“We are refining the entire process of living as ski bums,” Zack said. “It is really about figuring out what you do and don’t need. For me, I want to ski and there isn’t much else that I need.”

Initially, the group thought they would take the trip in a van with a wood stove – similar to one that Zack lived in in the parking lot of Mt. Baker. But, after seeing some of the Tumbleweed tiny houses, the crew decided a custom built house would meet all their needs.

“Zack (who works as a carpenter in the summer) built the tiny house over the course of seven weeks,” Molly told me as the group made their way up to Big Sky, Montana. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen someone work that hard every day with no breaks. It was a labor of love.”

While building the tiny house, Zack and his crew had to deal with snow piling up on their open frame, a freak cold snap and a tree falling on the tiny house. Zack utilized some reclaimed pieces of wood, doors and windows and re-used some cherry trim from an old job site.

The tiny house has a loft that sleeps two people, plus a “drawbridge” bunk bed that comes down from the loft and a pullout sofa bed. A storage area above the door hold ski and camera gear. There is no bathroom or shower, but there is a kitchen sink and a hot water heater as well as a small refrigerator. The group relies on hostels and the kindness of friends and strangers for their bathing needs. The tiny house has electricity, a battery and generator, and the skiers cook with a toaster oven and a two burner propane stove. The handsome, French wood stove came from a mill in the old mining town of Gold Hill, Colorado.

“The only meals we’ve really cooked are breakfast and maybe some bagels,” Molly said. “We’ve yet to do a full-blown dinner. We are usually too tired from skiing all day.”

The ski bums and their tiny house have had extremely warm receptions from the places they’ve visited. Firewood has been gifted to them when they are out during the day and they have even received some Secret Santa gifts. Molly also said that her parents, who are in their 60′s, also want a tiny house.

As the group makes their way around to various mountains, Molly is also impressed with how easy the living is in a tiny house – even as the only woman living with four men.

“They are really tidy,” she said of her fellow ski bums.

Photos and videos courtesy of Outdoor Research

By Christina Nellemann for the [Tiny House Blog]

Dawson-Witt, a freelance editor and government contractor, has avoided television and fashion and wanted to live her life like that of Henry David Thoreau.

“I wanted to live deliberately and to not be on automatic pilot,” she said. “I wanted to be connected to the elements.”

However, she is not able to live in her tiny house full-time. The county in which the home is located does not allow full-time living in a home without indoor plumbing. She keeps another house close to her work.

Inside the tiny house, there are three chairs, one table, one desk, a kitchen cabinet from the 1920s, one bookcase, a loft with one bed and one small chest that contains an extra blanket. About 75 percent of all she owns fits in the tiny house. (Ironically, she has a whole shelf of books on voluntary simplicity, she said.) She has her clothes and a file drawer in her other house and her tools and camping gear in a nearby shed.

Dawson-Witt will be leading a seven-week discussion on sustainability at her tiny house. The sessions started on October 4, 2011. Her talks will cover simplicity, ecology, food, money and more for those who want to live more lightly on the earth.

Photos courtesy of YSNews.com

By Christina Nellemann for the [Tiny House Blog]

For years, the caboose was just a vacation home for Marcia and her husband. After a divorce and a job loss, she decided to move permanently into the caboose. She said the first winter was tough with no indoor plumbing and only space heaters available for heat. Electricity had been installed in the caboose years before, but there was no bathroom. In the following years, Marcia was able to add a bathroom to the back of the caboose (to retain the look), indoor plumbing and electric heat. She also replaced the siding on the cupola and put in some gardens and a lawn. She also had a deck built which added an additional “room” to the caboose.

The caboose sits on a 30 foot train track on Marcia’s 5 acre parcel in Northeast Pennsylvania. Her 337 square foot living space also includes a washer/dryer, refrigerator, stove, microwave and a dishwasher. The cost of the caboose and the track cost about $6,000 (in 1976).

Marcia calls the caboose “a 36-year labor of love”, and is proud that nearly everything on the inside is still in its original 1909 state. She did replace out the floor with a laminate. She will also be replacing the siding on the outside with beadboard to resemble the original wood.

