5 Tiny Homes you can Purchase right Now!!!

Do you know how much is a Tiny Home? 

This link will give you an idea!! 

Purchase a Tiny Home 

The Traveler 

Please read the comments on the link to get valuable information. 

From the Georgia Tiny House Festival

 

On a cool, but sunny weekend, I attended the 2016 first annual Georgia Tiny House Festival  hosted by John Kernohan and Fin Davies, as well as, Will Johnston and other members of Tiny House Atlanta at Crooked Pines Farm.What an experience it was! As I walked up to the festival,  several tiny homes in a variety of shapes, sizes and colors lined the entrance. The first one was a van conversion done by Alon who resides in Atlanta. He tours with his van to various places and festivals. His artistry is evident from the time you step into his van and on the canvases leaning against it.

As I walked down the line, I saw a school bus conversion, a yurt, the tiny Victorian house and one shell built by Kokoon Homes. Inside the event, several builders showcased some of their work. The Gypsy Wagon above was built by Trekker Trailers from Leesburg, Florida. They brought several of their tiny homes up with them in more contemporary styles. Andrew Bennett and Robin Butler have formed an organization called NOAH (National Organization for Alternative Housing). They offer certification workshops for builders and are working to set national standards for THOW's. They, also, help house the homeless, veterans and underprivileged with tiny homes on wheels through Tiny House of Hope. For more information, click on the word NOAH to access their website

Other builders who brought their tiny homes on wheels included, Free Range Homes and Hummingbird Housing.

There were some very famous folks there, such as, Vera Struck of terrabluteams.org who built an educational tiny house of wheels from sustainable and recycled material with a membrane fiber that allows the house to breathe. Next to her is Will Johnston who began Tiny House Atlanta and is doing some amazing work with his group in advocating for THOW's to be permanent dwelling structures in Atlanta and the state of Georgia.

I had the pleasure of meeting and chatting a bit with Jewel Pearson aka Ms. Gypsy Soul. She is an inspiration as a woman chasing her dreams and making her "tiny" dream come true. Her tiny house on wheels build was showcased on HGTV's Tiny House, Big Living show. You can find that link on her Facebook page. On the other side of us is John Kernohan who, with the help of the lovely Fin Davies, put this event together and is already working on next year's festival. They did an AMAZING job!

Nasly and I are working on a project and will be blogging about that and our progress. We thank all of you in the tiny house community and those who partner with us as we advocate for variances and amending of zoning and building codes to include tiny homes here in southeast Florida.

Downsizing: It's All in Your Head

Happiness, peace and love are things we all seek to build a good life. Stress continually fights to keep us from both acquiring and holding on to that inner landscape. So, downsizing things, thoughts and life is essential to getting us there. How do you get there?

This process starts with asking yourself some questions.

⦁    Is my happiness dependent on things or people? Is peace dependent on my circumstances or what I have? Is love dependent on having someone, having things or what others think of me?
⦁    How much stuff do I NEED to function daily?
⦁    How can I mentally and emotionally detach from things that keep me from moving forward or enslave me?

Happiness is a choice. It's something we already have inside of us. Stuff doesn't make us happy. If it did, then we would all have that ONE thing and live happily ever-after. Right? So, why do we go out and repeat the same thing expecting to be satisfied this time? Look around you. How much stuff do you have? Does this stuff make you happy, bring you peace or fill your heart with love? What would happen if something happened to your stuff? Take a moment to think about that. Now, take a deep breath and release those unrealistic emotions attached to that thought. See what I mean? Is being emotionally attached to that stuff a good thing?

Ok, next question. As you look around your home, make a list of what you use on a daily basis. Clothing, appliances, tools, electronics, etc. Now, out of these things, do you have duplicates? Do you really need two shampoos, two TV's, two sets of dishes? Do you need a dozen pair of jeans, 25 pairs of shoes, two toolboxes, five spare cellphones? Do I need all these photo albums/keepsakes? What do you need to function daily? If you will honestly answer that question, you will find that amount to be considerably smaller than you're used to.

How do you detach? First, you need to see that nothing and no one is able to bring happiness, peace and love to you. You are the only one who can do that. All of these things come from the inside, not outside of you. So, take that list you've made and go over it again after meditating on the truth of the previous statement. See yourself cutting the cords to what you DON'T need. Now you can see the truth and move forward.

Your next step is to go get some boxes and begin the process of physically downsizing. Some things you will pass on or sell and some you will trash. Things to pass on or sell will be excess clothing, household stuff, tools, etc. You can donate them to a woman's crisis center or goodwill. You can have a yard sale. For photos and keepsakes, you can pass them to a loved one. Stripped teflon pans and white elephant nic nacs are trashbin items.

What you are left with will move you toward living tiny, which is not just about your square footage. It's about living life intentionally, realizing that happiness is an inner place. It's about realizing that stuff is just stuff.

