Earlier this year, a production company contacted me to ask if I could spread the word that they were looking for tiny houses to feature in the second season of an AOL online channel. After I posted to a few tiny house groups, on a whim I decided to submit our house. Eventually, they contacted me and asked when they could send their camera man.

That was around the time I told Bill about the whole thing. How I convinced him to go on camera I still don't know. But he did. And for months I've been cringing, thinking about how awkward I felt in front of the camera and dreading the day the show came online. But guess what? The cameraman took incredible shots, and the editors worked their magic cutting our most awkward moments. 

Why put ourselves through this trauma? For the same reason I forced myself to accept an invitation to be interviewed on a tiny house podcast and the same reason we talk at tiny house conferences. It sounds a little evangelical, but we have a message: You can live better with less. If you're happy with a big house and lots of things, I'm happy for you! But, if like us, you find yourself working a job you don't like and spending all your money on your big house and its big bills when you'd rather be off on an adventure, then maybe you, too, will want to Dream Big, Live Small.

All photos and video courtesy of Dream Big, Live Small / AOL.com

​Four years ago, we were thinking about building a tiny house. What got us from "thinking" to "doing"? The Tiny House House Conference.
 
Recently, I wrote a post for The Tiny Life, the blog of conference founder Ryan Mitchell. In my post, I share the story of how attending the conference clinched our resolve to design and build our own house.
 
Two years after that first conference, with our house built, Ryan invited us to speak about our experience. This year marks our third year as speakers at The Tiny House Conference. We'll be talking about off-grid living and tiny house budget and finance. Other speakers will cover design and layout, building techniques, finding land and more. And, just as importantly, you'll get to tour a variety of small dwellings.
 
If you're looking for that nudge to get started on your tiny house, I hope you'll join us in Charlotte, NC, this March 17th and 18th.

The images below are from the 2017 Tiny House Conference in Portland, OR.

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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.

Once we decided to build a tiny house, we hunted online for ideas. Video tours on YouTube were sometimes helpful (and sometimes frighteningly dark and claustrophobia-inducing). I found articles discussing the movement in general, and studied small pictures accompanying the text. Then I found Tiny House Swoon, a site devoted to sharing tiny house eye candy. There, I scrolled through full-screen photos of wee houses of all styles and configurations. It sparked ideas. 

And now we hope our house can spark a few ideas for people considering a smaller footprint. You'll find pictures of our house on Tiny House Swoon. 

I still love to go to the site, to see what the "tiny house nation" comes up with—from yurt to container home to micro cabin to THOWs like ours. If you're interested in tiny living, it's a must-visit. But if micro housing isn't for you (and your family), head for the companion site, Small House Swoon. I'm not looking to move from my tiny, but I love looking at great design. You'll find it there.

Here's one photo of our house shared on the site: