TINY HOUSE

magazine
Issue 2

THE BIG MOVE

TAMMY STROBEL

CODES AND
THE TINY HOUSE

12 STEPS TO FREEING
YOURSELF FROM STUFF
www.tinyhousemagazine.co © Tiny House Magazine 2013
Contents
Regulars 14 The Big Move
Tammy and Logan share
their experience as the
relocate their tiny home

03 Editor’s Note from Portland, Oregon to

Yreka, California.

Features 19
12 Steps to Freeing
Yourself From Stuff
Paprika Clark gives us
step one of her Freeing

04 Country Caravans
Film by Kirsten
Dirksen.
Yourself From Stuff feature
articles.

The r(E)volution 21 Tiny House Swoon

Small Cottage in Coastal

05 Probably Won’t Be
Televised
Maine.

Living large in a small

space by Andrew 24 Tiny House Listings
Tiny houses for sale
across the country.
Odom.

Codes and the Tiny

10 House
Macy Miller shares her
25 Tiny House Market Place
Tiny house related ads.

professional
experience about
building codes and tiny
houses.
Editor’s Note
In this second issue of the recently released Tiny House Magazine we
cover one of the advantages of having your tiny home on wheels.

Tammy an Logan recently relocated their home from Portland, Oregon to

Yreka, California. They share their experience in the article entitled “The
Big Move.”

Andrew Odom shares how his family is downsizing and constructing

their tiny home. He also shares his weekly broadcast that is available via
iTunes and on his blog.

Dealing with your local building codes can be a big stumbling block in
owning your own tiny house. Macy Miller discusses several ways to go
about finding out what your local codes are, how to deal with the local
government, and things to think about when you are going through this
process.

Another issue to downsizing is getting rid of all the extras. Paprika Clark
gives us some great ideas to make this process easier.

Plus much more.

If you have not already, I want to encourage you to subscribe today to

the Tiny House Magazine so that you will not miss a single issue.

Kent Griswold, Editor

Tiny House Magazine
Tiny House Blog
 Country Caravans as Tiny, Bohemian
Shelters in Rural France

Click to view on Youtube

Country caravans, or according to those at Roulotte de Campagne, “Bohemian-style caravans” are

back in style. “There's a fresh craze for these quaint mobile homes,” declare the designers. 

Roulotte de Campagne has redesigned the circus caravan, country caravan or so-called gypsy
caravan as a high-comfort way for city-dwellers to get away from it all and tap into their Bohemian
spirit. “‘Roulotte’ gypsy caravans," they say, "epitomize freedom and the great outdoors”.

They can be rented in 80 locations across France for about 70 to 95 euros per night or bought for
33,900 euros (this includes help marketing them as a B&B).

Caroline of Hôtel Chai de la Paleine added one to the grounds of her home/chateau/hotel in the
medieval village of Puy-Notre-Dame (in the Loire-Anjou-Touraine regional park). She rents it by the
night alongside her 3 Carré d’étoile cube shelters made by the same designers (who also created
the tiny pod dwellings, Le Pod).

In this video, Caroline shows us inside her 10 ft by 26 ft country caravan that comes with a fully-
plumbed bathroom, a kitchenette, heating stove and space to sleep 5 (master bed with privacy
curtain, and 2 convertible couches).

Kirsten Dirksen is co-founder of faircompanies.com and a Huffington Post blogger.

She has worked for MTV, Oxygen, The Travel Channel, and Sundance Channel. Her
documentaries include "Searching for Da Vinci's Secret" and "Translating Genocide:
Journey to Sudan." “We the Tiny House People” is her first documentary to premiere
on YouTube.
 w o n ’ t b e
The r(E)volution Probably Televised
by Andrew Odom
In what world does living small actually mean living large? The one inhabited by Andrew and
Crystal Odom, of course.

