More of everything!
We’ve been dwelling in our dwelling for almost two years and we have only good things to report.
We’re more content. More colorful. More outdoorsy. More rooted. More united. More adventurous. More homey. More established. More resourceful. More ridiculous. More creative. More experienced. More trusting. More delighted. More fulfilled.
Family-style minimalism = a life of abundance!
Woot!
I want to “take back” the phrase “Live within your means.”
That phrase makes us feel bound in, boxed in, limited. It makes us feel like we can only do the things that are allowed within a limited budget.
It has such a bummer tone. We need to turn our thinking around.
We don’t only live within our means, we get to!
Opportunity and adventure can come at any budget. A thriving, flourishing, booming, radical life can happen at any budget. Radiate goodness! Your pockets can be empty and you can still radiate life. I love saying that we live within our means because we really LIVE! within our means!
When we decided to take action and pursue a more adventurous lifestyle we checked our values before we checked our budget. The values we prioritized were funded and the ones on the bottom of the list were dropped.
2000 square feet of storage and things that add distance between us didn’t make the cut.
Once we rearranged our life to match our value system the budget followed. And it should! Who wants their budget ruling over them?! We are now much more in control. And we are on a much better path for reaching our goal of debt freedom.
It was a total shift and rearrangement of our life and it took time. It was so worth it. We experienced the kind of living within our means that was a struggle. Now we are proud to say that we LIVE within our means!
What makes you feel like you’re really living?
What changes would you make so that you could LIVE within your means!?
Would those changes be physical? financial? mental? spiritual?
🙂
You may remember our Tiny House bookshelf as it was in this photo.
Or you may not. No matter. 🙂 These were the humble beginnings of our homeschooling Tiny House library.
Today we have many bookshelves and hundreds of books.
Many, many books are read in our house everyday. Especially in the winter! In the winter the books are our primary form of entertainment. In the summer, books are used for reference as we discover new things outside, and at our bedtime routine. Here are some of the shelves that we have added since moving into our Tiny House.
The catwalk is now lined in bookshelves. This picture actually shows off our first attempt. What is there now is straiter and stronger. Only small chapter books fit here without impeding on the space.
Bigger books can easily fit on this shelf! I think it’s 15 inches wide. Books here are easily within arms reach and completely out of the way! It has kind of a “walk the plank” vibe, wouldn’t you agree!?
The bathroom library! There is a ton of space above the SunMar Composting Toilet. It’s depth from the wall make offers the perfect space for bookshelves.
This is a pic taken after Sully made a little aroma therapy concoction but it shows off a little bit of the shelving Ryan built for our loft. The two shelves are the full 7 1/2 foot width of the house. 15 feet of bookshelf! I’ll work on a better picture.
These guys are surrounded by books so they read a lot! Pretty easy plan! It works!
Learning to read!
Can you spy the reader???
And this is just the best.
<3
We’ve used the Craigslist Free Section for finding firewood many times. We have to be quick to respond and willing to be flexible with our schedule. Usually someone beats us to it, but on occasion we luck-out and get a huge load of firewood. Sometimes we have to split the wood and other times it’s already done!
We don’t require a ton of wood to keep the house warm because the Kimberly Stove doesn’t eat it up too quickly. We probably use more firewood on our campfires at sunset which is something we enjoy nearly every warm weather evening.
We’re so grateful for this off-grid blessing!
I’m organizing photo files today and came across this sunshiny picture of the interior of our Tiny. Dishes in the sink but it’s tidy and lovely. Home.
I was a guest on this funky podcast show! And it’s all about Tiny Living!
Check it out! 45 minutes of Michele, Perry, and Mark grilling me on our Tiny House story. 😉
Juuuust kidding. I had a great time! Thanks to Michele, Perry,and Mark for inviting me and creating a platform for Tiny House stories to be heard!
I am so psyched to be planning my trip and presentation to the Tiny House Jamboree this year!
