RSS FeedMay 07 2009
Would You Like a Free Copy of Jay Shafer’s Small House Book?
Alright, dear readers. I happen to have an extra, shiny, brand-new copy of Jay Shafer’s lovely Small House Book on hand.
As wonderful as this book is, those of you who’ve been following my story will understand that the last thing I need in my life is a duplicate copy of a book. (Especially when I actually have two other copies of my own.)
So, for the next week, I will be running a contest to find a new, appreciative home for this book.
In order to “enter”, all you need to do is leave a comment on this post giving me your wish-list of what you would like to see on Coming Unmoored. (For example: more info on how to build your own home, more personal anecdotes, less personal anecdotes, more pictures of Rumi. What have you.)
I’m in the process of planning where my blog will go from here and I really want to make it something that is both entertaining and useful to our regular readers.
Next Wednesday, I will randomly select someone from everyone who’s taken the time to comment and mail the book to them. (So please make sure to leave an email address where I can reach you!)
I look forward to hearing your feedback.
(And if you don’t happen to win the copy of the book, it can now be ordered from the Tumbleweed Tiny House Company website.)
Alright, dear readers. I happen to have an extra, shiny, brand-new copy of Jay Shafer’s lovely Small House Book on hand.
As wonderful as this book is, those of you who’ve been following my story will understand that the last thing I need in my life is a duplicate copy of a book. (Especially when I actually have two other copies of my own.)
So, for the next week, I will be running a contest to find a new, appreciative home for this book.
In order to “enter”, all you need to do is leave a comment on this post giving me your wish-list of what you would like to see on Coming Unmoored. (For example: more info on how to build your own home, more personal anecdotes, less personal anecdotes, more pictures of Rumi. What have you.)
I’m in the process of planning where my blog will go from here and I really want to make it something that is both entertaining and useful to our regular readers.
Next Wednesday, I will randomly select someone from everyone who’s taken the time to comment and mail the book to them. (So please make sure to leave an email address where I can reach you!)
I look forward to hearing your feedback.
(And if you don’t happen to win the copy of the book, it can now be ordered from the Tumbleweed Tiny House Company website.)
I’d love the book to give as gift to my partner’s daughter who dreams of a tiny house of her own someday. Also I just started reading your blog; float houses are of interest, as well as hand-built houses, and tree houses.
thanks–sky
It’s nice to see you and Rumi have finally gotten settled in, or at least nearly settled in. So all those little links you’ve been leaving on Facebook has the hubby and I thinking. Our house isn’t nearly super small, but being around 1000sqft and 5 people in it, it does at times seem it. So we have been going to the links you post and getting ideas on how to make the house usable within it’s current floor plan. We haven’t implemented anything just of yet, but the hamsters are working overtime.
Anyways, seeing pictures of Rumi in his surroundings would always be ideal.
Yvonne~
Personal ancedotes are great! Please don’t stop telling us how things are going for you. I’m always curious about how people make small spaces work – how do they prioritize needs? How do they cook/eat well with a tiny kitchen and little storage space?
I also appreciate your review of other tiny homes. Such a wide array gives me a better idea of what’s possible.
Mostly I’d like to hear more about the work you have had done and are now doing on your own house. It’s so easy to get lost in theory: what’s really useful is practical experience and, to put it bluntly, it’s best to learn from other peoples’ mistakes and also to exchange ideas once they’ve been found to work, or not. Personal anecdotes, pictures of Rumi, etc, are all very welcome to give a more rounded picture.
Plus, of course, the links are often interesting.
I love the site already! I would however, love to see more pictures. We humans are visual creatures. Pictures of your remodel progress, picures of the water, your neighborhood. And more on your thoughts about floating homes. That is so interesting!
I think it’s great already. But if I was pressed to make suggestions:
I’d like to see more short interviews with others in a similar position or if not interviews then profiles. Not necessarily very long ones, just to give a flavrou, and with nice pix (use them as big as possible) wherever possible.
How about a regular competition? Doesn’t need to have a prize, but always jolly to take part.
Maybe more international focus?
And finally, large amounts of cash (any denomination) to any other web site or blog mentioned at any time on these pages…
Cheers,
Alex
What a kind offer. This is my first visit to your site (now I’ll look for the Rumi). I followed link over from Tiny House Design to “Materials & Tools List,” apparently on just the right day. Also coincidentally, I was just on Jay Shafer’s site looking at the new book and trying to figure out if the how-to DIY info I want is in there enough to justify the price. (I consulted privately with Jay a while back, nice guy.) I am now immersed in a project I’ve been working on for nearly two years: a mobile/trailer-based, fold-out, rural, off-grid homestead (complete with portable fruit trees and chickens), of 600 sf in a vaguely Japanese-esque trad style.