As the family behind Tiny r(E)volution we are often asked if living smaller actually makes us feel
more free or do we keep a great secret in that it makes us feel trapped? What a question. One
theory behind the tiny house movement – if you will – is just that. Tiny living brings about
freedom and more meaning in life. What we have discovered though is that tiny living does a
number of things. For us though it is just the physical manifestation of making a home!

Several years ago we chose – as Thoreau once did – to “live deliberately.” And to that end we
are now roughly at 70% of seeing our dream become a reality. We are seven months into
building our 240-square foot tiny house trailer. Positioned on a 30’ x 8’ tandem axle trailer our
tiny house is being built complete with a bedroom, a living room, a dining area, and a gourmet
kitchen.

In October 2009 we were contemplating our future while living and working in Barnesville,
Georgia. At the time we wanted a home of our own but knew the housing market was not in our
favor. Families were already finding themselves facing crippling balloon payments and crumbling
mortgages. We visited a couple of attractive homes in town and even went so far as to get pre-
financed. The amount the banks and lending institutions were willing to extend us was scary.
But nothing so scary as the monthly payments and accrued interest terms that accompanied.
Our idea for a small house or even
a tiny house trailer came almost
entirely out of frustration and even
a bit of fear. Best we can tell the
American Dream of having a quaint
home in a decent neighborhood
has morphed into a desire for a
corner lot in an exclusive, gated
community with homeowner
association approved color
schemes and manicured lawns.
Somewhere along the line keeping
up with the Joneses actually meant
whooping up on the Joneses and
taking their place! The long
standing Dream has become more
of a nightmare for many with a
constant pressure to own bigger
and better stuff and to get it “right
now!” This can only lead to
bondage; obligation to the loan
officer, lending institution, and even
credit companies.
We searched the Internet for real
estate deals in our areas, small
home plans, and other affordable
living options. Crystal came across
a website for Tumbleweed Tiny
Homes. I was immediately
enthralled and we began to dig
deeper. We spent days scouring
websites, reading articles about
this seemingly new movement, and
asking ourselves questions about
the feasibility aspect. In our
extensive travels (me as an Internet
entrepreneur and Crystal as a full-
time missionary), we had both seen
all sorts of living conditions and
agreed that we could, in fact, be
happy in a home that would
ultimately be smaller than most
American master bedrooms. We knew
that is a family could thrive in a 100
square foot on the other side of the
world then we could too! Our first vision
had us building a micro home on a
concrete foundation. Something was
amiss though.
What was missing was the mobile
element. We had both been living on
the road for years. Why now did we
want to stop moving? We began to
take note of the number of tiny houses
that were actually built atop a trailer.
They were functional and mobile. We
had found our destiny of sorts. We
almost immediately decided that we,
too, would build on a trailer in order to
change locations at any time should
there be a shift in the job market,
weather patterns, or even family needs.
I adopted a thought. New job. New
address. New adventure!
After two solid years of planning,
drafting, collecting materials, making
lists, blogging, dreaming, and saving
money, we began to build on May 5,
2012. Our trailer had long been ready
as we purchased it, sandblasted it, and
even painted it (semi-gloss auto black)
in late 2010. While we are now on v.7.0
of our tiny house we initially started
building v.5.0. Our construction has
certainly been an evolving one as
circumstances – including the birth of
our daughter – have necessitated
change in our design. Along the way
we have also turned our adventure into
a public scene as well keeping track of
our every nail and piece of wood on our
website: www.tinyrevolution.us. We
have also enjoyed the partnerships and
sponsorships afforded us by companies
such as EcoFoil, LP Building Products,
Green Building Materials, and Gulf
Coast Supply & Manufacturing. With
their help it has been our privilege to
introduce new products to the tiny
house market and show how those
same products can help other families
build affordably and sustainably.
One thing most notice is the lack of a
bathroom in our tiny house trailer. V.7.0
of our tiny house is actually a foundation
for further growth. Together with our
friend Kevin Harrington of Cozy Home
Plans we have developed the PODom
(POD living mixed with our last name)
that will ultimately include the addition
of a bedroom/bathroom annex, a large
deck for 3-season living, and a
rainwater harvesting system. During the
past two years we have realized that
our homesteading life is important to us
and so our tiny house trailer fits nicely
into a much larger design that will allow
us to own our home outright, micro-
farm, cultivate renewable energy, and
maintain a modicum of mobility.
We are well aware that a tiny home is
not for everyone. While some may find a
tiny home confining it has actually been
quite liberating for us. Through our
development stages we have reduced
our consumer debt, reduced our
personal clutter, found ways to lower
our energy costs, and ways to maintain
a smaller carbon footprint! There is
more to living tiny than just cramming
2,000 sq. ft. worth of stuff into 200 sq.
ft. With it comes mental, physical,
spiritual, and even emotional transitions.
The biggest benefit of our tiny house
adventure though is that we have
become a “cash-on-the-barrel” family.
We have dug ourselves out of personal
debt, have taken control of our
spending, and re-prioritized our needs –
vs our wants; all lessons we look
forward to passing down to our
daughter.
Tiny house building workshops. A tiny house
documentary. A live tiny house chat. Tiny house
YouTube videos. The only thing missing it seemed
was a dedicated tiny house podcast.

