Tiny Test Run

These are my digs until my house is built. I'll have lots of time in small confined spaces by the time I move into my loft home. Course I cook and shower in my parent's house that this is parked next to. One of the perks of this place is the built in radio. Definitely something I'd like to repeat.

Step One: Move

Moving isn't always the solution when trying to build a house on wheels. However, in my case living in my parent's trailer means saving money. It also means I can use my father's collection of tools and his brain. I don't know if anyone's told him lately that his knoggen is key to the success of this project... but I just did.

The warmer climate will mean that I can build more then 4 or 5 months.

Showers

I am thankful for showers. They are relaxing, they wake me up, and they keep me from being gross. These are all things I like, but do I need to equip my house with a shower? It is where the volume of the gray water question comes from. Without a shower it would just be dishwater, laundry water, and sponge bath water. Lets think about where I'm parked. RV parks, host houses, campgrounds, pools, gyms, and a host of other places have showers, but when I think what I need, I don't need showers. I waste so much water in a shower. My parents can attest to that. If left unattended, I am in for 15 minutes. Way too much water.


In an effort to wrap my mind around what it would be like to NOT have running water, I read this article. He's all about the baking soda.

Insulation

A company called Bonded Logic makes insulation out of old blue jeans. They shred it and put it back together. Dee Williams used it in her little house and she feels like it's working.



Another place makes "Green Fiber" insulation out of shredded paper.

Tiny Ideas

Well I would like to take a moment to recognize (blame) those who gave me many of the ideas I'll use.

First I was smitten with yurts. I don't know how I'd heard of them first, but there are a few kinks with yurt dwelling. If you are poor and cannot afford land, you can't have a yurt. Plus yurts cost many thousand dollars in a lump sum and you will not be able to get a loan to build one. However, I do love them.

Then my sister told me about the Tumbleweed Tiny House Company. Since then I've spend way too much time pining over their homes. I mean way too much time.


I've watched some great video on Dee William's house in Olympia.


Zoey lives in Washington (I'm guessing the Seattle area) and I've had a lot of fun watching her build her home.

Goodbye to the flush toilet.

It may surprise some to know that we haven't been flushing toilets for very long. In fact it used to be normal for us to compost our feces. It also appears that there is no reason to spend hundreds of dollars on a plastic model when you can make one out of wood, a toilet seat, and buckets.

Stair Book Cases

Ok so this staircase is a little big for my tiny house, but a smaller scale version of it could be great for access up to the loft.
This video features a cool tiny off grid home for a family and has a little snippet of a more realistic book ladder.

Hand Crank Washing Machine

It certainly wouldn't work for linens and other large items, but it would work for daily needs. Then I could just hang the small loads above my wood stove or on a line outside in the summer. Laundrymats would work for lots of stuff and it is so much cheaper than those washer dryer combos. They used to make these hand crank machines out of a barrel.

Shower Water

I'm not exactly how the solar water heaters like this would hook up on a house on wheels, but it sure would be cool. I wonder how one like this with glass bottles could be combined with a skylight.

Keeping it cool

This is a zeer pot. It cools food inside the inner pot as the water evaporates from the sand between the pots. Definately worth a test if it keeps the electricity use down.

How to heat and cook

The question lately has been one of utilities. Do I put in a propane boat heater or a tiny wood stove? Propane is arguably more convenient, but a tiny wood stove just makes me happy.

Just checked and the Little Cod shown above does meet Washington State Emmision Sandards. 3.7 G/hr and noncatalytic.