She loves the light that comes in through the windows (including the six in the cupola) and has decorated the caboose with colorful accessories. She thought that going from a 2,500 square foot house to a 337 square foot caboose would be difficult, but she absolutely loves it.

“I sold 95 percent of my belongings and feel very free as a result,” Marcia said. “Plus, I can clean the whole place in fifteen minutes. The area here is absolutely beautiful and I spend a lot of time sitting on the deck reading and just looking at my surroundings. It’s all mountains, ponds, and open space.”

Photos courtesy of Marcia Weber

By Christina Nellemann for the [Tiny House Blog]

Becky has lived in yurts for many years in the mountains of the American Northwest. Her book was completed a few years ago while living in her own portable fabric yurt on a permaculture homestead in Idaho. She has also created an educational website called Yurt Info, a newsletter and a Facebook page for other yurt owners and fans of the wood and fabric buildings. The Yurt Info site offers information on how to buy or build a yurt, and includes a forum and links to numerous yurt videos and photo albums.

Photos courtesy of Yurt Info.

By Christina Nellemann for the [Tiny House Blog]

Their comprehensive and beautiful website profiles their living and working on the boat with a child in tow. They purchased the Spindrift in the San Francisco Bay area, and are living there until they can get the boat ready to sail down to Mexico. They purchased the boat for around $40,000 with money they saved up while working, and are doing much of the boat repairs themselves. For additional income Pat also does some day trading and they have written a book on their around the world sailing adventure.

The Schultes emphasize that they plan on keeping their lives simple by not buying a lot of stuff, TVs, cell phones, insurance or a lot of toys and clothes for their children. They are proud that Ouest will grow up on the water rather than in front of a television.

Photos Courtesy of bumfuzzle.com

By Christina Nellemann for the [Tiny House Blog]

It would be nice to have photos of the exterior and interior of the homes as well. It’s always nice to be able to show how space is utilized. What works and what doesn’t work.

I would like to cover all type of homes from modern to the old homes that were built back in the early 1900′s. Also if a floor plan is available of a home it would be very useful!

To share your story please email tinyhouseblog @ gmail.com and attach photos and a writeup about your small home with the subject line “Small House Story.” Thank you for your help in covering this new feature!

Photo Credit Karen Delucas

The Trillium is unique to the fiberglass trailer market in that the company bonds all fiberglass components, uses no wood in the structure, uses closed cell foam ceiling and wall insulation, provides upscale, contemporary interiors and builds each unit to the owner’s specifications. The stylish interior of these trailers is what attracted my attention.

The Trillium is good for an extended trip (or tiny living) as well as for weekend excursions. They weigh between 1,400 and 1,680 pounds unloaded and the prices range from $12,895 to over $20,000 for the 1500 depending on floor plan and options selected.

Several purchasing incentives are available with the Trillium. Through the end of March of 2011, Trillium RV Limited is currently offering free delivery within a 500 mile radius of the manufacturing facility in Temecula, CA or $500 off MSRP. The company also has a referral program where a $250 fee will be paid for any referral that results in the purchase of a Trillium RV 1300 or 1500 within 30 days of referral receipt. A Trillium showroom is located in Irvine, CA and rental locations are also being established across the U.S. and Canada where potential customers can try before they buy.

The Trillium also includes options for:

• Cable TV Hookup
• Pleated Day/Night Window Shades
• Removable Closet Shelves
• Carpeted Lower Storage Compartments
• Awning
• Solar Charging System
• Kitchen Counter Extension
• 12000 BTU LP Furnace
• Microwave Oven

Photos Courtesy of Trillium RV

By Christina Nellemann for the [Tiny House Blog]

His little “How-To Guide” focuses on how to live a cheaper, lighter existence while still being independent. He discusses van conversions, boondocking, workamping, financial freedom, traveling with pets and children, safety and cleanliness issues, how to choose a vehicle, overcoming your fears, living on a boat, homesteading and working while on the road. He also shows how living a life on a $500 to $1,000 a month budget is possible.

Some of his fellow nomads discuss how they took the leap:

On a fateful day in 2006, I was struck by an idea so powerful that I stood up from my desk, walked to the personnel department and resigned. I would sell my house, the extra cars, all that important “stuff” and live on a boat with my family, and travel the seas as a free man.

