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| A neighbor of ours in Monterey drew this over dinner at a neighborhood bar--we treasure it. |
Many people have asked us why we are deciding to go tiny. Before our build began, we spent countless hours working through our why and looking to pioneers of the tiny house movement for inspiration and direction.
OUR WHY
Pursue a life that offers freedom to experience the richness of our world; freedom to work for purpose rather than paychecks; and freedom to surround ourselves with only the things that truly matter.
HOW WE GOT HERE
Imagine that your house is on fire and you have 30 seconds to grab the three most important things. What three things would you carry with you into the future?
On a sleepy Sunday morning, we did the same exercise. Without conferring with each other, we each said, “Our dog, a leash, and the computer.*” There we were, surrounded by items that we’d worked for more than 10 years to acquire, in a rented house that takes at least a fifth of our annual income, realizing that we could leave it all behind and not miss it too much. *Ironically, my computer (one of the three things that would have made it into the tiny house), was stolen just before Christmas. Don't worry, now Kacey and I have a better, faster, newer computer that is ours.
With that in mind, we decided to construct a life that more closely aligned with what was most meaningful in our lives: positive human interactions and the freedom to experience life more deeply.
In doing so, we are escaping debt and financial stress, the excessive and wasteful luxuries of our modern society, and the mistaking of extreme wealth for extreme success.
OUR INSPIRATIONS
We got started with "TINY: a story about living small," a video on Netflix. Christopher Smith and Merete Mueller constructed a tiny house in the open air near Kenosha Pass, one of Colorado's most striking backdrops, and one in which Kacey has spent many summers.
Kacey got hooked first. I came home from school one day and he said, "Don't laugh, but I know what I want to do with my life." I immediately thought, "Oh, no, he's throwing in the towel, abandoning his career, and pursuing a career as...I don't know...a conspiracy theorist?" I sat down next to him on the couch and saw the title of the movie, "TINY." I laughed out loud. For those of you that haven't met him in person, Kacey is 6'4''. And he wanted to build and live in a tiny house. HA!
The joke was on me, though, because a few minutes in, I, too, was hooked.
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| Their dog, Salies, is much more photogenic than Gus. |
Jenna and Guillaume are tiny living pioneers who are currently a huge inspiration to us. The two of them built their own tiny house and are now touring the continent, hosting open houses, and offering people a glimpse into the tiny lifestyle. Kacey recently had the opportunity to meet them during their open house in San Francisco, and much to his chagrin, he found himself practically speechless.
Jenna's blog post "5 Lessons I've Learned from my Tiny House" was timely and inspiring. After Kacey and I'd had a grueling day putting sheathing up (I am so glad we are building a tiny house--can you imagine how much sheathing there is for a full size house?!), this blog captured many of the reasons I am looking forward to living tiny, and it helped to re-focus and re-energize me.
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