I’m interested in the nitty gritty of your construction process, particularly the experiences of a solo woman amateur builder — that describes me, and possibly you, Steph, also? Just knowing that other women are out there doing it helps build confidence (I read the Yes article on Dee Williams and will look for more). How did you deal with the condescension of some guys, and all their conflicting advice? (A true recent example: “Well, ma’am, that’s crazy, why don’t you just buy a trailer? I got a nice one here, I’ll sell it to ya cheap, that mold will come right off.”) The physical limitations, like lack of melon-sized biceps? The primary sex trait differences, like the ability to calculate hip roof framing? The 3 a.m. nightmares of Am I doing this right? Or will this catastrophically fail on its maiden voyage? Or my recurrent stressor: I’m running out of money. And of course the real crisis question: what earrings look best with those work boots? (my answer: small gold hoops, less likely to get lost or catch on something).
How did/do you deal with this sort of thing? What did you learn from the first time around that you’re now doing differently with remodel? How did you resist caving in to the Insistent Male Expert? Inquiring minds want to know. Thanks!
I really enjoy the personal anecdotes. Would love to see more about how you make your small space work for you. Oh, and the videos I’ve seen you post (were they here or at SLJ? I can’t remember… at any rate, they were somewhere!) were great; would love to see more of those as you work on projects and stuff.
Because I already follow pretty much all of the tiny house blogs I’m aware of, the roundup posts are not usually useful to me, but I may be in the minority with that.
Overall, though, I like what you’ve got so far. I’m especially interested about hearing about your personal experience, though, because 1) living -on- the water is not something I know much about/ever gave much thought about until I stumbled onto your blog, 2) you’re making the transition that I hope to make at some point, so it’s good for me to hear about what you encounter and consider.
Think that’s about it!
I absolutely love your site. It is one of my favorites to follow dealing with small housing. I agree that pictures are greatly enjoyed. I also am very interested in info on first steps to take toward building a small house.
Even though you are just getting used to a video camera, I really enjoyed the tour that you gave us awhile back. I like seeing the progress on your home and how you are making it work. I also like seeing how others live small and seeing different design ideas that people have incorporated to get the most bang for their buck. And more pics of Rumi are always good! : )
Stephanie,
I must admit that the web site is pretty informative and balanced. The only thing that I would like to see is DYI section (basic projects related to small homes i.e. installing a small heater)
Keep up the good work!
Daniel
My main interest that brings me to your blog is the variety of ways that people can make their houses work for them, particularly small houses, so what I like to hear about is what makes your house unique. This can take many forms including anecdotes and descriptions. While reporting on houses other people have come up with is a fine thing, it is most interesting to me when one can get deeper into the details that actually make up building or living in a house. Er, that was probably horribly vague but that is what comes to mind.
I really like your resources page, Twitter updates and of course, your personal accounts of making your space your home.
PS: There are no food co-ops super close to you, but two to consider are either Food Front (a quick ride on the 405 when traffic is light) or Alberta Street co-op. Both carry a great selection of produce, treats and local items.
I love the blog and enjoy every new post. I like the pictures you are posting, especially of the process of converting your floating home. It would be cool to show pictures and talk about specific areas and tricks you are using to maximize every square inch of your place. Other than that, KEEP UP THE GREAT WORK!!!
Cheers
Great blog already, really the best one out there on small home living, design, and community. For next steps, I recommend several areas:
> Community aspects, especially the idea of planned small home communities
> Describe the particulars of how people do specifics in everyday life. How have guests over? How work kitchen with dining? How watch TV? etc.
> Zoning, planning, and local acceptance stories are always helpful to budding small house folks.
> Ways to integrate natural, local, and non-toxic materials with the usual eco-mix of small footprint and low energy costs.
> Siting considerations.
> Encourage people to post more small homes for sale, creating a bit of a small home economy.
> More on small, compact appliances, storage, and house items
> More real people in real small homes interviews
> Guest contributors
I like the blend of content you post so far. Why mess with a good thing.
That being said, I wouldn’t mind seeing more pictures of the cute lady who lives there (blatant sucking up, but true).
I’d buy the book if I had a book budget. My disability does not cover such luxuries (blatant plea for pity … but also true).
Thanks for all you do.
Feng
I love all the options! I don’t like all the options! I want to try it all, yet have no place to build everything…and that would kind of defeat the purpose of going small and downsizing, wouldn’t it?
