How Tiny is Too Tiny?

A friend recently shared a link to Grist article entitled "There is such thing as a too-tiny house, and this is what it looks like." The Grist article fed from a PetaPixel article by Michael Zhang which showed bird's eye images of Hong Kong cubical apartments. The photo shoot was commissioned by the Society for Community Organization to draw attention to cramped living conditions in Hong Kong, which was rated as the most livable city in the world by the Economist last year.

I imagine my friend sent this link along with the single word "Thoughts?" because he was curious about the reaction of an enthusiastic tiny house dweller. Over the past year and a half I’ve downsized from an 832 square foot 2-bedroom house to a 121 square foot tiny house on wheels to a 113 “round foot” yurt. (Check out Oh, the Joys of Homeownership, Tiny Home Improvement, and Home, Sweet Yurt to learn about these places.) These days I feel like I’ve found my limits in terms of both actual size and amenities. I’m currently designing my own tiny vardo on wheels, which will probably be right around 100 square feet. Yet I have all sorts of ideas to make this wee space comfortable and highly functional, even though it will likely be even smaller than my current abode.

I am well aware that people in big cities throughout the world – and particularly in Asia and Europe – live in apartments that would raise the eyebrows of most Americans. Tiny housers like me often look to these little spaces around the world for inspiration. (I'm especially fond of Christian Schallert's Lego Apartment, a Transformer Apartment in Hong Kong, and, of course, Graham Hill's Life Edited Apartment.) However, in some cases people live in spaces that are uncomfortably cramped. The spaces profiled in the PetaPixel article seem uncomfortably cramped to me. Rather than being efficient, these spaces feel claustrophobic. This crowding feeling is definitely exacerbated by too many people sharing a small space. I’ve even heard of situations in which people have to resort to sleeping in shifts! I think a living space is too small when it restricts rather than liberates people’s activities and lifestyle.

What do you think? What would be too tiny for you? Have you ever tested your limits with tiny-ness?

Tiny House Workshop Weekend

It was a pleasure to be part of the Portland Alternative Dwellings Tiny House Workshop this weekend, along with Derin of UrbaNest, Brittany of Bayside Bungalow, and Chris and Melisssa Tack of Tiny Tack House. Tiny house enthusiasts from around Oregon and Washington joined us at the Historic Kenton Firehouse for the workshop. A few workshop participants even travelled internationally from Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada! Thanks for dedicating your weekend to tiny houses everyone. We're so glad you did!

The two-day workshop covered everything from framing and tie-downs for mobile structures to the “sticky wickets” of how wee structures are addressed by code. We were lucky to have so many experienced tiny house designers, builders, and dwellers present to share different approaches. Dee Williams led most of the workshop sessions and asked us to chime in throughout. I'm so glad we've been Partnering with PAD. In one session Derin used a life-size model to demonstrate his super energy-efficient building strategies. In another session Brittany shared information about her greywater system and humanure composting system. Chris and Melissa described their kitchen layout, appliance selection, and how the two of them share the small space they designed for themselves. I addressed regulatory considerations, moving a tiny house down the road, zoning and building, and creating tiny house community. On the second day we wrapped up with a visit to Pod 49 to tour a tiny house.

It was a treat to meet more tiny house enthusiasts and to learn about everyone’s ideas and hopes. It’s so fun to see the tiny house community grow!

Sunshine, Ice Cream, Bike Lights & Everything That's Wonderful

Today was utterly gorgeous. One of those February days that makes you feel like you’ve been resuscitated. After a long winter that first fresh breath of sunshine is just what we all need psychologically to remember that we can make it till spring. The yurt warmed up quickly so I turned the heat off. I was tempted to open the windows, which I closed up after A Month in the Yurt, but I know this is just a tease. When the time comes to open the windows up again I’ll be ready for it!

I gave myself a break from my to do list. Instead I found myself taking care of things that make me feel content but that rarely make the to do list during a stressful week like the one I’d just finished up. Farewell mid-terms! I found myself cooking, doing a bit of spring cleaning, sorting my inbox, catching up with loved ones, and having conversations with perfect strangers. I suppose it’s silly that I still spent any time inside at all, but sometimes it feels so nice to putter about, putting everything into place in my Home, Sweet Yurt, while the sun streams in the skylight and the tunes blast from my little Makshift Stereo System. In the afternoon I headed to the Bike Hub, Portland State’s bike cooperative and installed fenders and light on my bike. I’d made it this long without fenders but any Portland bike commuter will tell you they’re necessary. I do believe they’re right. I had lights already, but they weren’t very powerful and I decided it was worthwhile to get some brighter ones.

Then I celebrated the sunshine by treating myself to ice cream. Raffi celebrated by lounging in a puddle of sunshine. What a lovely day!