Tiny House Dream - It takes time

  “There is no royal road to anything. One thing at a time, all things in succession. That which grows fast, withers as rapidly. That which grows slowly, endures.” – Josiah Gilbert Holland

http://www.keepinspiring.me/positive-inspirational-life-quotes/#ixzz3kaBId5Z6

I am in love with my tiny house dream. I watch shows on HGTV, FYI and search the internet for inspiration and ideas. I picture what it will look like. What colors will I use? How will it be laid out? Will I have one on wheels to travel and move with, or will it be on foundation as I settle in for my older age? I have joined several groups, visit other tiny house people's pages and blogs. I have done materials research and contacted a few builders. I co-organize and co-host the South Florida Tiny Home Association. Yes, I am FULLY engaged in a dream to live tiny! But, my dream is not just going to present itself magically at my doorstep and it won't happen overnight. Having a dream is important. However, at some point, reality declares that in order for your dream to come,  you must plan and take action.

The first question you must ask yourself is if you are ready to downsize and live in a home that is "tiny". Talk to your friends, other tiny house people and look at the challenges associated with living tiny.  Book a tiny home vacation to see how it feels to live tiny. Otherwise, in your impulsive romantic desire to live the latest trend, you could find yourself a few months down the road realizing it's "not for you". Time, money and effort have been spent that may not be recoverable.

If you do these things and you're tiny house dream still stirs you every morning and consumes your thoughts, then the work begins. Now comes the planning stage. It will not be easy, even if you are able to have someone build it for you. However, there are resources available to help you establish a plan. These tell you that a budget is essential or that you must search for the resources and materials you will need. Either way, it requires discipline, effort and time. Some days will be good and things will go smooth, and others will be frustrating with mistakes and delays. As you persist in moving forward and invest in your dream, it will slowly and surely take shape. Like the tree home in the picture, it is a process that begins from inside. I encourage you to carefully consider your dream, see if living tiny is for you.

God's blessings on your journey to what's been planted in your heart.

Letter of Request to Officials for Living in Tiny Homes

A Letter of Request

Dear Palm Beach, Broward and Miami-Dade Counties and the Cities and Towns Therein,

We request that you allow us, your citizens and taxpayers who work and live in the places we love, to live our dream of home ownership and dwelling in a less traditional way. Due to econonmic hardship, caused for a variety of reasons, we are unable and/or unwilling to qualify for or acquire 15-30 years of indebtedness that is required to own a traditional 1000 or more square foot home. We desire an alternative to this scenario and present our request for your consideration. We ask that you allow us to purchase or build homes under 500 square feet that are either on foundation or on wheels within urban and residential areas. We would like to build pocket communities, rent spaces provided by folks on their property or have the ability to purchase land and build a home on foundation under 500 square feet. We are not planning to live in unsafe structures. We will follow structural building codes in our area. We want our homes to be strong,  durable and insurable. We don't want more than is necessary to live responsibly and sustainably. We want to be free to save and spend our hard earned money on our children(s) educations, vacations we earn and need, to invest in our futures and local businesses and to be free to build businesses that will bring revenue through taxes paid. Yes, this means variances need to be approved and that zoning and coding laws that are outdated and restrictive need to be rewritten. We want to live in tiny homes. It is a trend that is growing as each day passes. Social media and televised media overwhelmingly publish this fact. A website, a Facebook page and Facebook group that I co-organize reflect this through likes, joins and visits. The requests for resources and places where they can live are significant and growing daily.

Will you grow with us? As citizens who reside, vote, work and pay taxes here, will you partner and cooperate with us in this evolution in how we live? We thank you for your time and your support.

Sincerely,

Elizabeth Mills and fellow Tiny Home Dreamers

What's Your Tiny Home Dream?

My dream is to live in a home on foundation with a total square footage of less than 500. I want to live in a pocket community that focuses on social connection, eco-sustainability, renewable energy sources and gardening. Having my own space is important even though I love connecting with others! Life is rich when we simply share and converse with others. We learn about other cultures and are able to build bridges through the things we have in common, such as food!

http://homefronthomes.com/r_gulf_coast.htm

In my search for eco-friendly and green building materials and builders, I have come across both a manufacturer here in Florida and a builder in my area that work together. I am very excited about this and will begin a search for a place to build this community!

What is your dream? Maybe you want to live in a tiny home on wheels and be free to travel. Or perhaps you're more into the modern/industrial style and prefer a container home. Whatever your dream is, we want to partner with you in bringing this into reality through resources, promotion and working to amend and change current outdated building and zoning codes. The truth is that we need you. This is not only our dream we're working for, but yours as well. Please attend our meetups and join our Facebook group.

http://www.meetup.com/South-Florida-Tiny-Home-Movement/
https://www.facebook.com/groups/sftha/