The Tiny House Movement and Merits of Downsizing

A great article on why folks are downsizing and the tiny house movement is growing. I thought you may enjoy this article By Tom Howser

People are talking about the tiny house movement. What is it? Is it small houses that are being moved down the street to tiny lots? Is it a political movement? This movement is all about a segment of society that states that people are downsizing the space or spaces that they live in.

If you haven't heard of it, the tiny house movement is a growing trend and not just a fad. It's been featured on network television all over the world. What makes the tiny movement so big, and what determines what a small home is? The average house in America is just less than 3,000 square feet in size. Tiny houses are built with the focus on smaller simplified living so they average around 400 to 500 square feet at the most. Some small houses are very tiny, at around 65 square feet.

But Why the Movement toward Downsizing Houses?

This movement is all about efficiency, saving natural resources, and saving the environment. People who have been concerned about these factors in society have been very concerned at the amount of natural resources (and accompanying waste) that's generated every time a standard size home is built.

And if you include all the resources that go into maintaining older standard size houses, a good argument can be made that the old adage of "Bigger is better" is not better anymore. For example: If a tiny home of about 200 square feet is built in remote areas away from sprawling cities, the house leaves virtually no impact or carbon footprint on the natural environment around it. And in many areas small houses are using solar panels for their energy source.

Smaller Homes Are Economically Friendly Too

When you consider many automobiles today cost over $50,000, it's easy to see the economic value in getting involved in the tiny house movement. Small homes or houses can cost as little as $37,000 if you buy a pre-fabricated or pre-built one. If you build it yourself you'll save a lot more.

A lot of people think that buying a tiny home means living in a cardboard box or something like that. Not so. Because the cost of a tiny house is so low, builders can focus on higher quality building materials that are more energy-efficient and last longer than materials used in traditional home building.

The small house movement is also providing an affordable means of home ownership to people whose homes were destroyed during hurricanes in the southeastern U.S. in the past ten years. Some people whose houses were completely demolished could not afford to rebuild, or they did not have sufficient insurance coverage to rebuild the home they had before. So tiny homes provide a comfortable and safe life for them.

Downsizing to Simple Housing Is the Answer for Some

There are some people who have not been affected by natural disasters or financial meltdowns. They simply want to join the movement because for a lot of people in today's hectic society, simplicity is king. Many people in society during the last few decades have found themsOptionselves working long work weeks and getting little time off, only to spend that time constantly maintaining a large house that they hardly ever spent any time in. Although small homes will always be just that, the tiny house movement is growing into something big.

Tom Howser writes about small houses as well as reducing one's carbon footprint and living a sustainable lifestyle.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Tom_Howser

The Classic Spork - Reinvented

While on the shopping trip at World Market where I found the fantastic collapsible silicon funnels, I also found this little gem: two-in-one fork and spoon, a.k.a spork. This institutional standby has been redesigned into a clever utensil designed for convenience and portability. Unlike a traditional spork, which is a spoon with tines on the end of the bowl, this spork is a fork on one end and a spoon on the other. They were just $1.99 and are made of durable stainless steal. I bought two because I thought they were quite clever and wanted to try them out, but the more I think about them the more I realize they are great space savers for those with a tiny house too.

Things that I like about this spork (although it is like no spork you have ever used before) include both its solidness its space saving size, and its portability. It would be useful in a kitchen, a lunch kit, strapped to a Bento Box, or included in a picnic basket. I also think keeping a couple in my drawer at work will be convenient since I hate plastic disposable flatware. Because you wash and reuse this spork (it is dishwasher safe), it is a green alternative for those looking to help reduce the amount of trash going to our landfills. These would be a one time purchase as opposed to plastics which could possibly have BPA and/or other toxins and would eventually end up on a landfill not decomposing for 100 years or more.

As great as I think this is, there are some limitations to consider in the design of this spork. First, there really is no "handle" so your hands will touch the spoon end when using the fork end, and vice versa. You will either need to use the fork side first then wipe it off to use the spoon side, or the reverse. Second, the spoon is not really very deep. Finally, The tines on the fork are rather short.

I tried this spork out today on my Cup-o-Noodle lunch and despite its compact size it worked quite wonderfully. I am going to go and pick up four more of these to keep in my picnic basket as well as the two I already have in my desk at work. I think that once I am in my tiny house, these will come in handy there as well in the limited space of my tiny kitchen. If you are not a great gourmet and are looking for practical utensils that don't consume much real estate in small spaces, then this ingenious piece of flatware might just be something you come to love.

