Blog - Page 3 of 4 - Tiny House Advisor

Living the Tiny Life with a Pet

Annie is our 6 yr. old, 35 pound Schipperke mix. I have read articles about people who live in their tiny spaces with all types and sizes of dogs; and most recently I found James and Macy Miller’s wonderful story of living in their 232 sq. ft. home with their 2 small children and their very large Great Dane. The only difference between their place and my 236 sq. ft. home is that they have a loft and I don’t. In the hustle and bustle of the many details of the move, I didn’t give much thought to how our … Continue reading →

Organizing – Moving it Around

When your goal, your dream, is to have more time freedom…more time for fun, more time for family, maybe more time to travel or for hobbies…you may think the best way is to get organized. But when you really think about the concept of being organized, it is quite literally finding ways to store all your stuff. You get more drawers, bookcases, storage bins or raise the bed to fit stuff under it and end up filling the garage until you have no room for your car. Organizing is not the answer because it is really just shuffling stuff, moving … Continue reading →

Opportunity to Travel

With my new-found time freedom since moving into my own tiny space, I have had the opportunity to travel, as I have always wanted to do. I recently went on a road trip to New England with my sister Beverly. Along the way, we stopped in several beautiful towns and had so much fun being part of the tourist community in each. NOTE: If you click on the pictures below, you can see a larger view. While touring a very old, sparsely-furnished plantation home in Georgia, probably where the owner lived as he climbed the ladder of success, I had … Continue reading →

Living on a Boat Named “Solitude”

Living on a boat with 6 children has always got surprised looks from people who can’t imagine how that is possible. Well, I can assure you it is. And we have a newspaper article about us doing it to prove it. To read that article, please click HERE. When I think back about our motivation to take such drastic steps, I first think about how much we enjoyed boating as a family and recall all the fond memories of every weekend in the summer that we would be on our boat. Being self-employed gave us the freedom to leave the … Continue reading →

Pockets

I took a picture of this at a yard sale because I could see its possible uses for storage. I asked the homeowner about it and he said his wife used it in her fitness salon. I am sure you would want to use your favorite colors to compliment your own taste. You could make one of these fairly easily, even use the popular fabric burlap or something stiffer like leather or vinyl. It certainly wouldn’t be necessary to make it this big, you could make one panel that could be attached to a wall. And keep in mind that … Continue reading →

Exhaust-ing

I have seen a lot of tiny houses that don’t appear to have any kind of exhaust fan near the cooking area. It is important to consider this when cooking, especially in a small space. That fact came home yesterday when I was cooking some scallops, which made our whole place smell like fish. Frequently, various food odors can linger in even much larger homes. So, it is a good idea to consider ways you can have some kind of exhaust system in your tiny house or small living space. Even with exhaust ventilation, I would consider what foods I … Continue reading →

One Minute Rule

Everyone is so busy nowadays, there just isn’t enough time to get organized! But isn’t this the definition of an oxymoron? For instance…I am too busy to sharpen the saw that, if sharpened, would allow me to cut down the tree faster and get the results I need sooner. So…if you were organized, you would get more done in less time with everything in its rightful place. Here is one of my favorite tips I like to call the “One Minute Rule”. Every time you find yourself with a free minute, do something that takes a minute. You will be … Continue reading →

Path of Process

“Begin with the end in mind” is a famous quote by Stephen Covey. It can mean different things to different people. For instance, to a sales man or woman, it can mean calculating how many sales one needs to make their monthly quota. Then follow the path of process by dividing that number by how many calls needed to make a sale and the time period involved to achieve that goal. In other words, it’s a means to an end. You will find the same is true if you are saving money for a large purchase, a vacation or to … Continue reading →

Action Hero

Think about it. You have been accumulating your belongings for years, so don’t even imagine you can start downsizing in a weekend. I read tips and articles about the best way to get started and most of the time the experts tell you to begin with a drawer, or a closet or even one room and get 3 or 4 boxes, labeling them ‘Donate’, ‘Keep’, ‘Share’ and ‘Store’ or something equivalent to that. They say, “Then, just start dividing!” That is all well and good, but until you are really ready to get serious, this is not the easiest thing … Continue reading →

Experiencing Before Deciding

Last fall I had a conversation with an adventurous man who had packed his van and traveled to Florida without reservations. He planned to rent a place for the winter months. Much to his surprise upon arrival, he had a difficult time finding anything available so late in the season. Luckily, he found a small efficiency apartment. After a few weeks of living in a tiny space, he told me, he experienced a big revelation. He never realized how little space he needed to be comfortable. Maybe that is what tiny-house wannabe’s need to do. Rent an efficiency or spend … Continue reading →