Living Large

The past week I’ve been housesitting for Eli and Noelle of Orange Splot, so I’m living large in their three-bedroom house. It’s been fun to be in the Cully neighborhood again and to see the progress at Cully Grove.

I’ve been joking that while some folks vacation by spending a week in the yurt, I’m vacationing this week by trading my yurt for a “normal” house. It feels luxurious to have hot running water instantly available and a gas stove to cook on. Things that I used to take for granted when living in the tiny house I now appreciate completely. This gratitude for simple pleasures is a neat change to observe in myself. Especially since I realize that I don’t need to be in a large house to have these luxuries again. The tiny house I lived in last year had a gas stove and running water. Once I did a little Tiny Home Improvement I also had greywater infrastructure.

I’ve enjoyed Downsizing from a Tiny House to a Tinier House and living in my Home, Sweet Yurt. It’s been a great way to stretch myself, to test the edges of my minimalism, and to get a sense of what I can live without. For instance, I’ve been getting along fine without water infrastructure, but it sure would be more convenient to just turn on the tap and then have my greywater automatically water the plants outside without me having to do it manually. I suppose I could set up this water infrastructure for the yurt but haven’t done it. I have, however, planned running water and greywater into the vardo I’m designing for myself. (Although I prefer cooking on gas the 1-burner electric cooktop I’m using suits me just fine, so I’ll probably go propane-free for my own tiny house).

This week it has also been nice to have enough elbow room to entertain. I hosted a game night with a couple classmates and brunch with my Planning Workshop team. Since moving into the yurt I’ve usually had just one friend over at a time. A couple months ago I had my friends Eleanor and Mike over for dinner but it wasn’t nearly as easy as Entertaining in the Tiny House. Once it’s warm enough to dine outside it will be more pleasant, but during the colder months the yurt is not well suited for entertaining.

The downside of the extra space is that I’m losing it. Really. There are so many surfaces that I’ve misplaced my cell phone several times! I also feel bad cranking the central air since it’s heating the whole house when I’m only in one room. This three bedroom works well for a family of three who need a home office, but it’s far more than I need as a single person.

Spending a week living large has helped me put my Little Life into perspective again. I’m looking forward to getting back to the coziness of the yurt (and especially to the wonderful light of the oculus), but enjoying the infrastructure of a fixed house this week has also confirmed that I want my vardo to be less rustic. It was a treat to have this vacation and I hope Eli and Noelle have enjoyed theirs, too!

Partnering with Portland Alternative Dwellings

A few months ago Dee Williams and Joan Grimm of Portland Alternative Dwellings gave me the heads up that they would be restructuring their company. With Katy Anderson, PAD had been doing design and building work for tiny houses, but Katy has moved on to other projects so Dee and Joan decided to focus on workshops, education, and consulting for tiny houses and pocket communities. Check out the new PAD Tiny Houses website!

I was delighted when PAD Tiny Houses asked me to join them as a Consulting Partner and a team teacher for some of their workshops. In partnership with PAD I’ve already had the opportunity to do consultations with several folks dreaming about tiny houses. They live across town (howdy, Cully!), across the country (hello, New England), and around the world (cheers, Australia!) It’s really exciting to have Dee Williams to bounce ideas off and double-check my work as I do concept and schematic design work.

PAD has also partnered with Derin and Andrea Willimas of Shelter Wise, a tiny house building and energy-efficiency consulting company. We had a great time presenting together last fall at the Build Small, Live Large Summit, which got us talking about working together in a more intentional way.

Today all of us gathered to discuss our working relationships and scheme about shrinking the world. We’re excited about the upcoming Tiny House Workshop later this month (join us!), building a tiny house at the Casa Verde festival in April, and participating in the first ever Tiny House Fair hosted by Yestermorrow Design-Build School in Vermont in June 2013. Stay tuned as we carry out our plans to make the world a better place, one tiny house at a time!

The Minimalist's New Clothes

This weekend I spent a couple hours scouring some of Portland’s very best thrift stores for additions to my minimalist wardrobe. I prefer buying clothes second-hand and Portland is a great place to do it. As I tried things on I asked myself these simple questions:

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  Does it look great on me? (Does it fit me properly? Is the color right for me? Does the style suit me?)

• Is it comfy? (Does it move with me? I’m well past the point where I’d wear something uncomfortable just because it’s cute. If I’m not comfortable I won’t carry myself well and that’s the most important part of looking presentable!)
• What’s the fabric content? (I’m a big fan of natural fibers that breathe well – like silk, wool, and modal – so I’m purging the cotton from my winter wardrobe.)
• Is it versatile? (Can it be combined with at least two other items in my wardrobe? I don’t like having “outfits” as much as I like having a mix-and-match options.)

