Tiny Houses

In the past few years, the "Tiny House Movement" has gotten HUGE! I started a whole new Pinterest board for "tiny house" stuff so you know it's serious! I think it's something I really want to do!! In case you don't know what it's all about, here's a picture of one on the left!

 It's all about living minimally (within your means!) and most of them are built on trailers so you can move them super easy (as in, with a fairly large pickup truck with towing capability). Average cost is about $35,000 to build, but of course, the more reclaimed supplies you can use, the cheaper it is! Plus, utilities would be super cheap! We could essentially use it til a toddler was in the picture, and even then, they have plans for some that actually make it fairly family friendly! Lots have vaulted ceilings & lofts for the sleeping area! Then, we can just park it on our land while we build a castle  and keep it for guests, my mother-in-law, family or somewhere remote as a cabin! For the price, if we paid off a car in one year ($20,000) we could definitely pull this off within two years (especially if both my husband and I are working big kid jobs)! Whereas a mortgage is 15 or 30 years! And we still want to travel, so this would be so much easier to leave (no rent except wherever you park it). The reason they are built on trailers is because zoning laws require a minimum of 500ish square feet to build, but if you can't afford to build that much putting it on a trailer makes it a "temporary" structure so it can be whatever size you need! In order to not be an oversized load, from my research, it can be up to 40' long, 8'6" wide, and 13'6" tall.

For myself, because I want to maximize the investment this would be, I'd do approximately 30' long, and as tall and wide as I could! Throw in a conservative fridge, 20" oven/range, clothes washer, deep shower basin, pretty sinks, windows, skylights, solar panels, and a wood stove and I'd be the happiest girl on the planet! Oh, and a way to get internet... Can't forget that!

I started coming up with my own plans! Here's the bottom floor:
Lots of windows, French doors, a normal sized fridge, stairs up to the loft that have storage underneath! There's a wood stove by the desk area. Futon that can double as a bed for guests. I'm in LOVE!

And the loft:
Room for nightstands & a dresser complete with a skylight. On the right side, there's another "loft" for additional storage, or it could be a reading nook.

Have you ever considered living in a tiny house and/or building a house yourself?! What could you not do without? For me, it's a washer... I'm not a fan of laundromats or washing by hand. And, can't you just imagine a beautiful deck build onto this! And an outdoor clothesline and garden? Ahh... It'd be paradise!