Recently, we were happy to see notice of an affordable tiny house gathering in the greater DC area: the Mid-Atlantic Tiny House Expo, October 28 and 29 at the Howard County Fairgrounds in Maryland. We plan to drive up to the the expo on Saturday, the 28th. (See you there?) We had the chance to ask one of the organizers, Frank Hazzard, a few questions about this first-time event.
 
Simply Enough: You're hosting the upcoming Mid-Atlantic Tiny House Expo. What gave you the idea to host a tiny house event?
Frank Hazzard: My daughter Emily is a junior at University of Maryland. Emily expressed a keen interest in tiny houses after seeing TV shows about them. She said she wanted financial independence, geographic mobility and sustainable living. So, two years ago I looked around in the local area for a tiny house builder who could mentor me with a DIY build. At the time there were none in Maryland. 
 
Kirk Johnson and I met when our daughters played softball together in high school. We are both recently retired, and Kirk agreed to help me with the project. We started making plans and buying building materials for the tiny house. Then, Kirk got an idea. “We can’t be the only people in this area who are curious about tiny houses,” he said. “There have to be thousands of people just like us. Let’s stage a tiny house expo to give curious people access to tiny houses.”
 
I had a background in trade show planning and production that I could easily adapt to this market. Other tiny house shows had attracted huge numbers of attendees. Why not here? Fast forward nearly a year. We’ve been working on the expo since February. It will take place at the Howard County (Maryland) Fairgrounds on Oct 28-29.
 
Are you in the process of building a tiny house now? If so, can you tell us a little about the build, and if we can expect to see your house at the Expo?
We built a tiny house shell as a prop to promote the show. It’s a 25-foot house with lots of windows and a handsome, cottage exterior. It was a lot of work! Fortunately, we received help from friends and family. This was not the house we intended to build for Emily. I still look forward to building one with her. We plan to park our THOW outside at the show as a way to attract attendees.
 
You'll have more than 20 tiny houses for people to tour at the Expo. How did you get tiny house builders and owners on board for this first-time event?
Lots of phone calls, email and digital marketing! LOL. As I said earlier, I have a background in events, so I know a little bit about exhibitor marketing. 
 
Can you give us an idea of the variety of homes that will be on site?
We think it will be a nice variety of houses. We have a yurt, a sea container builder, conventional two-story houses with lofts, a single-story THOW. We have a gypsy wagon on steroids. Even a chapel! One builder is bringing three houses. 
 
In addition to tiny houses, you have an impressive number of vendors lined up. What are some of the products and services would-be-tiny-house-dwellers can learn more about?
Thank you! We do have a lot of vendors who offer things that tiny house people need, including composting toilets, flooring, grey water systems, off-grid solar and closet systems.
 
This is advertised as a "rain or shine" event at the Howard County Fairgrounds. Will the houses and exhibitors all be inside an exhibit hall?
Yes, the expo will be in the Main Exhibit Hall at the fairgrounds, which is a one-acre building with tall ceilings and 14-foot overhead doors. It’s a great place for an event of this type. I’ve been to outdoor expos when it rained. Not too much fun. 
 
You said you have a background in trade show management. What are some of the lessons learned you'll be applying at this event?
Number one, lead-time is everything! There is never enough time to prepare for an event, but the more time you have, the easier it is to be successful. You also have to focus simultaneously on the three main elements: exhibit sales, attendee marketing and logistics/production.
 
The net proceeds from the Expo will go to Civic Works, a non-profit teaching job skills to at-risk youth in Baltimore. Can you tell us a little about their connection to the tiny house movement?
Civic Works is an amazing organization. We are thrilled to have it as a partner for the Mid-Atlantic Tiny House Expo. They recently opened a factory where youth are taught construction trades by building tiny houses. The houses are then sold to fund the program. We think this is a great idea. If you think about it, THOWs require all of the trades, only on a smaller scale. It would be a lot more difficult to mentor kids who were building conventional houses.
 
Finally, your organization is called "Tiny House Expos." Does that mean you have more expos in the works?
You noticed it’s plural! Yes, actually. We are very close to booking a couple more events – hopefully in time to announce them before the October 28 event kicks off.

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Bill and I have had the pleasure of being fellow speakers with Ethan Waldman at the last two Tiny House Conferences, and both our homes were featured in a Fiscal Times article in 2016. Ethan began building his tiny house in rural Vermont in 2012. He started a blog when the house was still just an idea and, today, that blog has thousands of readers. Ethan's two eBooks, Tiny House Decisions and Tiny House Parking, have been praised by readers for their practical tips and extensive research. His latest project, Tiny House Engage, is an online support group for people researching or building tiny houses. 
 