Captain Keith of the Kismet

After 22 years of working at the Post Office, I was tired of not being happy with my job or my life and knew I had to do something. I remembered those happy days traveling in the travel trailer and was sure I could be happy again. I already owned my 1983 VW Westphalia, so it was the obvious choice when I decided to downsize. I wasn’t sure exactly how I would do it, or how long I could stand living in a van, but I knew it had to be better than the life I was living. I am delighted to say it has been 2 years now and I have no desire to go back to a more conventional life.

Barb Cotton

Photos courtesy of Cheap RV Living

By Christina Nellemann for the [Tiny House Blog]

Mike, who rides a bicycle instead of owning a car, appreciated the green aspects of the tiny mobile home but was a bit concerned about having to pick it up from Oregon and bring it back to his home in Connecticut. So, he looked at it as an adventure, bought a van sight unseen in Washington and towed the house across the country with his son.

“We had a hell of a good time,” Mike said. “It was the best time of my life”.

He and his son explored the country for several weeks and slept in their new little house. Mike was worried about driving in windy areas and under overpasses, but he said the house did great. He was pleased that he could park the house in cities across the country and spend a few days. He was also thrilled that he had no issues with police officers, and that people showed genuine interest and wanted to take pictures of the tiny house.

Currently, the house is parked behind a rental property that Mike lives in and manages. He bought the house fully finished but with no interior divisions. He wants to keep the kitchen simple with a foldout stove and no plumbing and he has his water delivered and uses a shower at a local health club. He will be purchasing a composting toilet, solar panels, batteries and a generator for power and a Vermont soapstone vented propane stove for heat. So far, he has experienced no issues or inconveniences with not having a bathroom or plumbing. He also recommends that a tiny house should have as many windows and glass as possible to let in light and give the illusion of more space.

“The skylights and the glass door make a big difference, ” Mike said.

After his changes and additions, Mike spent about $25,000 on his tiny house. Mike is working on getting the house parked on a piece of borrowed property near Hartford, Connecticut. So far, he has had nothing but upbeat and excited responses from his neighbors and friends and is looking forward to slowly transitioning into his tiny home.

“I don’t want to work as much and give away my hours anymore, ” he said. “Right now, people are working as hard as they can to clean and maintain their homes instead of doing what their hearts desire.”

By Christina Nellemann for the [Tiny House Blog]

A trawler or pilot house is a usually a boat used for fishing or for the military and the police, but pleasure versions of the them are built as well that have comfortable areas for living and cooking. These boats are called cruising trawlers or trawler yachts and they come in many styles and sizes. Since they don’t have a sail, they rely on fuel and have cruising speeds of around 14-20 knots.

Typical designs of trawlers include a raised pilothouse or offset deckhouse and a “portuguese bridge” which consists of a walkway behind the foredeck, in front and to the sides of, the pilothouse windows, separated from the foredeck by a (generally) waist-high bulwark. The purpose of the bridge is to deflect water from the foredeck up over the superstructure top rather than slamming against the forward windows of the pilothouse. It gives a semi-sheltered area outside the pilothouse while underway. A secondary benefit is that it provides a “safe area” or handhold when it is necessary to be on the foredeck in inclement weather.

Trawlers come in lengths ranging from 35 to 60 feet long and can cost from about $30,000 upwards to $300,000 for a newer, more luxurious model. Most are built for long term cruising. Combined with large fuel tanks they can cruise far before needing to be refuelled. They can be home for between 2 to 8 persons for many days and can be a permanent home.

Usually trawlers have a single engine, though twin engine installations are also available from some builders. They have a large fuel capacity. Fuel range is normally 1,500-3,000 miles on smaller vessels, even greater for those over 45ft in length. When combined with the slower speeds of a displacement hull, these features give such vessels far greater range and economy than similarly sized planing boats. A large engine room under the main cabin is another feature of true cruising trawlers. Many also include a diesel generator of 5-20kW to power domestic appliances, bow thrusters, dinghy cranes, and similar equipment.

Pilot Houses Online

Trawlers Midwest

By Christina Nellemann for the [Tiny House Blog]