This is great, I feel like this will become the norm eventually, people are realizing how silly materialistic things are and also realizing they dont NEED a house with a bunch of separate rooms, I would like running water in my house though but by well I don't trust city water.
i am planning to live on my bicycle. starting in 3 months. Simple living? Yes. But i have a goal. I'm looking for a porch to put my rocking chair, when the need calls for it. Till then, pushing the chain is where i'll be
I'm totally with Dee and been thinking about reverting back to something like that instead of building a full size house that is the norm. But she don't really need running water? It's because her "landlords" have her shower covered. But a camp shower is very doable. Property values have to do with buyers perception rather than actual value. What an inspiring woman. Thanks for the interview.
But really, the comments from "zoning" , making her seem abnormal, absolutely pathetic.
The zoning / building safety departments have become so over reaching. We as a society need to keep the zoning department from becoming corrupted by unspecial commercialized interests.
Living Sanitary yes, living in a certain size or type house, NO.
Thanks for producing this !! Great video. Dee is so inspiring.
Where Dee fitted the sidewalls over the fenders anyway I'm curious as to why she didn't take advantage of all the width the trailer has to offer. Granted it's only a few inches, but she may have noticed what extra insulation could have brought , even an extra 3 inches in the inside would be noticed. Also there's a lot of untapped space under that vaulted ceiling As many idea as there are builders I guess. Another great program.
We down seized to an rv many years ago and we wounder why someone would build something like this when they could just buy an rv? And yes an rv is would cost less and actually be more portable. The prices everyone is quoting for these small homes are way too high compared to what you can get for less money in an rv. However, if you must live in a community where rvs are not allowed it will not be long before that outlaw these too!!! We love the concept though!
@Engineer245 Like everything else what everybody is quoting, and what they actually cost often R not the same. The final cost can be hard to pin down as many self-builders use salvaged material &l free labor. While an RV will feel like a RV, this will forever feel like a rustic old cabin. She still has a lot of untapped space under that vaulted style ceiling. In the end it comes down to what turns your crank,and different strokes for different folks.
@donyunger - Yeah, I have noticed a lot of hype about small businesses that are now selling so calledf small homes at what I would call high prices. The RV industry now is pushing these so called "park models" at what I would also call high prices. Guess this is just capitalism!
Several reason to build your own: you get to customize. Lots of RVs are built with lower end materials and have formaldehyde and the like. RVs frequently do not have beefed up insulation, windows, door and the like for year round living. As far as zoning. That is just out of hand and unconstitutional. Whoever "they" are is NOT above question. As long as you or Dee or anyone is living sanitary, you shouldn't be prohibited from living anywhere.
apart of me agrees with the whole portable house simple life theme but there is also apart of me that likes the big huge homes but self effecent (I like lots of space) If I were single with no kids I would look more in to this idea.
There are many different styles of down-scaling. I enjoyed seeing someone who has successfully worked this for a number of years!
Those of you with your many reasons why it can't work for you- why not look around? As she says in the video, there are ways to accommodate many preferences and needs, and this was what worked best for her. If you look around, you'll find showers/plumbing, more elaborate kitchens, and many ways to legally live like this. None is completely free, yet they are freeing!
I bought a used 21' RV toy hauler travel trailer years ago when I needed to live financially frugally. Then I got a middle class musical job, and continued to live out of it because I loved it. Used, it had done it's outgassing, but I will retrofit it with sustainable non-toxic products only (for conservation) when the current ones wear out. It has a loft & a high ceiling in back (7.5'), & everything folds against the wall so I have floor space. Cleaning takes no time at all.
Cute little house. I love the idea of living on a minimalistic bases. Too much stuff really does begin to cloud what's really important. It's not for everyone however. I know some people who draw their satisfaction in life by having a full set of dishes for every occasion. It just depends on where you set your value system and finding out what's at the core of each of us. Great vid!!
@inthepresentraw Yes, the bathing thing would be an issue for me too. Even during the hurricane, I had to find a pool of water to splash myself off in (bird bath is what my mother called it). Fridge, too. I love to cook, so doubt this would work for me.
Depending on the climate you're living in you could always have an outdoor kitchen, even a kitchen shelter. And a small bathhouse is always a possibility. There are certainly ways to be creative and make these ideas work. It's all about using the space for what you're gear towards. I find so much space in our home that we don't use and yet I spend an awful lot of time cleaning it, lol. Ideally I'd have a kitchen (I love to cook too!) and a fold down couch.