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Simply Enough: Can you tell us a little about what inspired you to go tiny?
Ethan Waldman: For me, it was mostly a financial decision, but wound up being a lifestyle decision. I was working a corporate job that wasn’t making me very happy, and I really wanted to have my own business. But I just couldn’t imagine supporting myself through starting a new business with the monthly expenses I had at the time. I looked at everything and realized that rent was my biggest monthly expense. When I saw Tammy Strobel’s blog (rowdykittens.com) and was introduced to the tiny house on wheels concept, I knew it was the answer to my problem. 

Your house is beautiful. I think you worked with someone on your design. How did you decide to go that route and how did that collaboration work?
I worked with Milford Cushman (cushmandesigngroup.com). I initially purchased a set of plans and was all set to build them. Milford is a family friend who knew about my intentions to build a tiny house. Over dinner at my parents house, I showed him the plans and he offered to work with me on designing something for me. I brought him and his team photos of many different tiny houses I loved and they started sketching from there. 
 
Your plans are available for sale on you site. Have you seen any houses built with your plans? 
 I just started selling the plans in mid 2016, so I haven’t seen any completed houses yet. I can’t wait, though!

You built your house yourself. Did you have help for any of the build? What surprised you about the building process?
I did hire a local carpenter to help, which turned out to be a really smart decision. I worked the first three months alone and barely made any progress. Once Jason and I started working together I had someone who could teach me as we went a long. I still did a lot of work on my own but having someone to call and consult with was a huge confidence builder. I was shocked by just how much work it is. Even though the house is small, there are points along the way where the tasks just feel like endless chores. And then, all of a sudden, you’re done. 

What do you like the most about your house after living in it for some time now? What's something you would do differently if you were starting over?
I love all the windows. Even though they make the house slightly harder to heat, all of the natural light inside the house is amazing. If I was starting over, I’d consider a shed roof to maximize head room in my loft. 

One of your tag lines is "Build your tiny house smarter and faster!" Can you give us one "build smarter" tip and one "build faster" tip?
You can build faster by building smarter. All by planning your build in advance! Know what appliances you’re using, what colors you're painting, and what cabinets you’re using before you start. Make your tiny house decisions before you start so you can focus on getting the job done.

Please tell us a little about your latest project, Tiny House Engage?
It’s been an adventure! The idea is to create a community of people who can help each other along their tiny house journeys. Plus, we do a live call each week (sometimes Q&A, sometimes with guests!) and those calls get recorded and put into the growing video training library. We have a group of about 50 people and I’d estimate that at least 10 of them are currently building tiny houses. It’s fun to connect with people who are in the thick of things with their projects. People can learn more and find out when registration opens next at http://thetinyhouse.net/tiny-house-engage. 

When someone from Discovery Trekking contacted me through this blog, asking if I thought there was a tiny house market for ultralight "camp" towels, it was a forehead-smacking moment for me. Duh. Why were my compact, quick-drying camp towels delegated to the camping bin, when they could be my compact, quick-drying tiny house towels, or at the very least my backup tiny house towels?

Discovery Trekking offered to send me one of their Ultralight towels to test for tiny house use. I asked for the biggest, almost 5 feet by 3 feet when stretched out. My first question—what size would such a large towel compress to?—was answered the moment I opened the package. They take up almost no space folded and could be compressed smaller with a rubber band. Once I unfolded the towel, I had a new question: Could a towel this light and thin actually dry me? After a test shower I had my answer: Yes.

So, the towel requires little room to store. (Now, I keep an extra bath towel on the side of a shelf in my medicine cabinet.) It can dry me completely, straight from the shower. And, best of all, it dries in a fraction of the time my traditional, fluffy bath towel dries. 

Maybe, I'll become a total convert and go ultralight with all our towels, but I still like the feel of a plush towel. Our "camp" towels, however, have earned permanent placement in the tiny house. Taking up almost no space, they're handy when the bath towel is wet or in the wash and when we have guests.

Now, I find myself wondering what other items in that camping bin might find their way into the tiny house. And I started thinking that the camp towel could do extra duty as a tablecloth, dish towel or beach coverup. Thanks, Discovery Trekking, for nudging me to think outside the camping box.