I’lI be covering a bit about our journey, family-style minimalism, downsizing with kids, tips for Tiny House design with kids in mind, and what is increased and amplified for your family when you strip away the excess.
Check out www.TinyHouseJamboree.com for details and ticket info!
OhMyGoodness, I hope to see you there!
Tiny House Family in a 267 square foot home that is lovely.
Cozy, vibrant, filled with warm sunlight.
Off-grid, small footprint, wood burning stove, composting toilet.
Reading, drawing, singing, praying, making, joking, cooking, pretending.
Two Lofts, a catwalk, Minnesota seasons, a lake with a dock.
Hundreds of books, four plates, four bowls, campfires and sunsets, so many pillows.
We’ve removed the pointless, the excess, the nonsense, and found that what we have left is abundance.
On the cusp of our second Minnesota winter in the Tiny House, I’ve been invited to expose the dreadful details of tiny living for Tiny House Magazine’s October Issue. But, with such a compelling movement filled with homey abodes and optimistic minimalists, I struggled… what could be scary about our newly found freedoms?
Looking for inspiration, I turned to social media and asked: “If you were about to move into a Tiny House, what would be your biggest fear?” I was quickly flooded with responses spouting the same fears everyone talks about: claustrophobia, stench, family feuds, etc… All fears that would quickly be dispelled if the opportunity arose to step inside one. A nasty dark cloud of negativity crept in on me and I quickly deleted the post.
When we started praying and planning for our Tiny House we truly were fearless. We never doubted, never talked about the “what ifs.” We just plowed ahead with the obvious and oblivious expectation that fewer things and much smaller bills would provide for a simpler and more amazing life! Other people, however, generously offered us their fears. What about winter? What about equity? What about all your stuff? What about the kids? Defending our family decisions became exhausting and one day fear started to sink its teeth into me.
See, I think when you pray for guidance, hand over control to God, and fully rely on Him you won’t have all the answers. And that’s okay! Basically, I wanted to tell the naysayers, “I don’t know but we’ve been praying ferociously and we trust that God will have it all figured out when we get there.” But that’s not a good enough answer. It’s unrealistic, unorganized, unprepared. But, whatever! Trusting God was good enough for us!
This isn’t a passive trust. I’m talking about the eyes-squeezed-shut, leap of faith kind of trust.
The day that fear crept in on me was dark. I honestly didn’t know where we were going to live and finally, for just one day, that shook me. I’d been asked so many times and had always been content to gush, “I don’t know!” with a smile. On that day not knowing was scary.
Fear is evil. Fear’s goal is to derail with any obstacle that causes doubt, hesitancy, and worry. I could not let it settle in. These obstacles drive me forward. There must be amazing blessings on the other side.
I prayed a lot. I forced my focus on all the ways God has taken care of every problem that we’ve entrusted to Him. I continued to shake off the dark cloud.
God, we trust You. Show us Your plan for our lives, blow down the obstacles, rebuke the fear, guard our hearts, blast open the doors that you’d have us walk through, and make us courageous!
Once the fear was replaced with peace, I realized that God had used the vulnerable state that I was in to show me that He put us in this Tiny House, not for security, conventional, responsible, safe, realistic purposes but for HIS purposes. God put us in a house with wheels. This isn’t about being realistic. It’s about being ready, available, and flexible to follow His plan. It’s about being fearless.
This article, written by Kim Kasl, was published in the October 2015 issue of Tiny House Magazine.
The Tiny House has a new forever home! …at the very least, this parking spot is semi-permanent. 🙂
Its on a Minnesota lake! Previous to our ownership this land hosted a Park Model RV. So swapping out for the Tiny House is perfect!
After exactly one year of campground life the move was a huge celebration. We’ve been here for a week and completely adore our new parking spot, incredible south-facing view, neighbors, lake, location, and chapter.
Check out the *after* photo on my instagram page: Our New Home!