:

Since I've been living in America, I've been to probably ten people's houses. And yours is the first one I've seen that has books, and doesn't have a big screen TV and an oversized couch. That's one in ten. And then Americans wonder what's wrong with their children's education.

To be fair, I've since gotten an oversized TV (still a normal couch). I justify the TV with my bad eyesight, but really it's just so I can watch crappy movies really, really big.

Many people still come over and say, "I've never SEEN this many books outside a library before!"

I usually answer, "What if I want to read the same book twice?"

"Twice? Why would you want to do that?"

[Lorien]

92. At the library?

My own home is so filled with books that I've ceased buying them and now order them from the library. They have free home delivery and online renewals.

[goodgd_yall]

93. Good idea

I think its that need to possess something that you deem precious (i.e., the written word) that gets the better of me.

[XemaSab]

102. I only have two small shelves of books.

That I've bought in the last year. :D

[bmbmd]

55. Great idea.

I would prefer a sailboat.

[DeSwiss]

70. Considering where we seem to be headed....

...with global warming, you may have the best idea yet! :D

[Summer93]

63. Great Discussion

I once visited a house that had a propane toilet. All that went into it was incinerated with the push of button - no odor or noise.

I like the idea of changing to a smaller living space when one is by one's self, after children are grown. There is no longer the need of the "stuff" that a family accumulates.

Especially when I look at the amount of maintenance it takes to care for, dust and clean. There are better things I would rather do with my time. It doesn't take a lot of space to read/write a book or blog.

[DeSwiss]

71. Exactly!!!

Although the Missus DeSwiss would most likely disagree. But we're a product of our upbrining and experience. And we've been convinced that we need all this stuff. We don't, but the economy, at least the way its configured -- does. But the idea of coming off the gird has always appealed to me. Now I see a way to do it.

And welcome to DU :hi:

[AnotherDreamWeaver]

65. Back in the early 70's

I had a friend in San Luis Obispo who bought a truck that had been used to transport farm labor workers and he transformed it into his home, complete with back porch and a stage that dropped down on the side. I still have an old oak chair that matched the oak couch he modified and built into his unit. It was like a big camper, he put a large bed above the cab and small closet behind the cab. I saw three small diesel trucks for sale in Sebastopol not long ago that could be modified into travel homes.
Thanks again, ADW

[DeSwiss]

72. You're welcome!!!

You mentioned Sebastopol which is a place I've wanted to visit since I read about it in a novel. Maybe one day....

:hi:

[Cobalt-60]

66. ive got a 500 square foot trailer

and I don't have room to swing a cat!

[DeSwiss]

73. ROFL!!!

:rofl:

Which is a kinda good thing. Unless you want PETA following you wherever you go! I hear they frown on cat-swinging...

:D

[Cobalt-60]

85. its ok, I can't afford a cat

I might have said, "I almost have to turn sideways to fit through the hallway."
But it lacked the classic appeal of cat swinging.

[SoCalDem]

80. Our garage is so filled with "non-cars" you could barely fit a sheet of paper, SIDEWAYS

in that garare..:grr:

or course all I hear from my husband is how I need to throw MY stiff out, when he has a sotrage building and a 2 car garage full of every tool known to humankind..

[DeSwiss]

88. I won't EVEN go there....

...cause me and my wife are in the same boat. Whenever she mentions "we" need to throw something out, I say: "I will if you will."

That usually ends the discusssion. Especially if I'm talking about her shoes....

[SoCalDem]

90. shoes take up less space than TABLESAWS and bin of tools

:evilgrin:

[nam78_two]

74. Neat post-K&R.nt

[chaska]

82. Okay, I've seen too many posts about throwing your stuff away. PLEASE take it to a thrift store...

if you EVER want to get rid of something. Poor people need your junk.

[NNN0LHI]

87. Yea, my wife will go buy the stuff and then when she is not looking I throw it away

Otherwise my house would be full of used stuff.

Don

[chaska]

83. I've seen some pretty amazing gypsy caravans too. Link below.

http://www.gypsycaravancompany.co.uk/

I think a very important consideration to make a small space liveable is to use LOTS of windows.

[goodgd_yall]

94. Cute! n/t

[DeSwiss]

95. I think you mean plenty of windows and curtains...

;)

I liked them too. I'll send this link to the Missus DeSwiss since she said she wanted to do something different for vacation!!! :D

[Catherine Vincent]

96. The Unabomber's shack looked just like that

Except her's is cuter. :)

[Bryn]

103. Cool!

This is so cool! I have bookmarked this thread. I'd love to have something like that. Since I have a big dog and five cats, I will just add something for them. :)