When I was little my parents purchased some acreage in the country. The little cabin had no running water, we hauled a bucket in from the hand pumped well. Composted everything. Had an outhouse. We had no electricity and the stove was antique as well. I never knew any different. My parents were off the grid way back when...we even grew our own food and I ran all day on the trails with my beagle and 2 wild ponies. It was the happiest time of my life. So simple yet so much fun!
Conceptually, the dreaming is brought to life by her willingness and humility, and by the open-mindedness and trust of her friends: - intentions not commonly found in the material world, but which are available to any of us at any moment.
Good for her! Doing what she can. I spent $6,000 on recessed lighting & almost spent as much on granite counter tops, but put that money elsewhere. Sure it increased the value of my house, but I could've just as easily kept that value in my pocket. My lighting was perfectly fine beforehand. What a waste.
The Pendulum swings yet again, The McMansion was all the rage for the first decade of the 21st century with the defacto "Lawyer Foyer" that is bigger then this little hobbit house and now people are living in Mini houses, trees, Hobbit Holes, under expressway overpass's........hey there is a lot of concrete in those expressways when the Oil runs out, building Material for Hobbit Holes!
This presentation is insightful to how she really lives value her mindset the expectation of class structure .she is consuming less,happier and not caught up in the corrupt system of debt and control..some day she may be able to heat with a portable free energy device.She is very fortunate to have friends that would let her keep her house in their backyard few would really do that for someone.
On so many layers, a very, very COOL interview!!! Re one layer...the mini-house, I have been a carpenter for many years and throughout those years I have been fortunate enough to be a participant in a rich diversity of construction projects, but as of yet, no minihouses. For at least a couple of yrs now, though, I have been really leanin toward trying my hand at designing/building mini and micro houses. This interview was a timily nudge for me. Thanks much Janaia and Dee.
Inspiring! I've heard about tiny houses again and again over the last few years. I'm 25, post-college, and friends with plenty of similar Millennials who are a bit... adrift. We're growing our own food, volunteering, living near one another in a low-rent neighborhood and trying to figure things out. Maybe tiny houses are the answer, for some of us!
very nice, would like to find more women with a simplistic mindset. we are a slave to our belongings. cute house but running water would be better even it was a grey system off an rv.
I look at this and it just amazes me. Instead of going and seeing the poor people and trying to figure out ways to bring them up to a better standard this woman drags herself down to a lower level. What a bunch of crap!
You are what I inspipre to be. I have a composting toliet, and it works wonderful. I now get all my power from either the wind or sun. But I haven't yet given up my running water. I didn't have running water when I was a kid and I have to admit, I really like running water. :-) Thank you for explaining how modern people think being seperate is more important than community so much that they look down on that interdependence. Thank you for this wonderful video.
The disposal of digestive products is a big problem for many. My tip is to burn it, its not hard and don't require much wood if done very regularly, say fortnightly or so. It stinks for a while but one can do it in the outdoors. Use a grate to put the offerings on. The dust left can beneficially be used for improving soil. If this is too much, only by heating manure to 80degC is enough to kill germs, 20 mins is all it takes. Don't be a hazard to other people, it can spread death and illness!
I think there is a balance between this and the way we currently live. I was tempted to go to extremes like this story but concluded it was not the solution for myself. In the Balance is the key to happiness.
Most people would go nuts in a place like that. It's because they don't have anything inside so they fill their lives with work, mortgages, quads, electronics, drama, noise and distractions. It keeps them from having to ask and try to answer the big questions, or feel the emptiness. Dee has found some answers. Her solution isn't for everyone but it has possibilities.
2. I chose a different path. I bought a condo instead of bankrupting myself on a house but even though I paid this place off, I still have property tax (130 a month), condo maintenance fee (300), electricity (80), cell (75) and so on. Added up I still need about 1100 to cover all my spending each month. That's 28% of my take home pay. I'm living comfortable and frugal but I'm still part of the system and if I lost my job and had zero income I'd be out of money in 3 years. I"m not free yet
Thanks Peak Moment for bringing this to us... We are still fighting the system in Tillamook County as to where people can live and what is "illegal" here...like yurt home are illegal here even though they have them at Nehalem State Park, here... Uggg! But I know that these restrictions are temporary...and will be peeled away as the economy collapses... Here's to community, sustainability and living a small footprint. :o)
@indman101 I agree. I am sorting out my things in the basement, I stumbled upon what I did in my twenties. I have all kinds of books and camping material, and was actually busy to have an independent option to live from a backpack in a tent. Well a woman came along, and she was into the city … the fiat currency game. Anyway, I picking up this option again, and going to retrain myself and invest in gear to be able to live even simpler. However, it will be an option, just in case ...