Podcasting — in it’s original audio format — really

took off in mid-2005 and early 2006, particularly
after Apple launched iTunes 4.9 with a podcast
directory. Since then, it’s gained momentum in both
audio and video format, thanks in part to the
exponential growth of iPods, iTouches, iPads, and
iPhones, as well as the desire of computer users to
broadcast their own message virtually free of
overhead expenses.

However, with the advent of video-sharing (YouTube,

Vimeo, etc), and social networking (Facebook,
Twitter, etc.) sites in 2007 and beyond, together with
a number of initial podcasters fading away into,
there has been a sense of doubt whether podcasting
actually took off at all or if it was merely a fad.
Recently though eMarketer released a report saying
the podcast audience reached 18.5 million in 2007
and has increased by 251% to 65 million in 2012. Of
those listeners, 25 million are “active” users who
tune in at least once a week. This was enough
motivation for Andrew Odom, ½ of Tiny r(E)volution,
to launch the r(E)vo Convo; a weekly, tiny house
inspired, interview laden, tour de force of podcasting
goodness.
The format includes among other things a
substantial interview each week with what Odom
considers a “mover and shaker” in the tiny house
community. Past guests have included Deek
Diedreksen, Tammy Strobel, Hari Berzins, Sarah
Myers McNair, and Shane Caverly.
Originally hosted on the popular BlogTalkRadio
platform, the r(E)vo Convo is now hosted on the
Tiny r(E)volution website and available for
subscription on the iTunes network.

