Archive / Tips

The true (and unmentioned) cost savings of living small

My friend and fellow tiny houser, Laura LaVoie of Life in 120 Square Feet, recently wrote a good post expanding on an article that may mislead some about the true cost of tiny houses and small living. Here’s what happened: Laura and I (plus some other tiny house greats, like Lina Menard and Christopher Carson Smith) were contacted by the Lauren Modery (writing for GOOD magazine) for research into tiny house (and tiny living) costs. She asked some great questions about how much our houses cost and what our cost of living was like now that we’ve been living tiny […]

How Sustainable are Tiny Houses?

Tiny houses have their advantages for the environment. Besides their tiny footprint on the land they occupy, a tiny house can definitely help you keep your carbon footprint tiny, too. Many of the creative space-saving and self-sufficient concepts used in the design of tiny houses have sustainability benefits that can be applied to larger homes as well. If you are building a home that is 1000sqft or larger then you could think about hiring a LEED consultant to help you get your home LEED Certified. In case you don’t know, Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) is a rating […]

The Benefits of Taking a Tiny House Workshop

Community & Support One of the biggest benefits of attending a tiny house workshop in person is that you get to meet a room full like-minded people all on a similar journey as you. This sense of community, understanding and support is oftentimes one of the most important takeaways from a workshop and usually inspires people to work towards creating physical tiny house communities as well, to bring that supportive feeling into daily life. It is often very inspiring to hear other people’s desires for going tiny, to see their plans in progress, and to help them in way you […]

Learn how to get sponsorship for your tiny house

I want to share with you all an amazing resource for gaining tiny house sponsorship, written by my friend, Andrew Odom. (scroll down to the bottom of the Tiny r(E)voliution store to find it). History In 2014 Andrew Odom of Tiny r(E)volution was answering questions daily about how he approached sponsorships and how he had managed to get so many sponsors on board of both his personal build and some project builds he had been working on. While he had been answering the questions faithfully he was also working on a book, almost a manual, if you will, that […]

The best tiny house trailer manufacturers & how to choose

Choosing the right trailer to start your tiny house build is one of the most important decisions you’ll make. When I started my house there was no such thing as a tiny house trailer. I had to design my own modification to a traditional flatbed trailer. However, that’s not the case anymore. Countless trailer manufacturers have started making tiny house trailers, hoping to make a buck or two off the tiny house craze. But not all tiny house trailers are created equally! Make sure you get a trailer by a manufacturer who has been building tiny house trailers for years, […]

Online Tiny House Courses by Macy Miller

I can’t believe I have not posted about this earlier. I’ve known about Macy’s Udemy (online) tiny house courses for a long time now, but forgot to share them all with you! For those of you who don’t know, Macy Miller is a one-of-a-kind tiny house inspiration, living in her house for years now, full-time, with 2 small kids and a very large dog! She’s spoken at tiny house events around the country, manages the Tiny House People facebook group (the largest of it’s kind) and is just an all around awesome person. Here’s how you can get access to […]

THLAB 2017 Tiny House Workshop Schedule

THLAB.org has just announced their 2017 workshop schedule. No matter what part of the country you live in, their educational team will be coming your way next year! They offer several types of workshops, ranging from the all-inclusive, 2-day Tiny House 101; a shorter Tiny House Zoning & Community Creation workshop for city officials and those interested in setting up tiny house communities; and a brand new Intentional Living Retreat were you’ll immerse yourself in the lifestyle of small-scale living! More info (and sign up) available at https://www.thlab.org/workshops/

Tiny home improvements for summer living

It’s been a busy few months with multiple tiny house improvements to better enjoy (and get relief) from the hot Texas summer. Truck camper I’ll talk much more about this in the separate post (stay tuned!), but we’ve built a simple raised bed (with super comfy folding memory foam mattress!) in the back of my F-350 (towing) truck to use for some luxury car camping during several car trips this summer. We’ll be headed to the Tiny House Jamboree in just a couple days — the first outing as truck campers! Here’s a preview. More details to come… Outdoor tub […]

Tiny House Design & Construction Guide Cover

Book Review: Tiny House Design & Construction Guide

Dan Louche’s Tiny House Design & Construction Guide is truly one of the most important tiny house resources you can buy. From my personal experience, I can say it’s the best “how to build a tiny house” book I know of, and one that I referenced a lot when building my tiny house. (I’d say my house turned out really well, thanks in part to this book!) I’m writing this review because Dan has recently released an updated 2nd edition of the book that contains 50% more content including 38 more images and illustrations! The book was great before, and […]

Choosing a tiny house building plan

Choosing a tiny house building plan is a big part of your journey toward living in a tiny house. But how do you pick one? Ryan and Amy at The Tiny Life just created an awesome resource to help make the process of choosing a tiny house plan much easier. They only reviewed tried and true plans for houses that have been built and lived in, and mine is among the plans they reviewed! Ryan and Amy laid out 16 criteria for what to look for in different tiny house plans, from road height to roof type to number of […]