- Place the entry at the opposite end of the building.
- Eliminate the loft and decrease the height of the building.
- Eliminate closets and shelving.

- Add a slightly elevated daybed or futon couch to the living room.
- Use pull-out storage boxes under the daybed / couch.
- Store extra blankets in pillowcases on the daybed / couch.
- Use a computer notebook for all media.
- To limit wardrobe, recombine and layer several two-piece outfits.
- Store one pair of boots, shoes and sneakers.
- Use a hooded jacket rather than a hat or umbrella.
- Add a coat hook near the entry.

- Remove the entire wall between the kitchen and living room.
- Omit the counter to the left of the sink.
- Attach a folding cutting board to the right of the sink.
- Store a portable stovetop when not in use.
- Stack a set of pans and dry goods under the sink.
- Store a set of dishes / glasses vertically on two upper, narrow wall shelves.
- Add mug hooks beneath the lowest shelf.
- Store utensils in a jar on a deep window sill.

- Beneath the sink, add sets of curtains to the two open sides.
- Use small, round, spring-loaded curtain rods – supported by cup hooks.
- Use shelving and pull-out storage boxes under the sink.

- Dine with your plate on your lap while sitting on the daybed / couch.
- Dry dishes on a dish towel.
- Dry dish towels on hooks under the sink.

- Add a small under-counter fridge / cooler under the sink, if needed.
- Add an under-counter combination washer / dryer to the right of the sink, if needed.
- Store additional kitchen items under the daybed / couch.
- To create more counter space, cover the sink or washer / dryer with a large cutting board.
- Use a cutting board as a lap desk, to dine / serve or as an ironing board.

- A pot, bowl, mug, fork, spoon and large knife may be all that is needed.
- Try one-pot recipes.
- Use the pot as a mixing bowl, spoon or mug to measure, fork to whisk, mug as a ladle.
- Recycle a jar to store food as needed.

- Waterproof the lower half of the bathroom walls and use a shower curtain.
- Add a towel shelf over the toilet and add towel hooks.

- Rather than rely on lighting, add skylights.
- Use skylights over the kitchen counter, bathroom and couch.
- Add an arched window to the peak of the house in the living room.
- Use window curtain toppers and mini blinds, if needed.
- To reflect light, add a full-length mirror to one of the outer bathroom walls.

- To save space, use a heater that does not stick out from the wall.

What comScore did find is that 62% of their users paid nothing, and the average price paid was $2.26. Probably not too good for Radiohead. But I guess that depends on what your expectations are.

Most of the people who paid nothing probably wouldn’t have bought the album if they had the choice, so I’m not sure Radiohead actually lost anything. Radiohead did win big in marketing. It was a huge news story.

Jay and I were aware that for some people $995 is simply too expensive for a set of plans. In response to that, we decided to offer the XS-House plans for $99. As this discussion seems to prove, anything other than free is too expensive for the true bargain hunter. I understand that and appreciate that as well. Jay and I have discussed putting out a free set of plans as well. But before I get into that, I wanted to talk about why we chose the XS-House.

Because of its smaller design, the XS-House is built on a single axis trailer, which makes it more accessible to the masses (you can tow it with a car). In addition, the materials to build this house are less expensive than our other homes.

In my opinion, if someone is going to build this house, than the $99 price shouldn’t be an obstacle. The way I look at it, you’ll be spending about $15,000 – $16,000 in materials plus 3 months to build it.

And that brings up the question, why not just get the free plans? The easy answer is that you don’t like the design. Beauty counts. If you like Jay’s designs, than spending an extra $99 on top of $16,000 is an easy decision. If you don’t like his designs, than it doesn’t matter what the cost is.

The discussion changes when the price is $995. I get that. That’s why we are offering the $99 house plan.

From an economic point of view, being in business can be hard. At the end of the day, we all need to pay for food, water, heat, and shelter. And as a business, we must bring in enough revenue to cover our costs. Selling plans is part of how Jay and I make a living. People who buy our plans help us afford to pay a fair wage (to our employees) with health insurance.

I think our website may give the impression that we are a huge business, and for some, the price of our plans does make us look like “greedy capitalists”. I know that isn’t true. Jay and I could both be making more money doing something else. We’ve chosen the entrepreneurial path because we love it, and we love what we are doing.

Ten years ago, Jay took a huge risk. He sold his house, maxed out his credit cards and started Tumbleweed Tiny House Company. Jay isn’t a bad guy. He hasn’t committed any mortgage loan fraud. He never tried to talk anyone into buying a house they couldn’t afford. He never asked for government money in hard economic times. What he has done is spread the message to millions of people that there is an alternative to oversized houses and oversized mortgages.

Keep in mind that when someone pays $995 for a set of plans, they get a house plan that has already been built. It’s tried and true. The quality of the designs just aren’t the same. If you ever have the opportunity to walk through a Tumbleweed House, you’ll instantly understand why. The attention to detail is amazing.

As for the free plans, it is something we’ve wanted to do for a while. We simply haven’t been able to afford the time to do it. There is a lot of strategy to designing a good set of house plans. Jay and I discussed that the most important elements that a free set of plans should incorporate. Typically, people who buy the $995 plans have experience building, and I’ve learned that people who are looking at the free plans have much less building knowledge, and less to afford on materials. Our current plans don’t meet those needs. The free plans should include:
1. A material cost of less than $10,000 including bathroom, insulation, and heat.
2. Materials that can be found at any hardware store such as Home Depot or Lowes
3. Be buildable in 3 weeks or less.
From start to finish, designing a great set of plans to meet those needs will take about 100-150 hours. Just writing about it makes me excited.

And how much do other plans cost?
Custom plans by architect (approx) – $10,000
Not So Big House by Sarah Susanka – $5,000
Eplans.com – $635 to $1,055
Ross Chapin – $750 to $950
Tumbleweed Houses – $99 to $995
Sonoma Shanty – $27
Michael Janzen’s plan – FREE

That’s the sort of thing a proper set of plans and a builder concerned about such things prevents.