Photo courtesy of Susy Morris

 Codes and the Tiny House
If there is one question most tiny house
builders get asked the most it is the dreaded
“Code” question. Building a tiny house is in
part an act of rebellion. It is a sort of civil
d i s o b e d i e n c e . T i n y h o u s e s a re n o t
considered truly legal anywhere, so building
one can take a little creativity. I reached out
to Macy Miller of MiniMotives to get her
professional take on building codes. She is
not only a tiny house builder herself but she
works with her city as well and had an
insider’s view of code enforcement. Here is
the interview I did with her for your code
research pleasure.
Where is the best place to start to find out
what your local codes are?
The best place to start is to go down to your
local City Hall, inside of it there is a “Planning
Department.”   People are there to help the
public through all their building and zoning
questions.   If you are curious about code
requirements but are planning to build on a
trailer you may want to leave that part off in
the conversation.  Once you mention that the
tiny house is on wheels they will look at you
like you’re crazy and stop helping – once it’s
on wheels it becomes a DMV/Highway
District issue rather than a city code issue.  (in  combination  with the bigger “main
However, the DMV will not be able, in most
cases, to help you out with any ‘code’
related stuff. They will do their own checks
as much as they can to make sure your
house won’t fall off the freeway and
endanger others, even then, they are not
structural engineers so don’t expect too
terribly much!
Even though most code officials won’t be
able to help I still highly encourage people to
go speak with officials, this will serve to let
them know there is a growing demand for
help and safety in this area.   Those people
you speak with are more likely to bring it up
at their next meeting and the code officials
are the ones who make the codes – they all
meet and discuss the priorities and adapt to
them, the more people they collectively see
coming in to ask about tiny houses the more
likely it is that tiny houses are going to start
to be considered at the code level.
If you want to go the passive way around
things you can look up a copy of the
Residential BuildingCode as well as your
local building requirements (generally found
on your cities website under something that
resembles a ‘Planning and/or Development’
department – this book and these codes are
however pretty complex and difficult to work
through without experience. If you try and
you get stuck you always have the code
officials at City Hall to help you understand.
What are the typical things that tiny house
builders will come up against in the process?
Typical things that will come up and what
drives a lot of people to go with the wheels
route instead of a foundation are minimum
house sizes. That is probably the
biggest  limiting  factor as I see it. The
smallest minimum habitable dwelling I have
heard of is 400 square feet and even that
had to be as an accessory dwelling
structure”). There are of course other factors,
I think the next biggest one would be the
egress requirements from a loft type of
space.  [This is typically] 5.7 square feet of
operable [window/door], which
are  navigable; but not if you already don’t
meet the size requirements.
Once you get into a tiny house on wheels
situation you have other  enforceable  code
issues you will have to work with, not so
much in the structure but in the parking.   If
you are on wheels you will have to register
your house as a semi-trailer, an RV, or a
mobile home (these are the only divisions I
have heard of, there may be others out there
though). The issues with each should be
considered, a mobile home can only be
p a r k e d i n d e s i g n a t e d  m o b i l e h o m e
parks (maybe not the ideal situation for most
of the crew that is interested in tiny houses…
unless someone starts to develop tiny house
parks… which is a development option I am
interested in looking into – but that’s a whole
OTHER story! The best I can tell this is
because they have systems set up to tax
these dwellings appropriately for city
functions like fire/police/schools etc.).  Semi-
trailers cannot be lived in for any amount of
time and RVs generally have rules set by
each city for how long you can live in them in
the same location (our limit is 30 days).  Not
to say that you couldn’t find a place to park
it where no one will ever complain.  Generally
the time limit with RVs isn’t enforced unless
there is a complaint. The best way to avoid
this would be to speak with your would-be
neighbors and make sure the subdivision/
city codes don’t have any statements
prohibiting RVs.
What is the best way to make your case to
the local government about building a tiny
space?
Right now there is no way I know of.  These
are not legal; you won’t get any sort of
official approval.   You may be able to do it
and fly under the radar but there is not a
single tiny house that is fully “legal.”   The
best thing we can do right now is bring the
issue up to local officials so they can start to
put it on their radar for future meetings when
talking about codes.
Right now the 2015 codes is being worked
on, I have pretty much been assured that tiny
houses won’t be addressed in it.   Currently
most areas are still on the 2009 code,
switching over to 2012 next year (they re-
evaluate codes every 3 years).  That means,
in the best case possible, we are looking at
getting tiny houses incorporated into codes
by 2018 and not fully adopted until
2019-2020 but every government process is
very involved and time consuming.  We need
to be able to show a demand for change and
we need a few strong leaders that can push
at a higher level for change.   I think we
definitely have a group of willing people to
step up and push at a higher level, myself
included, but if there are others I would
highly  recommend  they get involved, they
can email me specifically if they want! [You
can reach Macy through her blog at
Minimotives.com]
What are the best ways to get around
codes when thinking of building tiny?
 