Time and again, I get asked the question: How did you find a site for your tiny house? In our case, we had a friend with land offer us a spot—but not everyone looking to go tiny has friends or family with land to lend. That's where Try It Tiny could come in handy.

A new entry into the shared economy landscape, the online marketplace matches home owners with landowners and tiny-house wannabe dwellers with micro-home owners looking for rental income. Founder/owner Maggie Daniels offers free listings to both land and tiny home owners. Like AirBnB, guests are charged a fee when a booking is confirmed.

The Simply Enough team met Daniels at the 2017 Tiny House Conference in Portland and followed up with a few questions.

I know a little about your background—you moved to a tiny house after you began renting out your “big house” out for extra income, right? 
MD: Yes. Renting my house on Airbnb proved so successful that I was leaving my home too often. Building a tiny house provided a way for me to stay on my land, to have my mini/aspiring homestead and continue to receive rental income. Up until last week, I felt I was "full-time" tiny—except, now, my tiny house has been the thing I'm renting out more frequently! 

The next step was realizing that I have room for more tiny house parking spots on my land. I went ahead and added hookups to make it easy and friendly to a variety of different needs. Then, I needed a way to let people with tiny houses know I could accommodate them on my property, and I realized I could help elsewhere, as well.

What else in your background was an influence in starting this business?
MD: My background is in finance and business, and I always thought of starting my own business but never dreamed it would be so soon or happen almost organically. While researching my own tiny house, I learned of the challenges in finding places to park. Living in rural Indiana, I was initially very surprised, thinking, "There's land EVERYWHERE!" How naive. After helping some folks find land here in Indiana, I started piecing things together, which turned into a full-blown business plan. It became apparent, very quickly, that this need was far greater than I originally imagined, and it was going to demand my full-time attention.  So, I got serious, got some funding and a lot of my savings together and took a leap of faith.

When did you launch? And how much has the site grown since then?
MD: We launched the business in March 2017, so we've been up and running for a a couple months now.  I started working on the business almost a year ago (in concept) and left my former job to do it full time at the end of last year. I've been really happy with the reception! We've had a lot of users sign up to the site (we hit 1,000 recently), and we continue to add inventory each day (woo hoo!). We still have so much more to do. It's not just about having "inventory" in any particular state (we're in 30 states), it's about having the right inventory, in the right location and sub-market, at the right/fair market price, at the right time with a Guest and Host match. It's extremely challenging—very daunting at times because people's lifestyles are relying on you.

Do you have any “success stories” you can share?
MD: Yes! I'm happy to say we have several success stories since our launch: Land hosts who are hosting tiny housers in need of long-term solutions, and people giving tiny a try by renting a tiny house.  We have had these situations in places like Washington (state), Massachusetts and the Midwest. There is already a testimonial on the homepage at the bottom from a match in Washington. I haven't had as many tiny house rentals yet, so I don't know of someone who has then gone on to purchase a tiny house after renting one.  

Are there any upcoming additions/changes in the works?
MD: Yes! We just launched a new "forum" feature this week (!) which will be more of an open Q&A with Hosts so they don't have to answer the same questions over and over, and it will give a lot more information to the Guest who is traveling (to see the back and forth and answering of questions). We are also working on a long-term monthly renewal program which will automate monthly payments for longer term stays. This will help make booking and payment more efficient, plus it will have an auto step-down cost structure so it's more cost-efficient for the Guest!

We also added a calendar syncing feature which probably isn't as exciting as some of the other inovations, but it is certainly a functional improvement that will help people who book multiple locations, trips or have several listings.

We loved last year's Tiny House Conference in Asheville. This year, the Portland conference was another home run. Beautiful houses to tour (see below), tiny house enthusiasts and experts to chat with, great vendors sharing their wares and receptive audiences for our talks. New this year: I was on a panel of tiny house dwellers dishing on lessons learned living in compact spaces. Ryan Mitchell of The Tiny Life knows how to throw a conference. (Thanks, Ryan, for including us!)

One of the highlights for me is still touring the houses on site at the conference. The artistry as well as the practical solutions, the tried-and-true approaches and well as the creative takes on small living—I love it all.

At this year's conference, Covo Tiny House Co. blew me away with their technology. Bluetooth controls for just about everything in the house (lighting, heating and security included) aren't just convenient and cool, they're space savers. The Mio model we toured would make an amazing live/work space with its sit/stand work desk, built-in monitor and a slew of USB charging ports.

