Just picked up this story from CNet on the PowerPod, and ecologically friendly tiny house aimed at the high-end minimialist client. With a pricetag of $100,000.00, it’s not economical for many folks, but I must say I like some of the features, in particular the roof line and the passive/active solar options.
Be sure to look at all the photos (inside and out) when you read the story.
This weekend, in addition to digging a hole (for one side of the new gate that I’m putting in — in the rockiest, most root-infested earth known to man), I also cleaned the construction supplies off the front porch and made the place much more pleasant.
This photo of Alex sitting on the porch swing on the farm was taken with my iPhone. Not bad, eh? Click to see the full-sized image.
It was a beautiful, albeit hot as the blazes this weekend. The swing is now the right height and has springs at the top for a comfortable rest and relaxation period (if you can bear the heat).
Early mornings and late evening is the best time to enjoy the porch. (more…)
I’m loving this recent Inman post from Todd Carpenter of Lenderama on the new interest in using large metal shipping containers as the basis for a new type of housing. (more…)
I’ve moved into a larger space now, but I’m still enamored with small spaces, and will be moving into a tiny house when I return to the farm. So, I’m still watching and collecting the coolest ways to make the most of small spaces for storage and a clutter free existence.
Here are a few of the ideas I’ve collected from the web, from friends and family and from my own experience: (more…)
The latest issue of Wired Magazine (my favorite subscription) featured a new take on small spaces with high-tech features and micro-design. It was too cool not to share with those of you who love a good tiny house as much as I do.
The online version offers a slide show (not offered in my printed version) that brings the tiny space to life. My son is salivating for this little boxy creation to put on the farm, overlooking the “big creek” as his own little bachelor pad. (more…)
Hot Spot #2 for simplification (a process that has amplified importance in a tiny house) is the kitchen.
The kitchen is a minefield for complication in your life. There are gadgets for every imaginable use. Only you can determine which of these are actually essential. But, beware — this is an area where gadget lovers face their biggest demons and where “coolness” factors can often outweigh usefulness realities.
Some areas are tougher than others when you begin your journey to a simpler existence. These areas of your home will stop your efforts dead, if you are not both diligent and careful.
I offer the following tips for these areas to help you push through the hard spots. The first (and the top offender) in the “collections and stuff I don’t really need” category is the closet.
I found an article today about the tiny houses being built by Lowes for the needs of Katrina survivors. These minuscule dwellings offer all the basics and nothing extravagant. These and other homes like them are, IMHO, the wave of the future.
I’ve watched and dreamed about the designs of the Tumbleweed Tiny House Company for several years now, myself. I even developed the floor plan for my own house based, in great part, on the desire to keep the footprint small and the utility high in my home.
If you have decided that you want to begin on the path of voluntary simplicity, but you aren’t sure exactly how to start, let me offer a few tips. Remember that traveling the early portion of this path is not easy. Getting on the path in the first place is usually not “simple” either — but the long-term benefits can not be overstated.
A wise man once said (paraphrased) that, In life, we push our belongings in front of us. If you are tired of pushing, if your arms are weary, if your stamina is dipping… it may be time to lighten your load.
So you have decided to go smaller. Depending on your age, you have probably shocked your parents or your children (or if you are a true rebel — maybe both generations in one dramatic swoop!)
Now that you have committed yourself to more sustainable living and a more enjoyable existence with less worry, less responsibility and less “stuff” — you want to determine how to scale back comfortably and fit your desired lifestyle into a tiny home. I have a few tips that may help ease your transition and create a living space that you simply adore!
Smaller does not mean less interesting, it usually means just the opposite. You will get more impact with fewer furnishings and your personal style will shine through. Your tiny house should fit your life while keeping you safe, happy, organized and unfettered. It should be designed to tremendously reduce the time, energy and money required to repair, maintain, clean and finance your living quarters so you can spend more of your personal resources enjoying your life. (more…)
Our generous cousin has loaned us his condo for the week. It’s a beautiful little place all bright and white and window-laden. It meets my “tiny house” criteria of having a low square footage, having an open and airy floor plan and is designed to bring the outdoors indoors. I like. A LOT.
Right now, I’ve taken a jog of a few yards from the front door of the condo to the onsite restaurant. I was in search of a wi-fi connection so I could upload and download a few files a little quicker than my air card can do this work. But, when I stepped into the restaurant, I decided I’d work here a bit and grab dinner, even without access to wi-fi.
I was cruising the web today… I honestly don’t know how it started. I think it was back tracking some referrals on voluntary simplicity that led to my own blog. I found a couple pretty cool sites that I thought I’d share with those interested in living a life less complicated, and learning to decorate on the cheap in the small spaces of a tiny home (or apartment).
I tripped across this video today that I just had to share. It highlights a lady that elected to go small with her life and her house:
And here’s a bit more information about the new tiny house trend…
The Project Gutenberg site is now offering a free CD or DVD size download of eBooks. And, WHAT a collection it is. The ISO CD/DVD image (over 14 Megs of Information, BTW) has over 9000 books on the DVD portion and the top 600 books on the CD collection.