Building on wheels is the biggest thing you
can do. You become a DMV/Highway District
issue, you pay your permits through them
(which are much cheaper than building
permits) and you do what you can. There is a
huge lack of security in knowing you can just
be where you are, you become
very  dependent  on your relationships and
finding someone who will share their lot with
you and hopefully doesn’t have neighbors
that will complain. If they do, you find a new
spot.
What are the best ways to work with the
community to make changes that will help
tiny house builders?
Be involved!  Talk to city planners and code
officials and let them know what you would
like to do. You can do this without telling
them you’re going to do it anyway.  Get this
on your local cities radar, just endure the
crazy looks.  One local county here actually
saw the demand and have changed their
local zoning codes to say that you can live in
an RV full time, so long as you meet a short
list of requirements, that means that, in that
county tiny houses registered as RVs are in-
fact legal with a little extra care. Unfortunately
this is a very rural area and isnʼt where I
personally want to be.
I have actually expected more crazy looks
than Iʼve gotten. There are a lot of people
who will think youʼre brilliant for wanting to do
this. Tiny houses were not a big deal 60
years ago, they were totally normal.   Now
there are whole generations of people who
have bought into the “American Dream” of so
much debt you canʼt help but
work  ridiculous  amounts of your life away
paying for it.  With the economy how itʼs been
we are seeing a lot more understanding and
almost  jealousy  of being able to pare down
to  something  that makes so much sense! I
should say, if you ever get a chance to talk to
a planner/code official, either by going down
there purposefully or just bumping into one,
the best question you can ask is “Are you
guys (or is your city) looking at
the possibility of tiny houses and allowing for
them in zoning codes?”   They will almost
always say “nope,” but it will plant a seed in
their head and it will carry forward.
Laura is a contributing write to Tiny House
Listings and she walks the walk. She and her
husband live in a 120 square foot cabin in
Asheville, NC that she and her husband Matt
built themselves. You can learn more about
Laura and Matt at their website
120squarefeet.com.
 Imagine Your
Tiny House
New book with
over 200 interior
designs for tiny
houses. Use it to
help build your
own tiny home
ownership dream.

Purchase the eBook

Purchase the Print Book

The Big Move
by Tammy Strobel
On Tuesday, September 4 we moved from
Portland, Oregon to the ranch. My sweet
husband, Logan, grew up on a cattle ranch in
northern California, about twelve miles east of
Yreka. The ranch is nestled in a small valley called
Little Shasta and it’s one of my favorite places on
the planet because it’s so beautiful.

Originally, we had planned on moving to Chico in

a few months. However, we’ve always wanted to
live in a rural area and this is the perfect time to
give it a try. We’re trying to be open to where life
takes us and if we like living on the ranch we’ll
stay. For now, we’re going to enjoy the ranch and
time with family. Rural living is going to be a really
fun adventure!

The Why Behind the Move

For those of you who don’t know the whole story

behind our move from Portland to the ranch, I’ll
give you the short version:

• Throughout the first part of the year, I was

traveling between Portland and Red Bluff
because my dad was really ill. We had been
thinking of moving back home for the past
year and my dad’s illness made us rethink
how and where we lived.
• Then in May, Logan found out that his job was
being moved to Boston. He was offered a
position at the new lab, but he turned it down
because we couldn’t imagine living so far
away from family.
• Then on June 10th my dad passed away and
that cemented our decision to move back to
California. It became clear that our family
needed us as much as we needed them.