Two other on-site builders underscored the importance of a good foundation. For a THOW, that's the trailer its built on. Tiny Mountain Houses (TMH) and Seattle Tiny Homes (STH) offer trailers specifically designed and engineered for tiny homes. STH says their trailers offer DIY builders 18" more buildable space (which is huge when you're talking tiny). The company also sells complete plans, including materials lists and step-by-step guides. TMH trailer design allows the company to maximize interior height, so their lofts didn't feel like crawl spaces. TMH also made the case for RV certification (which their houses have) for insurance and parking accessibility.

When it came to sheer beauty, a few DIY houses on site were a joy to tour, including the Gypsy Caravan, Sanden House and Patrick's Tiny House. Here are a few photos from my tiny house touring.

I've had a few people contact me recently, asking my advice on their tiny house aspirations. I love talking tiny and sharing what I know; that's why we have this blog. I want to illuminate the path to more sustainable living any way I can. But I also find myself writing the same message again and again, sending the same links to online resources, mentioning the same workshops, conferences and books, recommending the same newsletters and magazines.

So here's the start on a list of resources I turned to when we were getting started. It's not going to be exhaustive—just what I think of first. I'll post again on other helpful resources, but today's resource is tiny house blogs. Find free plans, read "lessons learned," get ideas for space savers, learn the ropes of composting, read the pros and cons of lofted beds and so on and on and on.

• Tiny House Build: Andrew and Gabriella Morrison designed and built their own fabulous tiny house. Recent blogs feature floor plan design, composting toilets and tiny house insurance. On the site, you can also get a free e-course, buy their house plans and sign up for one of their workshops. The Morrisons also post on the work they're doing to try to get building codes a little more tiny-friendly.

 

• The Tiny Life: Ryan Mitchell not only built the tiny house he lives in, he's built a tiny empire! He's written books/eBooks on tiny house electrical and zoning, retirement and reclaimed materials, as well as founding and running the annual Tiny House Conference. His blogs cover nuts and bolts (toilets, storage), lifestyle, resources and more. I like the variety—everything from specs on hot water heaters to big thoughts on how we spend our time.

 

• Tiny House, Giant Journey: Jenna Spesard and her partner made traveling the country towing a tiny house look like a breeze—so, if you're planning on moving around with your tiny, you won't find a better resource than some of her older blogs. These days, Jenna's house is parked, and she writes about tiny living and adventure travel. Some of the blogs that helped me in my tiny journey: her detailed materials/cost list and posts on biodegradable products.

 

• The Tiny House: Ethan Waldman's tiny house is beautiful. You'll want to look at pictures of it, but you'll also find a compendium of resources, building and product details, preparing a house for winter, and on and on. Ethan's also the author of Tiny House Decisions, which can take you through the process of going tiny step by step.

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• The Tiny Project: Alek Lisefski reviews everything from toilets to trailers on his blog. Plus, you'll find building tips, finance ideas, two free e-books to get you started and an amazing list of tiny house resources. Alex is part of the Tiny House Collaborative, which offers workshops, and he sells complete plans for his mighty fine little house.

Portland in April, anyone? We'd love to meet you at the 2017 Tiny House Conference, April 8-9. For the second year, we'll be speakers at the conference, where people thinking about living in tiny houses pick up design tips, building basics and sustainability practices.

We were two of those wanna-be tiny house people three years ago; we were pretty sure we wanted to build a tiny house, but not at all sure how to make that dream a reality. We attended the Tiny House Conference in Charlotte, NC, that year and came away with construction know-how, trailer pros and cons, design pointers, storage solutions and a community of resources. Just as important, we came away from the conference with the enthusiasm and confidence to get started. We returned home, ordered a trailer and started preparing our site and plotting out our house on graph paper.

This April marks 18 months of living in our THOW. We've learned so much designing, building and living in our house—and we look forward to sharing all that with the next generation of tiny house dwellers. Our talks will be on composting toilets (get the scoop on poop!) and tiny house budget and finance (if there's a will, there IS a way). We'll also be on hand all weekend to talk, answer questions and hear about other projects. 

What (besides us!) can you expect at this year's conference? 

A slate of experienced speakers addressing all aspects of tiny house living. Ethan Waldman, of The Tiny House, on lifestyle design and tiny house utilities. Andrew Morrison, building guru at tinyHouseBuild.com, with basic and advanced building techniques. Kristie Wolfe, creator of three magical tiny projects, with tips on design. And many more!