You can order your own at the World Market site here:
http://www.worldmarket.com/product/metal-spork.do?from=Search&cx=0

What do you think? Have you ever used a spork before? Would you find something like this handy in your kitchen?

C'mon Baby, Light My Fire

It is a romantic image: Air cold enough to see your breath and a nice hot fire to keep you warm. However, anyone who has ever been really cold and trying to get a fire started knows how frustrating and scary it can be. Wind, rain, a lighter that is dying, or even worse, just a couple of matches left in the pack, can send the blood pressure rising and the anxiety into overload. Well, to help alleviate the worry of not being able to get kindling to light quickly and easily, I am going to share a DIY that you can assemble from things you typically throw away or recycle. Collect the materials over time, assemble and store. You can store lots of these in a small area. In the time of an emergency or even when you are just trying to get a fire going in the hearth, you can use one of these and save yourself all that stress.

Mason Jar Monday - Easy Mason Jar Time Capsule - Scrapbook in a Jar

A Year of Memories

Today's Mason Jar Monday DIY is an easy-peasy time capsule. Also called a scrapbook jar, Mason jars make a great way to preserve memories in addition to food.

Limited space in my tiny house means I don't want a ton of scrapbooks hanging around. You can read my post about using a digital photo frame to store and display thousands of photos in a small footprint, however memories are not limited to photographs. Many of my best memories are tangible. That seashell you found on the beach, the heart-shaped rock your special someone gave you, and the homemade Mother's Day card from your kindergartner are all precious memories you want to save. How, in a tiny house or in a small home, can you store these without them taking over your limited space making it looked cluttered or sloppy. An easy way to store and display these memories is by using a mason jar to create a time capsule scrapbook jar and then store and display it neatly on a shelf.

Dusty on Top

I have been doing this for two years now and I just love it. Throughout the year I collect trinkets such as squished pennies, ticket stubs, shells, pine cones, newspaper clippings, photographs, and other memorable bits I find interesting along the way. I write important dates such as the birth of a friends baby on a scrap of paper and I drop it into the jar. On New Years Eve I empty out the jar on the table and go through the "memories" from the year. I add a letter to myself in the future that talks about the past year and hopes for the upcoming one. Once I am done traveling down Nostalgia Lane, I put everything back in the jar and seal it up. I add it to the shelf as a decorative piece. Anytime I want to reflect on a particular memory, I can simply open the jar and "touch" history. I figure at the end of five years, I will consolidate each year into its own resealable bag and fit all five into a single gallon size jar to save space.

I am thinking this would be neat for a "Baby's First Year" time capsule too. You could add things like the birth announcement newspaper clipping, a pair of booties or baby socks, a tiny diaper, hospital bracelets, diaper pins, a favorite onesie, pacifier, lock of hair, etc. Jot down firsts (sits up, sleeps through night, smile, etc.) on a piece of scrap paper and drop it in. By the end of baby's first year you will have a nice record of their growth from birth on that is stress free compared to trying to remember to update a baby book. In fact, you could just empty the jar on a table, arrange it all in order from oldest to newest and then create a physical scrapbook or fill in a baby book.

This and That's Inside

For those who are planning a wedding, why not place a jar and some pretty scraps of paper on a table with pens? Invite your guests to leave you messages of love and advice for a happy marriage. On your first anniversary sit down over a glass of wine and read them together.

Pet owners may just want to create a jar for each of their pets. Every vet visit just drop in information about vaccines and treatments. Keep expired or updated tags too.

To label your jar, you can slip a paper printed with the information between the ring and the lid, as shown in my picture. If you have a Cricket machine or something similar you could cut out and stick on vinyl lettering/numbers to label your jar. Creating a label from a canning jar label would be nice as well.

Mason jars make a fantastic impromptu time capsule that are economical and practical. What would you include in your time capsule?

Reusable Canning Jar Lids

I love canning. I love the idea of putting by and, even more, I love the idea of being able to eat good, hearty food when times are rough. Learning to can and preserve is indispensable on a homestead as a way to preserve and extend the harvest. There are three key components to canning jars: the glass jar itself, the sealing lid, and and the ring. The rings and the jars can be reused, but the traditional aluminum canning lid cannot. Tattler Reusable lids are the answer to replacing lids year after year. They are also green because you purchase them one time and are not disposing of them each time you open a jar.