Now that you know a little bit about why we

moved, I’ll tell you about moving day.
Rolling Down the Road
On Tuesday morning, we woke up at 4:45
a.m and our plan was to hit the road, with
the tiny house in tow, by 6 a.m. However, we
were delayed. My mom backed up her truck
to hitch it to the tiny house and then turned it
off. But when she tried to start the truck
again, it made a horrid clicking noise. We all
suspected that the battery was dead.
Thanks to a prompt response from AAA my
mom’s Ford F350 received two new batteries
and we left Portland at 9 a.m, right after the
morning rush hour. I’m thankful that the
battery died in Portland. It wouldn’t have
been fun to be stuck on the side of the road
with the tiny house or at a rest area waiting
for AAA to arrive.
Overall, the move itself went really smoothly.
Logan drove the whole way and my mom
and the cats kept him company. Dee and I
followed Logan and my mom down the road,
just to make sure there were no problems.
Dee’s car was also helpful when Logan had
to merge into a new lane. We ran
interference and flanked traffic for Logan.
It took about nine hours to travel from
Portland to the ranch. We stopped a lot to
check on the house and to take breaks from
driving. Today, I need to clean the windows
because there are so many finger prints and
a few face prints from folks looking into the
house. At every rest area, people were
incredibly curious about the tiny house and
peeked in the windows. I chatted with
truckers, older folks with RVs, and a few
people who were traveling to Ashland. Also, I
told my mom that she should be my PR
person. She was telling everyone about my
new book and handing out my cards too.
Serendipitously, we ran into our friends Russ
and Laura on the road as well. They were
headed down to Ashland to do some work.
Russ got some fun photos of the little house
rolling down the highway. Check out their
facebook fan page to see the photos.
I’m thankful that we have a house on
wheels. However, moving the house wasn’t
as simple or stress free as everyone
predicted. I didn’t have to pack too many of
our belongings in the house. However, it took a few hours to get the house out of the side yard, in
Portland, and settled into the driveway. Then there was all the outside stuff — like the compost barrels,
bulk food, bikes, paver stones, and other odds and ends — that had to be loaded into the house and
the back of the truck. Plus, watching my house zip down the highway made me anxious.

I’m incredibly grateful that we made it safely to the ranch with no problems. So far unpacking has been
easy and we are settling into our new space nicely. And the cats are doing great. They are currently
sitting on the front porch basking in them morning sun and exploring the big yard. They aren’t sure of
what to think of the cows and horses just yet.