I enjoy hearing about the life there that is so different than most anywhere else. But I also enjoy the different ways of “downsizing” or whatever it’s being called at the moment, and you’ve done a fantastic job of aggregating a lot of the news on these topics. I already follow most of the same blogs you do, but it’s made this blog the “go-to” blog for the tiny-house movement. Your blog was interesting before, just hearing about your world there, but now you’ve added to it. I hope the posts about the floater don’t stop!
And we get to hear about your floating house, and seals, and all without having to actually carry things up and down that darn ramp like you have to!
(If I win the book, I’ll pass it along to whomever wants it after I read it. I am trying to downsize too!)
What would I like to have you include?
RE: having or dwelling in tiny houses on one’s property
It would be great to have Coming Unmoored be the place to find links to local rules and regs (code) offices or contact info. I know that wheels or skids vs. on ground make a difference.
Thanks everything.
well what id like to see on this blog has more to do with how to get to the tiny lifestyle i read the article on jay schaffer two years ago and have been researching how to get there would be nice for one blog to go through the stages of getting to the small house life
such as from concept to reality
places to start going through all companys and each blog
like a start to finish of how to build not only a tiny house but a lifestyle
Kevin, my aspiration is to find a way to do that on this blog. I’m thinking through that right now.
Two resources I’d encourage you to check out are Greg Johnson’s book (Put Your Life on a Diet) and the new blog http://mobilecottage.blogspot.com/. They are doing a fantastic job of detailing the process of downsizing and building their own tiny home.
I know there’s a need in the community to have some sort of repository on local regs. I’ve suggested to Greg Johnson in the past that this might be a great project for one of the Small House Society interns. I think the biggest thing no one has figured out yet is how to go about efficiently researching the local regs.
Feng, occasional blatant sucking up certainly brightens my day.
Part of the reason why there aren’t more pics of me on the site is because usually I’m the one with the camera. When Amanda comes up I’m hoping we might be able to get some pics of me with the house.
That’s a fantastic list of ideas, Scott. Thanks for taking the time to post it.
Sean, my plan is to start posting some Google Sketch-up images of how I plan to build more storage into the place. (And to solicit ideas.) Just need to figure out the program first. Need to borrow Michael Janzen for a weekend.
Thanks for the tip on the co-ops. I think I need to declare a co-op day and go check out a couple of the places people have mentioned to me. Safeway produce is definitely not cutting it for me.
Kevin,
I like this question.
Where do you cut, trim and otherwise modify a modern big-box lifestyle? I look forward to this.
Feng
Steph,
I’m sure there must be all manner of sustainable lifestyle forums, but is there a forum/bulletin board just for tiny homes?
I know we can chat here in your comments, and it would be a breeze to set up a yahoo group or similar, but if there’s already a meeting place I wouldn’t want to create a splinter group.
Any ideas?
Feng
Feng, there are actually a couple. Part of the reason I haven’t set one up on this site is I didn’t want to compete with the boards already out there.
Here are some links for you:
http://www.tinyhouseforum.com/
http://tinyhousevillage.com/
http://www.resourcesforlife.com/community/viewforum.php?f=11
Enjoy!
Thanks Steph,
Just what I was looking for.
Feng
Suggestion#2: portable dumps
How about portable grey and black dumps with wheels that roll under and hook up to the house and roll out to empty from the bottom. Concave bottoms would assist gravity emptying. They could be rolled over an RV dump or be lifted or be rolled up and over a toilet via a folding ramp. Hoses could be used when needed. Dumps could be secured underneath for moving.
Rumi, more Rumi.
Oh, and maybe bi-weekly tiny/small house round-up.
But mostly Rumi
xD
I’d like to see stories & photos on people and how they have build, defined, and/or are using their small homes/spaces.
Joseph Kenyon comes to mind……I’m amazed at what he has done and appreciate his journaling of it. But along with all the “fame” Dee Williams has gotten …..both will be living on someone else’s dime. Having a small space and living on someone else’s property while using their bathroom and shower isn’t practical for most people. Having a small home on YOUR OWN property ….now there’s a story we can appreciate and aspire to.
I just saw your video on Yahoo. I have been looking at the prefab small houses for a few years. I dream about how to make them liveable, and what I would do. My kids are grown, and I do not want to spend my remaining years cleaning and uncluttering. I would like the freedom to do the things I love. I see you have some on wheels. My kids beg me to come and visit. Wouldn’t it be nice to carry my little home with me, and when I want I can give them love and kisses and say goodbye–on to my next adventure. Hope I win- wish me luck.