Whoa, that makes it sound like I'm about to tell you all that we're expecting a baby or something. No, we are not. And here is a random photo of Piglet for your viewing pleasure.
Anyway, there are some big changes coming up here at Life in 120 Square Feet and it is all happening next week. We are going to be moving out of the tiny house for a little while. Before anyone panics, this was always the plan. Since the house is on a mountain and all of the power is off the grid, we didn't really build it to be lived in during the winter. More importantly, we wouldn't be able to leave Piglet alone in the house because the heat system needs to be supervised and we wouldn't want her to freeze her little kitty nose off. Since we don't have a road up to our house, walking can be unpredictable if there is a problem during the winter and we don't even know if our spring will continue to flow as temperatures begin to freeze. We certainly could live in the tiny house during the winter but we decided there were other things we wanted to do instead.
Next week we will be packing up the tiny house and winterizing things. Our batteries will be stored in an insulated box (a really nice cooler, actually) and the solar panels will be moved inside. We'll make sure everything is organized neatly and we'll lock the place up. Then we will be staying at a little house in town for a couple of days before making the biggest change of all: we're heading to Detroit for all of November and December.
Why Detroit?
Trust me, I ask myself that same question all the time. I know Michigan isn't exactly a popular winter vacation destination, but that is where our families live and we want to spend the holidays with them. See, there was always another important aspect of our change in lifestyle: location independence. The idea was always that our revenue sources would allow us to work from anywhere, potentially anywhere in the entire world, and we would have the flexibility in our lifestyle and income to do just that. So now that we've spent the last 6 months successfully living off the grid in our 120 square foot house (and loving every moment of it) we will be putting the next phase to the test to live somewhere else for a little while. And we couldn't think of anything more we wanted to do than spend the holidays with our families.
We will be back in Asheville in January without any plans to leave again after that. However, we won't be moving directly back in to the tiny house. We have an opportunity to return to the little house downtown that we are staying in for a few days next week. The little house is a 1940s bungalow walking distance to the heart of Asheville and it is only 700 square feet. This will give us the experience of living in the city before returning to the tiny house in the spring. I am excited about this adventure as well.
That's what all of this is - an adventure. I want to live unconventionally. I want to engage in my own life. Traveling for the holidays while we can and living in our favorite city when we return are all important parts of living the lives we want to. And by simplifying before starting any of this we have put ourselves in a great position to make this happen.
I will certainly be keeping up with our adventures here. Though, for the winter it might be more like Life in 180 Square Feet (the approximate size of the room we'll be staying in while we're in Michigan). And when we return to Asheville we'll be celebrating Life in 700 Square Feet for a while.
Anyway, there are some big changes coming up here at Life in 120 Square Feet and it is all happening next week. We are going to be moving out of the tiny house for a little while. Before anyone panics, this was always the plan. Since the house is on a mountain and all of the power is off the grid, we didn't really build it to be lived in during the winter. More importantly, we wouldn't be able to leave Piglet alone in the house because the heat system needs to be supervised and we wouldn't want her to freeze her little kitty nose off. Since we don't have a road up to our house, walking can be unpredictable if there is a problem during the winter and we don't even know if our spring will continue to flow as temperatures begin to freeze. We certainly could live in the tiny house during the winter but we decided there were other things we wanted to do instead.
Next week we will be packing up the tiny house and winterizing things. Our batteries will be stored in an insulated box (a really nice cooler, actually) and the solar panels will be moved inside. We'll make sure everything is organized neatly and we'll lock the place up. Then we will be staying at a little house in town for a couple of days before making the biggest change of all: we're heading to Detroit for all of November and December.
Why Detroit?
Trust me, I ask myself that same question all the time. I know Michigan isn't exactly a popular winter vacation destination, but that is where our families live and we want to spend the holidays with them. See, there was always another important aspect of our change in lifestyle: location independence. The idea was always that our revenue sources would allow us to work from anywhere, potentially anywhere in the entire world, and we would have the flexibility in our lifestyle and income to do just that. So now that we've spent the last 6 months successfully living off the grid in our 120 square foot house (and loving every moment of it) we will be putting the next phase to the test to live somewhere else for a little while. And we couldn't think of anything more we wanted to do than spend the holidays with our families.
We will be back in Asheville in January without any plans to leave again after that. However, we won't be moving directly back in to the tiny house. We have an opportunity to return to the little house downtown that we are staying in for a few days next week. The little house is a 1940s bungalow walking distance to the heart of Asheville and it is only 700 square feet. This will give us the experience of living in the city before returning to the tiny house in the spring. I am excited about this adventure as well.
That's what all of this is - an adventure. I want to live unconventionally. I want to engage in my own life. Traveling for the holidays while we can and living in our favorite city when we return are all important parts of living the lives we want to. And by simplifying before starting any of this we have put ourselves in a great position to make this happen.
I will certainly be keeping up with our adventures here. Though, for the winter it might be more like Life in 180 Square Feet (the approximate size of the room we'll be staying in while we're in Michigan). And when we return to Asheville we'll be celebrating Life in 700 Square Feet for a while.
Hi Laura,
ReplyDeleteI've only just discovered tiny houses after following a link from the Etsy blog, but I've really enjoyed hearing about your adventures! I feel like I've found out about a whole part of the US I didn't know much about and I've even listened to some bluegrass. Thank you for sharing your journey.
It seems like tiny houses are just starting to get talked about here in the UK, I love the idea, although I'll start with a declutter for now!
Best of luck with your winter plans too...
What fun to be able to change things up like this! Have a great time in Detroit! And in Asheville, upon your return. : )
ReplyDeleteThe freedom to move around is THE primary reason why I sold my mini-mansion and got involved in this movement many years ago. I would not trade it for anything!
ReplyDeleteWord of Warning! January-March is the coldest time to be in your area, of course, still not as bad as in Detroit.
Great health, happiness and prosperity for you and yours! John M.
You're exactly right about the weather - which is precisely the reason we will be staying at the 700 square foot bungalow in town when we get back in January. I'm looking forward to a new adventure but the bes part is that we can return to the tiny house in the spring.
DeleteHi Laura,
ReplyDeleteI am in the process of purchasing a Tiny House (136 square feet) and living in it year round. I have small pets myself and was concerned about leaving them when I wasn't home but the man that built the house said that the heat is propane but there is a thermostat and the temperature can be regulated even when I won't be home. Have you considered this type of heat? What type of heat do you have, a wood burning stove?
Have a great trip!
We use a vent-less propane heater - the kind designed for camping. We decided on this type because we weren't intending to stay in the tiny house in the winter and we didn't want to install a heater or make any cuts into the roof. The little heater works great to warm the space up and it is very well insulated so it keeps the heat for a while. Since it was always our intention to travel or stay in the city for the winter we didn't feel we needed a permanent heater that we would only use occasionally.
DeleteBeen out and about today; saw this post earlier and came back to say that your plan is awesome. I hope you have a jolly time in Michigan and that the bungalow is all you need/want it to be. :) I've always wanted to live in a bungalow...a bungalow could very well be my next house. LOL
ReplyDeleteIt's sad that you have to leave the tiny house for the winter, but good, because we can reconnect. I'll PM you. Do you have plans to eventually make the tiny house livable in the winter? It must be hard to leave your home for two whole months. I like to see my family sometimes, but it wheres out quickly.
ReplyDelete