Finally, this post wouldn’t be complete without photos. Below you’ll find our move in pictures. I hope
you enjoy the shots! If you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment.
On the Road
New Home
 12 Steps to Freeing Yourself From Stuff
For many of us attracted to living a simpler
life, which may or may not include a much
smaller house, one of the big obstacles is
accumulated stuff. Paring down possessions
has a liberating effect but it can be
challenging on many levels both within
ourselves and in terms of our social lives. A
plan to guide us through and help us
remember the different facets of this
transition can help us succeed at downsizing
and staying minimal over the long haul.
I resolved to minimize my possessions about
8 years ago, and the process has been very
gradual. Real progress began when I backed
away from just putting things in boxes and
started anew in a different way. I examined
my motivations and talked myself through
the ways I expected to be happier after I got
through it. I gave myself time to find ‘good
homes’ for stuff that I saw as potentially
useful. That allowed me to get rid of it, and
feel good knowing it would go to some
purpose. Although I have little attachment to
certain things, make no mistake, I have my
difficult sticking points. I got rid of over 1200
books in early 2012 after huge internal
struggle, and my book collection is still the
largest ‘thing’ I own when considered as a
whole. Though downsizing is still
challenging, when we move through a
distinct process of preparations and then
take charge of reshaping a life that is full of
richness without the burden of too many
possessions, magical things can happen.
STEP ONE
That brings us to step one; figure out what
really makes you happy. Everything we do in
life, if we reduce it down to it’s most basic
motive, is for the sake of happiness.
Although they feel weighty when we think of
them, duty and responsibility aren’t nearly as
powerful at keeping us going at a new
behavior after the novelty wears off. Be
specific, focus on yourself and your inner
world, and forget about realistic for now. (If
you have a partner, invite them to think this
through for themselves as well - I think it’s
impossible to approach this exercise from
the ‘multi-point’ perspective we often fall into
with a spouse, it’s far too personal.) For
many, happiness comes from a balanced
combination of general good health,
rewarding relationships with others, and a
sense of ultimate purposefulness to the
overall arc of our lives - spiced with fun peak
moments and some degree of variety and
excitement in activities. If you don't know
what that picture looks like for you, what will
make you happier, gather information.
Become a happiness detective. Think back
over your history and reflect on times you've
been happy, how long they lasted, and what
you learned from those experiences.
Delve into your current ups and downs and
look for the underlying causes. If you’re
happier on the weekends, figure out why.
Reflect on exactly what makes those times
better that you may be able to bring into
your routine for the rest of the week. Maybe
the weekends are relaxed because you get
up and start your day with less grooming
time and concern for your appearance. Is it
possible to go to work without looking in the
mirror? Maybe you wear more comfortable
clothes and shoes on the weekends - if
that’s the case, find clothes that combine
comfort with work appropriate looks, or
consider a job that allows you to wear more
comfortable clothes all the time. Maybe you
have a bigger more balanced breakfast on
the weekends. Can you get up earlier and
have a better breakfast on weekdays?
There’s a carload of info
(http://www.mrbreakfast.com/
glossary_term.asp?glossaryID=152 )out
there on how breakfast positively affects
mood, brain function, weight maintenance,
and fitness level, so simple changes like this
could add up to a much better overall level
of health and positive feelings.
If your exploration of past and current
experiences leaves you short on happiness
data, expose yourself to new places, people,
situations and reflect on how you feel during
and after those experiences. Try some
activities that have never occurred to you or
seem a little odd. Investigate; talk to people
about what their happiest moments in life
have been. Ask them how long those good
feelings lasted, how and why they changed
and what feelings followed. Read books;
Happier by Tal Ben-Shahar, a pioneer of
Positive Psychology, is the single best book
I’ve read on the subject of defining and
promoting human happiness. 7 Habits of
Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey
and The Power of the Now by Ekhart Tolle
are a few examples of insightful books and
there are dozens more at your local
bookstore (http://www.indiebound.org/indie-
store-finder) or library (or Amazon of course
http://www.amazon.com/s/
ref=nb_sb_noss_2?url=search-alias
%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=happiness).
One great way to inject a sense of purpose is
to learn to make something or do something
new. Some of us get stuck in a mode where
all learning seems to be a thing of our past, a
relic of childhood, and in this state learning
something completely new is a great way to
wake up our brain and break out of the ‘adult
doldrums’. I suggest trying new and unusual
things when we’re searching for happiness
because sometimes people imagine the
wildest things will make them happy - even
impossible things. And sometimes... they're
right. They describe their perfect happiness
and some unexpected serendipity comes
along to make their impossible dream
happen. I met a remarkable woman at the
San Jose Tumbleweed workshop this
summer named Dominique
( h t t p : / / w w w. u s a p ro j e c t s . o rg / p ro j e c t /
the_nomad_project). She’s a nomadic artist
who is going to create what I believe (based
on her drawings) will be the most beautiful
house on wheels ever seen.
She plans to travel the country creating and
sharing art and beauty with the people she
meets, all the while functioning as a legally
blind person. When she envisioned this life
for herself and realized it would make her
profoundly happy, she acted on it, in spite of
it being flat out ‘impossible’ for a blind
woman to create art much less travel the
country in a truck. As of our talk this
summer, she had secured a wonderful
vintage truck, she was restoring and building
a little camper section onto it that will house
a driver (who was grateful and excited about
going on these adventures with her), and
plans had been laid for the construction and
the beginning of their grand tour.
Regardless of whether they want to
downsize or live in a tiny house, everyone
should make a thorough and fearless
investigation of what makes them truly
happy in this world, and pursue that
happiness to the fullest. It is the very
essence of the human jour ney, the
foundation of our nation’s constitution, and
can’t help but make both our individual lives
and the world we share a much better place.
Happy people do great things, and I hope to
see this series develop into a strong
conversation, with many perspectives on
ways we can approach the great adventure
of the pursuit of happiness through
downsizing. The next article will cover the
next step, making a happiness plan.
Paprika Clark owns Bungalow
to Go and designs and builds
tiny houses.
Small Cottage in Coastal Maine
Tiny House Swoon
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