Of course, sometimes it’s easier to say yes than to say no. So if I really get stuck on whether or not I should buy something I ask myself instead: What’s wrong with this? If I can pinpoint anything at all I probably shouldn’t buy the item. Usually I don’t. But my heart still gets veto power. I suppose I could also ask one of my little sisters their opinion since they’re very fashionable. I’m sure they think I’m a hopeless case. But over the years I’ve developed my own style that blends practical, classy pieces with earthy, elfin accents. I think it suits me for now. And my beautiful and beautiful sisters are free to be as stylish as they darn well please. I’ll continue to admire them along with all their other adoring fans!

I ended up buying six items. I spent about $60. That’s not bad considering that I snagged two cozy wool sweaters, two stylish blouses, and a cute skirt, which are all suitable for work, school, or weekends. I also acquired a smashing little black dress. (How could I resist?! Now I just need a great excuse to wear it… C’mon Portland, give me an event that’s not casual Friday!)

These six items have joined the other 31 items in my wardrobe, so I now have 37 clothing items and 8 pairs of shoes. It seems my clothes are approximately a quarter of my possessions these days. And I’m okay with that. I could get away with less, I’m sure. Sometimes, I consider paring my wardrobe down to just a 10-Item Capsule Wardrobe like my hero Francine Jay. I certainly do when I’m traveling and Packing Lightly vs. Packing Densely. But I like the variety when I'm home. For now my wardrobe is minimalist enough.

Want to know what’s on my list? Check out My 203 Things List. (More about My Things Challenge.)

So I’m now at 203 things. And I’ve been racking my brains about how am I going to get back down to 200! I’m still Strategizing Digitizing and Getting All My Docs In a Row. That will help me drop two items since I currently have two tubs of paperwork. Eventually I’d like to digitize my old journals. That would help me drop another item.

I’ll keep thinking about what I can purge as I go about My 200 Things Challenge. But at the moment, I’m feeling okay with the number 203. After all, the point is to raise my own awareness about my possessions and the role they’re playing in my life.

Taking Stock Without Stocking Up

One of the things I could really relate with as I read The 100 Thing Challenge book (on my Kindle, of course!) was the chapter about how we often own many different items that serve similar purposes because none of the items is just right. As I was Inventorying & Packing Up my things because I was Downsizing from a Tiny House to a Tinier House, I got rid of several items that weren’t quite right, hoping to eventually replace them with things that were just right. I’ve done a bit of that replacing but I’ve also realized that some of the things weren’t actually necessary. It seems that sometimes promising myself that I can replace it lets me part with something that I really didn’t need.

After doing a New Years’ Re-Inventory I realized that I wanted to do some clothes shopping. But I also knew that I was 14 items over on My 200 Things Challenge. In addition, over the past month I was gifted a travel spice kit by my aunt the gourmet cook, two beautiful hand-painted tiny bowls from my 10 year old cousin, a hand-printed Old School Stationers letterpress calendar, and a flax seed pillow which is My New Favorite Thing. I also bought myself a pair of cozy slippers to deal with the fact that my floors are chilly when the temps drop below freezing, even after Weatherizing the Yurt. (REI had exactly one pair of the slippers I wanted - they just so happened to be my size and on clearance. My lucky day!)

So today I decided to do a little CPR (categorizing, purging, and reorganizing) on my stuff. Here’s what happened:

taking the not so big life digital

• I realized that I prefer having photos cycle through on my desktop to having photo frames sitting around the house, so I was able to part with a couple of my decorations.
• I checked the Kindle store to see if any of my books were available electronically. I decided to go for a digital version of The Not So Big Life since it’s mostly text and very few pictures. I’ll pass my copy along to some tiny house friends and they can pass it on from there. I decided not to digitize Sarah Suzanka’s Home by Design even though it is available in a digital format because I love the pictures!
• I noticed that I hadn’t worn my slacks very much this winter so I’ve decided to put them into purgatory. If I don’t feel like digging them back out I might not keep them!
• I put the white board that has been living on my fridge into purgatory, too, since I usually keep my grocery list in my phone. But I didn’t get rid of it since it’s nice to have a white board when sharing a house and I hope to share a home with someone beloved again someday.
• I purged my two sweatshirts since I rarely wear them. I ditched two pairs of shoes that were never quite right for me. I decided to replace a couple skirts and a sweater that didn’t suit me with something I liked better. (See The Minimalist’s New Clothes for more about my clothes shopping guidelines.)