Tattler lids come in two parts: the plastic lid and a rubber gasket seal. Combined they make an excellent seal and each rubber gasket will last approximately 20 canning cycles. The seals are super reasonable (about a quarter a piece) to replace. They are BPA free and made in America too! If you buy in bulk you can save even more.

I have added 200 regular and 500 wide mouth Tattler Reusable Jar lids to my wish list along with some replacement seals. You can find them at the companies website http://www.reusablecanninglids.com/, and find many of their products sold with a discount if you choose to buy in bulk.

Have you used Tattler lids? If so, what do you think are the pros and cons of using a reusable lid?

Turn Your Blog Into A Book

It was just about a year ago today that I began this blog and my journey toward my sustainable homestead in a Tiny House. I spent this morning waxing nostalgic and rereading posts from the beginning. I have written about such a large variety of things related to my adventure, everything from the toilet (Loveable Loo) to the kitchen sink (My Kitchen is Coming Together). As I got to reading I thought to myself that maybe I should print out the first year and save it. This led me to wondering if there was a way to have a blog printed out as a book. Could I produce a book from my blog? I went to my trusty Google and discovered, yes, there are places that do that! So, if you have ever wondered if you could turn your blog into a book as a keepsake, here are some companies that do just that:

Blog2Print:

• 45 Cover Options
• Color or Black and White Printing
• Hard Cover or Soft Cover
• Digital File 
• You choose page breaks or No page breaks
• Base Fee for 20 Pages is $24.95
• Additional Pages: .35 cents each

To print my blog into a book using all posts from Oct. 1, 2012 to October 26, 2013 which is 206 pages, including page breaks and hard cover would be $90.05, softcover would be $80.05, and Digital Download just $7.95.

Blurb:

Blurb is software you download and then import your content into. You then edit page layouts add or remove posts and finally upload to print. Printing is done on demand with bulk discounts starting after ordering seven. If you are looking to self-publish and sell your book, this is a way to do it. They also do ebooks and photo books. You can even sell your book in their website book store.

Prices begin at $12.95 for a 7" x 7" softcover color book. They have a wider variety of finished book sizes than Blog to Print. You can also create notebooks and planners. The software is free, so you should play around with it and see if it is right for you.

BlogBooker:

Blogbooker turns your blog into a high quality PDF book. Here is how it works (taken directly from their website): 

How does it work?You submit an export file provided by your blog system to BlogBooker.
Your file is verified and all linked images are fetched.
Entries, Comments and Images are assembled into a high-quality PDF.
PDF is provided without any restriction and thus can be submitted for printing to third-parties.

Best of all? It is FREE!! So, if you are looking to archive your blog, distribute it on CD, or send it to a friend to read on their computer offline, this is a great option. They will even help you market your book on places like CafePress and LuLu. You will, however, need to go in and edit your layout and such. You will see that it will take some work to get it ready to go, but for free, hey, can't beat that! 

Have you ever considered turning your blog into a book? 

Collapsible Silicone - Kitchen Wares of the Future Available Today

I stopped by my local World Market on my way home from work last night to pick up some tea. If you have never spent any time in World Market, you really need to go check it out. They have some very interesting things from all around the world and a great selection of kitchen goods at very reasonable prices. As I wandered up and down the aisles looking at all the do-dads and trinkets, I came across these collapsible funnels. I just knew I had to share with you, dear reader, all about them. They are part of a new trend of collapsible silicon kitchen gear. They pop out to a regular full size product and then conveniently store back down into a flat and tidy size. They were just $1.99 each, which is a fantastic value and came in a variety of colors. I chose to buy two, one green and one blue. They are dishwasher safe and can stand the heat of boiling water without issue. Silicon is also easy to clean, has no BPA, is supple, and is durable.

There is an entire line of collapsible silicon products made by Squish and Progressive International that make bulkier kitchen goods such as colanders and bowls much more convenient to store. The cost is still a little more for many of these items as you are paying what I like to call a "convenience" fee, but over time I think the costs will come down. Living in a tiny house, or even just having a small kitchen, no longer means you can not have a variety of items to cook with, it just means looking at traditional, large-foot items with a new eye.

Have you tried any collapsible or silicone kitchen wares? Share you experience below.