@indman101 "America is brainwashed into thinking we need the big house,the big loans,we are slave to" FALSE incentives everywhere in the financial "industry"...
My suggestion read Stiglitz´ "Freefall". It´s not all lost yet.
This is great, I feel like this will become the norm eventually, people are realizing how silly materialistic things are and also realizing they dont NEED a house with a bunch of separate rooms, I would like running water in my house though but by well I don't trust city water.
GoVegNoww 6 days ago
Dee is awesome... inspiring and brave... its so good to see that she still loves her home... and she is a happier person
appletisha27 1 month ago
Love this woman! Great video and a good, gentle eye opener.
danielbillingsley74 1 month ago
i am planning to live on my bicycle. starting in 3 months. Simple living? Yes. But i have a goal. I'm looking for a porch to put my rocking chair, when the need calls for it. Till then, pushing the chain is where i'll be
mawacal 1 month ago
Great interview, I really look up to Dee - she rocks
b5thomas7 2 months ago
interestting!
peterpenny11 6 months ago
I'm totally with Dee and been thinking about reverting back to something like that instead of building a full size house that is the norm. But she don't really need running water? It's because her "landlords" have her shower covered. But a camp shower is very doable. Property values have to do with buyers perception rather than actual value. What an inspiring woman. Thanks for the interview.
d5a4m3o2n1 6 months ago
What type of vehicle does Dee pull her house around with?
johnu78 6 months ago
@johnu78, I believe Dee has a pickup truck.
peakmoment 6 months ago
@peakmoment
Thank you very much. Take care, John
johnu78 6 months ago
Dee is the God mother of tiny houses.
srvvlhm 7 months ago
this is something i want to eventually do. :) i love these little houses.
TimeEnoughForLove 7 months ago
Great interview! Glad to have learned more about Dee's house.
belikeandywarhol 7 months ago
FIVE STAR INTERVIEW
dtmbcorp 7 months ago 2
Excellent video. Dee is just wonderful.
I can't wait to finish my tiny house.
But really, the comments from "zoning" , making her seem abnormal, absolutely pathetic.
The zoning / building safety departments have become so over reaching. We as a society need to keep the zoning department from becoming corrupted by unspecial commercialized interests.
Living Sanitary yes, living in a certain size or type house, NO.
Thanks for producing this !! Great video. Dee is so inspiring.
Livinggreen100 7 months ago
Where Dee fitted the sidewalls over the fenders anyway I'm curious as to why she didn't take advantage of all the width the trailer has to offer. Granted it's only a few inches, but she may have noticed what extra insulation could have brought , even an extra 3 inches in the inside would be noticed. Also there's a lot of untapped space under that vaulted ceiling As many idea as there are builders I guess. Another great program.
donyunger 7 months ago
We down seized to an rv many years ago and we wounder why someone would build something like this when they could just buy an rv? And yes an rv is would cost less and actually be more portable. The prices everyone is quoting for these small homes are way too high compared to what you can get for less money in an rv. However, if you must live in a community where rvs are not allowed it will not be long before that outlaw these too!!! We love the concept though!
Engineer245 7 months ago
@Engineer245 Like everything else what everybody is quoting, and what they actually cost often R not the same. The final cost can be hard to pin down as many self-builders use salvaged material &l free labor. While an RV will feel like a RV, this will forever feel like a rustic old cabin. She still has a lot of untapped space under that vaulted style ceiling. In the end it comes down to what turns your crank,and different strokes for different folks.
donyunger 7 months ago
@donyunger - Yeah, I have noticed a lot of hype about small businesses that are now selling so calledf small homes at what I would call high prices. The RV industry now is pushing these so called "park models" at what I would also call high prices. Guess this is just capitalism!
Engineer245 7 months ago
@Engineer245 Congrads on the downsizing.
Several reason to build your own: you get to customize. Lots of RVs are built with lower end materials and have formaldehyde and the like. RVs frequently do not have beefed up insulation, windows, door and the like for year round living. As far as zoning. That is just out of hand and unconstitutional. Whoever "they" are is NOT above question. As long as you or Dee or anyone is living sanitary, you shouldn't be prohibited from living anywhere.