I also took a critical look at some things I don’t use much. I suppose I could go down to one cutting board, but it’s nice to have two when cooking with a friend. I don’t use my travel mug often since I’m not a coffee drinker, but sometimes it’s awfully nice being able to bring hot tea or cocoa with me. I don’t use my yoga mat at home since I do yoga at the gym at the university and they supply mats there, but I’d like to have it for when I’m done with school in a few months. I don’t swim very often, but having a swimsuit and goggles still seems like a good idea. So after all this I got myself down to 197 Things. I decided that was good enough. I headed out to find The Minimalist’s New Clothes.

PAD Tiny House Workshop in February

 

PAD Tiny House Design Workshop February 23 & 24, 2013 (9am-4:30pm) Historic Kenton Firehouse

Are you dreaming of building your own tiny house on wheels but don't know where to start?  Are you wondering what other people are doing and how to avoid common pitfalls?

If so, join Dee Williams of Portland Alternative Dwellings (PAD) for a two-day workshop packed with information about how to securely anchor a stick-built structure to a trailer, control moisture, and properly ventilate your tiny house. We’ll discuss electrical, gas, and water system design options, finding a place to park, and how to cultivate a place to call “home.”

You’ll also get a chance to tour POD49, a pocket community that includes a tiny house.

Cost is: $325 for 2 Day event/$175 for 1 Day. Deadline to register is Feb. 9, 2013. Space is limited.

To find out more and to register, visit the PAD Tiny Houses website. 

Ten Year Olds Design Awesome Tiny Houses!

This morning I had the opportunity to present a tiny house workshop to an incredible bunch of fifth graders at The Island Schoolon Bainbridge Island. I was lucky enough to have Doug Clawson as my fifth grade teacher, so I have very fond memories of fifth grade myself. I was pleased to be invited to Mike and Betsy’s classroom.

I got to Island School a little early so I could tape out the footprint of the 8x18 tiny house on wheels I lived in last year. I enjoyed the chance to visit with the teachers before the kids arrived. (It turns out it’s a tiny world after all: Betsy’s daughter interned with me for three years when we did volunteer coordination together!) While the kids settled in and completed their morning activity, I got to work memorizing their names.

We began our Tiny House Workshop by mind-mapping the relationship between our houses and our use of resources. I shared photos of tiny houses from around the country for inspiration and gave them a “walk-through” of the tiny house I’d taped out on the classroom floor. After a quick discussion of our basic human needs, we did an activity to explore our needs and wants. One of the kids felt like she could let their TV go pretty easily while another said his X-box is his most prized possession. One girl pondered whether or not she could give up her books since she has a library card. Others recognized how important their instruments, pets, or art supplies are to them. We marveled at how different our lists were from our neighbors’ and I pointed out that one of the greatest things about designing a small space is tailoring it to an individual’s unique needs and wants.

Keeping all this in mind, we began our design studio. I gave the kids a simple program and we got out the modeling clay, paper, colored pencils, and scissors. Half an hour later the kids shared their design concepts with their classmates. One of the girls sketched out a floor plan, elevations, and sections to think about the house in three dimensions. One boy designed an underground hobbit house. A small design team modeled a tiny house with paper walls and colorful clay furniture. We saw creative ideas ranging from a tree house to a zip line and from multifunctional furniture to a special room for Raffi. I was blown away by how well-thought-out their ideas were, especially considering the short timeframe!

We wrapped up the morning by going around the circle to share something we’d learned. It was very inspiring! I’m grateful to have had the opportunity to teach and learn from these kids. Thank you Island School Fifth Graders!

My New Favorite Thing

Glad I spent the weekend before last Weatherizing the Yurt. Yesterday it snowed a bit here in Portland. It was, of course, Portland-style snow: pretty little flakes that melt the second they hit the ground, no intention of sticking around. Portland snow is a little pathetic, but really charming. I enjoyed walking through it to the streetcar stop on my way to lunch at Nicholas, one of my favorite Portland restaurants. Nicholas is a Lebanese restaurant that serves spectacular food and I was glad to share a meal there with some dear family friends. They brought me a flax seed pillow as a gift and it is my new favorite thing.

Although I’m being careful not to adopt new things haphazardly because I’m a smidge over on My Things Challenge, this one is a great addition to my possessions. I plan to take an hour in the next couple of weeks to review My 200 Things List and pick which things to let go.

Anyhow, last night I heated up my flax seed pillow in the microwave for the first time and brought it to bed with me. As much as I’ve tried to convince Raffi to crawl down to the foot of my bed to be my foot warmer he won’t do it. He prefers to sleep in my arms with his head on the pillow, too. He thinks he’s a people and I haven’t corrected him. So I put my warm flax seed pillow under my down comforter at the foot of my bed and snuggled my feet underneath. It warmed them right up.

I've just gotten home from dinner with a friend and my flax seed pillow is heating my feet as I type. It’s so nice to have toasty warm feet as I drift off to sleep!