This is one of my favorite online ebook resources. When I retire… I’ll probably volunteer for this site and others like it to help swell the virtual stacks of ebooks available free online!
In the meantime… (more…)
If you want to read a good, old fashioned book — complete with sepia pages and pencil-marked book numbers from old library systems…but you are often on the road and simply can’t carry any more weight than you currently do…
I have a great solution!
There’s a website that permits you to view full color books (including nice lithograph illustrations) on your Tablet PC or laptop… You just push a button and the pages turn just like the old fashioned kind of books… not the same “scrolling” function you see in most ebook readers.http://www.openlibrary.org/
Their selection is still rather limited, but you could always volunteer to scan in and upload some of the old classics you currently have, or you could do a recording of the reading of any of the books they don’t already have with an audio-option.
Nice, huh? Even nicer if you are trying to live in a small space.
And another great book and story site is: http://www.fairytalescollection.com/
If only I had found this kind of resource way back in 1988, when I did my undergraduate thesis on fairytales!
Granted, I’ll be sitting mostly still for the next couple of years, but I’m now officially working in my new-to-me 1974 Airstream silver bullet named Serenity. If you check out the new logo, you will see an image of my baby. If you read on, you will see a couple photos of the inside of the office and the outside…
This is the outside shot of Serenity.
This is what the “office” space looked like originally — with the teal colored fold-out sleeping quarters. Have I mentioned how I feel about the color teal? *shudder*
This is the same physical space, now set up as my mobile office inside the airstream. From my office chair, I can lean back and grab a cold bottle of water or a snack from the ‘fridge. I have my own kitchen area (I don’t even have to leave Serenity to enjoy lunch when I work) and I have a bathroom and a couch. Not bad digs for an office, eh?
And the best part?
This is the view out my office door. And the door is to the immediate right of my desk, so I can lean back and gaze outside whenever I want. Heck, it’s even bright enough in here with the skylights and the banks of windows that I’m managing to keep plants alive! I have an office that can FINALLY keep a few plants from turning all brown.
I have alot more left to do. I’ll be tricking it out for technology for future trips, so I can work wherever I go. But for now, I’m loving it with every step toward the ultimate goal of complete portability.
I’ll keep you posted on my progress!
Ok. I’d planned to wait to announce. But I can’t wait any longer. Patience has never been one of my virtues — ask anyone who knows me. I wanted to get the new website up and running and do the announcement there… but the excitement has taken over! I now have my dream machine! A “new to me” 1974 25-foot Airstream! And she’s sooooo pretty!
Whoo-Hoo! *dancing about the room*
This little baby, aptly named “Serenity” will be transformed over the next few months to a full time office and will later be taken on the road for full mobility and functionality. I simply can’t wait! Those Joss Wheldon fans among my readers will recognize the reference of my new mobile office’s name. The rest… go watch the series FireFly. (It’s great!) (more…)
I was going through some of my old files today. I carry my 500 gig external drive with me on long trips, and this seemed like a perfect time to clean up and remove duplicates. I’m also looking at creating “Binders” in Adobe of my published articles, my essential documents and my business portfolio. If it works well, I may create one for my fiction pieces — current, past, complete and still underway. And, I may swap over my many formats of journals (since 1979 when I started keeping journals) into a binder organized in date order. Yeah, I know, … it’s anal-retentive… but I like being organized and I like being able to “lay my hands” on what I want when I want it. I may be a minimalist with the physical stuff in my life, but my “digital” belongings are getting rather overwhelming… so I am “cleaning” virtual house. (more…)
We arrived in Salida yesterday. This morning, after finally getting some sleep, we both felt like we had been hit by a train. I’d forgotten how wonderful it is to be old, fat and at a high altitude all at the same time. Whew!
But, catching glimpses of the snow capped mountains and being surrounded bythis spring-time majesty … well it makes labored breathing and even breathlessness completely worthwhile. It’s simply stunning here.
I hope this will provide the environment I need to enjoy a productive writing retreat. It couldn’t have come at a better time, immediately following both the writers conference and the trip to
This weekend, when I blinked, all the leaves turned. I was watching them carefully. I knew that there would be a quick turn this year, I knew the colors wouldn’t last long — you can just tell these things — especially when many of the tree leaves go from green to brown and crispy in a matter of hours.
But, we had a bit of chill in the air, and then the drizzle set in… and now everything is yellow and red and brown –and falling quickly.
And as we go into the end of the year, I look around at my own stuff and feel a bit like a tree myself — like I need to be rid of stuff, like I need to shed a few layers of “things” that are clinging to me, weighting me down too. Between the time that the leaves begin to change and the time that the calendar flips over to a new year, I get the undeniable urge to purge. It’s almost a physical thing for me. I MUST get rid of stuff. (more…)
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