Livinggreen100 7 months ago
@Livinggreen100 You know it's all about moo-lah. "Give us enough money and we'll leave you alone."
greenteen85 7 months ago
apart of me agrees with the whole portable house simple life theme but there is also apart of me that likes the big huge homes but self effecent (I like lots of space) If I were single with no kids I would look more in to this idea.
crewlla 7 months ago
There are many different styles of down-scaling. I enjoyed seeing someone who has successfully worked this for a number of years!
Those of you with your many reasons why it can't work for you- why not look around? As she says in the video, there are ways to accommodate many preferences and needs, and this was what worked best for her. If you look around, you'll find showers/plumbing, more elaborate kitchens, and many ways to legally live like this. None is completely free, yet they are freeing!
DragonflyJaed 7 months ago 4
Thoreau would be proud.
SonofNewo 7 months ago 2
I bought a used 21' RV toy hauler travel trailer years ago when I needed to live financially frugally. Then I got a middle class musical job, and continued to live out of it because I loved it. Used, it had done it's outgassing, but I will retrofit it with sustainable non-toxic products only (for conservation) when the current ones wear out. It has a loft & a high ceiling in back (7.5'), & everything folds against the wall so I have floor space. Cleaning takes no time at all.
quistunes 7 months ago
Cute little house. I love the idea of living on a minimalistic bases. Too much stuff really does begin to cloud what's really important. It's not for everyone however. I know some people who draw their satisfaction in life by having a full set of dishes for every occasion. It just depends on where you set your value system and finding out what's at the core of each of us. Great vid!!
CimaraNyx 7 months ago
Does she have a fridge? Also, I assume she sponge bathes?
inthepresentraw 7 months ago
@inthepresentraw Yes, the bathing thing would be an issue for me too. Even during the hurricane, I had to find a pool of water to splash myself off in (bird bath is what my mother called it). Fridge, too. I love to cook, so doubt this would work for me.
CimaraNyx 7 months ago
@CimaraNyx
Depending on the climate you're living in you could always have an outdoor kitchen, even a kitchen shelter. And a small bathhouse is always a possibility. There are certainly ways to be creative and make these ideas work. It's all about using the space for what you're gear towards. I find so much space in our home that we don't use and yet I spend an awful lot of time cleaning it, lol. Ideally I'd have a kitchen (I love to cook too!) and a fold down couch.
EsperanzaVillage 7 months ago
When I was little my parents purchased some acreage in the country. The little cabin had no running water, we hauled a bucket in from the hand pumped well. Composted everything. Had an outhouse. We had no electricity and the stove was antique as well. I never knew any different. My parents were off the grid way back when...we even grew our own food and I ran all day on the trails with my beagle and 2 wild ponies. It was the happiest time of my life. So simple yet so much fun!
CimaraNyx 7 months ago
Conceptually, the dreaming is brought to life by her willingness and humility, and by the open-mindedness and trust of her friends: - intentions not commonly found in the material world, but which are available to any of us at any moment.
Great great interview.
katsandroses 7 months ago 2
Good for her! Doing what she can. I spent $6,000 on recessed lighting & almost spent as much on granite counter tops, but put that money elsewhere. Sure it increased the value of my house, but I could've just as easily kept that value in my pocket. My lighting was perfectly fine beforehand. What a waste.
proteanview 7 months ago
The Pendulum swings yet again, The McMansion was all the rage for the first decade of the 21st century with the defacto "Lawyer Foyer" that is bigger then this little hobbit house and now people are living in Mini houses, trees, Hobbit Holes, under expressway overpass's........hey there is a lot of concrete in those expressways when the Oil runs out, building Material for Hobbit Holes!
valhala56 7 months ago
This presentation is insightful to how she really lives value her mindset the expectation of class structure .she is consuming less,happier and not caught up in the corrupt system of debt and control..some day she may be able to heat with a portable free energy device.She is very fortunate to have friends that would let her keep her house in their backyard few would really do that for someone.
brightlightbabe 7 months ago
as always food for thought
thank-you ladies for sharing moments in your lives
gaiagale 7 months ago
On so many layers, a very, very COOL interview!!! Re one layer...the mini-house, I have been a carpenter for many years and throughout those years I have been fortunate enough to be a participant in a rich diversity of construction projects, but as of yet, no minihouses. For at least a couple of yrs now, though, I have been really leanin toward trying my hand at designing/building mini and micro houses. This interview was a timily nudge for me. Thanks much Janaia and Dee.
monterock100 7 months ago
Wealth is nothing to be ashamed of. but we should be embarrassed by wastefulness.
jchahine 7 months ago 5
Inspiring! I've heard about tiny houses again and again over the last few years. I'm 25, post-college, and friends with plenty of similar Millennials who are a bit... adrift. We're growing our own food, volunteering, living near one another in a low-rent neighborhood and trying to figure things out. Maybe tiny houses are the answer, for some of us!