Plus, you'll be able to tour a variety of tiny houses parked on site for the event. We toured our first tiny house at the 2014 conference and I can't emphasize enough what a difference it makes to walk through a few tiny layouts before you start sketching your own pocket palace. We borrowed ideas about storage and sink size and building materials (just to name a few) from the houses we toured. The mix of DIY and professional builds will give you a good idea of what's possible.

Dreaming of building all (or part) of your house yourself? Come on Friday for Tool School, where building pros show you the ropes. You'll use a table saw, a miter saw, nail gun, sawmill, drill, impact driver, router, grinding wheel and more under the direction of an expert building.

And, if that's not enough enticement, the conference offers countless opportunities to network with like-minded humans; find resources for your build or buy and pick the brains of people who are already living and loving the tiny house experience. Like us! If you're coming to Portland, drop us a line if you'd like to get together to talk and share ideas.

Here are a few photos from last year's conference in Asheville, NC:

We love the toasty warmth our Kimberly wood stove throws off, but...it doesn't stay lit all night and it obviously doesn't continue burning when we're not here.

​For our first 18 months in the house, we relied on our DeLonghi portable radiant heater to augment the wood stove, even plugging in a second unit for the coldest days. We  kept the space heater(s) set at a base temp (between 64 and 70 degrees, depending on the last person to fiddle with the thermostat). While the heater is quiet, relatively efficient and effective, it takes up floor space and requires a cord. (Some of us have serious cord issues...) 

We continued looking for a more efficient, space-saving, cordless heat source. Thanks to other tiny house blogs like The Tiny Project, Tiny House Giant Journey and Jess and Tim's Tiny House, we knew to take a close look at the Envi convection heater. Its slim, wall-mounted design alone makes it a great tiny house fit—no floor space required! I also love that it blends in with our white walls. (If your walls aren't white, it can be painted.)

So, it's an obvious win-win when it comes to size and looks. But does it keep us warm?

The short answer: it certainly helps keep us warm. We chose to mount our Envi on the bathroom wall, a space the furthest away from our wood stove. Placing it in that walled space means it could never heat our entire tiny house. But we're impressed enough with the Envi's performance, that we're getting a second unit to mount in the main living space of the house. We think the two wall-mounted heaters will be sufficient to keep us at a base warm temp. Then we'll fire up the wood stove when we're here, and we want more heat. 

Some specs on the Envi:

• Low energy requirements  (475 watts; 3.95 Amps; 120 volts).
• One unit heats up to 130 square feet.
• Built-in thermostat.
• Corded and cordless models available.
• Space saver: wall-mounted and only two inches thick.
• Wallet-friendly pricing (less than $150).
• Quiet.
• Safe (even at its highest setting, it won't burn anyone).

Please click on the photos below for more details.

Tiny house builder and dweller, writer, photographer and editor, Andrew Odom is a pioneer in the tiny house movement. In addition to living in small spaces with his family, Andrew blogs about the movement and edits Tiny House Magazine. He is the author of Your Message Here: Gaining Corporate Sponsors for Your Tiny House Project (2014) and How to Decorate the Tiny House (2013), as well as a contributor to the Turning Tiny (2016) anthology. Though in the midst of planning the first Tiny House NC Street Festival, Andrew generously took time to answer a few questions.

What brought you to the tiny house movement?

The short answer is that in 2009 my wife and I were looking for affordable housing. We were victim to the “American Dream” ethos. We found a home and were approved to buy it. However, I was working a dead-end job and she was working a seasonal position; we didn’t have anywhere near enough money for this little home. To combat our trepidation we started looking at non-traditional homes. That led us to everything from an igloo to an RV, a cabin kit to a tiny house on wheels. 

Your family has lived in more than one tiny dwelling. Can you tell us about your first tiny house? Did you design/build it yourselves? How long was the build and how long did you live in it?

Our first tiny house was 30’ long and was single level. We designed it as a napkin sketch based on what we needed to live. It was built on a salvaged Shasta RV trailer and took us nearly 14 months to build. We did all the labor except the metal roof. We had professionals install that. We lived in it for 2 years. 

You sold your tiny house a few years ago and bought a travel trailer. Was it a hard decision to let go of the house? How did life compare in a travel trailer? 

It was bittersweet, yes, because we put so much of “us” into our tiny house on wheels. However, we were ready to move on to the next adventure. We lived on the road for two years. I can’t possibly sum up in just one answer how life compares. I encourage folks to visit my Tiny r(E)volution website to read all about the similarities and differences.

