a huge tiny announcement!

A little over a year ago, I wrote this post.

In it I listed my wistful desires to live in an adorably tiny house, outfitted with a chic little couch and an espresso machine.

At the time I thought owning a tiny house, much like dropping $2000 on a coffee maker, would always remain a daydream. I've loved small spaces and miniaturized paraphernalia my whole life, and I used to live for the RV and houseboat shows at the local mall, when I could spend hours exploring every carefully thought out nook and cranny. I'd grown so accustomed to associating small and efficient homes with childhood play and dreams that when I fell in love with the tiny house movement nearly ten years ago, it took ages before I realized, not only how easily I make this happen, but the complete and utter sensibility of making it happen.

someone else's lovely tiny house!

I finally saw that it wasn't only the allure of something being child-sized that has always drawn me to cosy hideaways, it was my respect for the sheer efficiency of it all. On some level, I've disliked excess my entire life, and as I grew older and more aware of the millions of starving people and dying animals, on this planet that we're quickly demolishing, the sight of enormous new developments and overflowing landfills sent (and sends) shivers down my spine. I started giving more and more thought to ways in which we could live on this Earth without doing it quite so much damage.

Discovering towns like Prospect New Town, seeing the tiny house movement gain momentum, and traveling to parts of the world where living smaller isn't a revolution, but the way it's always been, has really brought home how doable this is, and how deeply I believe in paring down to what we need in order to live the lives we want.

Colorful houses in Prospect Newtown

Which brings me to what I DO want in my life:

1. To have genuine interest in the field in which I work
2. To travel
3. To move to someplace without snowy winters
4. To spend as much time as possible outdoors

That's it. Linnea's recipe for sheer and utter happiness. Time spent outside in above freezing temperatures, and enough spare cash to hop the pond once in a while. Making more than enough money to get by is never something I've desired, and that's good, seeing as my industry (hospitality) is not one in which you're prone to doing that.

Almost every tiny houser I've read or seen interviewed at some point says something along the lines of, "when I started living tiny, my life got so much bigger." Instead of being weighed down by the minutia and constant, nagging responsibilities of working a 70 hour job to pay for a 3.000 SF house, a person who has pared down to 100, or 200, or even 1000 square feet, has significantly cut the financial, temporal, and emotional cost of their home. And when you live differently, you can work differently. Many tiny housers live small so they can keep or switch to the career they want rather than the one they previously needed. Building a tiny home frees me to take risks with where I work and where I live.

So last summer I decided to take the plunge. I've sketched up endless plans, done a ton of research, signed up for a workshop, and today, I've done it-

Tumbleweed Trailers

In less than two months, the very foundation of my future home will be winging it's way to me! Actually, winging it's way to Pennsylvania, and I'll take it from there.

She's a beaut, 20 feet long, with a full porch, and already flashed and insulation-ready. I am beyond excited, and just a dash nervous. I'm making up for lack of building experience with enthusiasm, research, and, frankly, an innate ability to figure shit out. So while lord only knows what this summer will hold in terms of learning curves, unforeseen obstacles, and inevitable weather issues, I'm completely determined, and ready to work my butt off.

I plan to archive the whole process on here, as well as more thoughts on tiny houses, and downsized living in general, as well as post the odd recipe when I can.

In love with this company's aesthetic

This is the biggest and most expensive project I've undertaken, and it will be crazy, and like all good adventures, difficult.
I cannot wait. And, who knows, by this time next year I could be building that espresso machine.

Happy Sunday!