Living "tiny" is about more than square footage, but your current 860-square-foot house wouldn't be considered "tiny" by purists. Still, you appear committed to the movement. Before we talk about the street festival, can you tell us about other projects you're involved with?

I am the Managing Editor for Tiny House Magazine. I blog weekly on Tiny House Listings and Tiny House Blog. I have two self-published books on tiny house sponsorship. I have been a keynote speaker or a featured speaker at a dozen tiny house festivals. I do about one workshop every two months or so. Plus, I am mentoring a local school system on building their own tiny house on wheels. I am all over the place!

Now, for the 2017 Tiny House NC Street Festival...what was the inspiration for this event? 

Passion for non-traditional houses and passion for the great state of North Carolina. 

Since this isn't being called a conference or a workshop like many other tiny house events, what can attendees expect to hear and see at the street fest?

Builders will have houses on hand. We will have a wealth of speakers. Vendors will be set up. It is truly  a celebration of tiny houses in North Carolina. 

Any unique features of the festival you'd like to point out? 

Perch & Nest Tiny Homes will be showcasing a Feature House, which means we will be putting their unique home on a city lot complete with landscaping, etc. We want to show what a tiny house on wheels would look like in a more traditional neighborhood setting. 

The festival is being held in Pink Hill, NC. It seems that North Carolina has become one of the nation's tiny house "hot spots." Can you talk a little about that?

I can talk a lot about that. *laughs* Our state is so dynamic. The western part is full of beautiful mountains. The central has some dynamic metro areas like Charlotte and Raleigh/Durham. The east coast is on the Atlantic Ocean. All between are beautiful farms. We are into agriculture as well as industry and technology. 

Visit the Tiny House NC Street Festival website for more information about the April 2017 event.

A few messages came in today, all asking questions related to an article in Treehugger.com about our house. The funny thing is that I didn't know we'd been featured on Treehugger. I went to the site and searched. Sure enough, there's a piece on our house. I think it nicely captures much of our story, so I'm pasting the text below.

But more about Treehugger. It's a site I've been inspired by for years. I love their taglines, which change all the time: "Environmental Carpe Diem," "Sustainability with Sass," etc. I love their articles—everything from pieces on baby sea turtles to global gender equality to battery innovations to tiny spaces. I've long been a reader, so it's an honor to be included on the site. If you don't know Treehugger, give it a look.

 Treehugger used our pictures for the article; you can see them at their site.
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Tiny solar-powered homestead built by 'right-sizing' couple

Kimberley Mok (@kimberleymok)
Design / Tiny Houses
November 3, 2016

One might be forgiven for thinking that tiny homes are generally for free-wheeling millennials looking to get out of the mortgage trap. After all, we do see a good amount of young people sharing their stories of tiny house bliss. But there's also a healthy contingent of more mature folks who have downsized and ditched large homes in favour of something that may be smaller, but offers more financial freedom.

Jody and Bill Brady are one such pair of intrepid people, who decided on a big life change. They describe themselves on their blog Simply Enough: "We're a couple in our 50s who decided we wanted to 'rightsize' our lives. We sold our big house and invested the profits in ourselves: we quit our jobs, did a lot of research and then designed and built our own 250-square-foot house in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia." Or, as they tell Apartment Therapy, they once lived in a 3,500-square-foot house, and one day, while looking over their finances, they realized that "The house owned us." They made the switch by building their own smaller home.

In choosing to live more simply and sustainably, the couple chose to build with reclaimed materials whenever possible, which may take a longer time, but results in what Jody calls a more creative and "serendipitous design". Barn and pallet wood is used throughout their home, either on walls or for building furniture. Another good small space strategy: installing lots of windows and doors (this house has three leading to the exterior), so that light comes in and no one feels trapped in a small space.

The kitchen's storage drawers are made out of recycled pallet wood, while the IKEA pendant lamps also remix old colanders. The huge 30 by 18 inch sink has space for washing dishes, clothes and filling up garden pails. The stove is an alcohol-burning stove.

The couple's 12-foot-wide tiny house on wheels is situated on the side of a hill on a friend's property, and has been built to blend in with its surroundings as much as possible. When you live in a small space, it's important to have lots of time outdoors, so here there's a vegetable garden (their solar panels are placed here -- the home is 80 percent solar-powered), exterior deck, and a 160-square-foot screened structure that provides shelter while still being outdoors, perfect for entertaining or a pleasant cook-out.

So far, Jody and Bill have lived in their hand-built tiny home for a year and have no plans to return to a big home. To read and see more of their story, visit Simply Enough.