Hobgoblins 7 months ago
very nice, would like to find more women with a simplistic mindset. we are a slave to our belongings. cute house but running water would be better even it was a grey system off an rv.
Warsrogue 7 months ago
I LOVE it. I have been thinking along these lines for a while now. So inspiring!
busvlogger 7 months ago
I love it, good for her!
manekinekotattoo 7 months ago
I look at this and it just amazes me. Instead of going and seeing the poor people and trying to figure out ways to bring them up to a better standard this woman drags herself down to a lower level. What a bunch of crap!
scarmenl 7 months ago
You are what I inspipre to be. I have a composting toliet, and it works wonderful. I now get all my power from either the wind or sun. But I haven't yet given up my running water. I didn't have running water when I was a kid and I have to admit, I really like running water. :-) Thank you for explaining how modern people think being seperate is more important than community so much that they look down on that interdependence. Thank you for this wonderful video.
HedgeLiving 7 months ago
"skookum"? wonder if she is from Vancouver Island.... it's wonderful how people who have awoken change their life... good vid...thanks
InfiniteMischief 7 months ago
The disposal of digestive products is a big problem for many. My tip is to burn it, its not hard and don't require much wood if done very regularly, say fortnightly or so. It stinks for a while but one can do it in the outdoors. Use a grate to put the offerings on. The dust left can beneficially be used for improving soil. If this is too much, only by heating manure to 80degC is enough to kill germs, 20 mins is all it takes. Don't be a hazard to other people, it can spread death and illness!
Axbent 7 months ago
Come to think about it, unportable homes is a fairly new invention, are they not!?
Axbent 7 months ago
this is great I live in 300 sq ft 3 of us and blog about it at kevinsmicrohomestead.wordpress check it out ;)
millionaire1963 7 months ago
This is a ridiculous homage to rationalized guilt.
-
kmg501 7 months ago 2
Does the loft get hot in the summer?
Ape65 7 months ago
I think there is a balance between this and the way we currently live. I was tempted to go to extremes like this story but concluded it was not the solution for myself. In the Balance is the key to happiness.
bonzaibb12 7 months ago
This video is why I am a subscriber. Real life people and issues in unique situations. Keep up the good work.
jeeperoo84 7 months ago 17
Great video!
johnu78 7 months ago
Most people would go nuts in a place like that. It's because they don't have anything inside so they fill their lives with work, mortgages, quads, electronics, drama, noise and distractions. It keeps them from having to ask and try to answer the big questions, or feel the emptiness. Dee has found some answers. Her solution isn't for everyone but it has possibilities.
vention4wh 7 months ago
2. I chose a different path. I bought a condo instead of bankrupting myself on a house but even though I paid this place off, I still have property tax (130 a month), condo maintenance fee (300), electricity (80), cell (75) and so on. Added up I still need about 1100 to cover all my spending each month. That's 28% of my take home pay. I'm living comfortable and frugal but I'm still part of the system and if I lost my job and had zero income I'd be out of money in 3 years. I"m not free yet
vention4wh 7 months ago
Thanks Peak Moment for bringing this to us... We are still fighting the system in Tillamook County as to where people can live and what is "illegal" here...like yurt home are illegal here even though they have them at Nehalem State Park, here... Uggg! But I know that these restrictions are temporary...and will be peeled away as the economy collapses... Here's to community, sustainability and living a small footprint. :o)
ddshears 7 months ago
WooHoo!!!
ddshears 7 months ago
the banks would be hurting if everyone started doing this.
indman101 7 months ago
@indman101 And that’s is important, because … ?
TerrierBram 7 months ago
@TerrierBram because America is brainwashed into thinking we need the big house,the big loans,we are slave to the dollar= not importantant.
indman101 7 months ago 13
@indman101 I agree. I am sorting out my things in the basement, I stumbled upon what I did in my twenties. I have all kinds of books and camping material, and was actually busy to have an independent option to live from a backpack in a tent. Well a woman came along, and she was into the city … the fiat currency game. Anyway, I picking up this option again, and going to retrain myself and invest in gear to be able to live even simpler. However, it will be an option, just in case ...
TerrierBram 7 months ago
This has been flagged as spam show
@indman101 "America is brainwashed into thinking we need the big house,the big loans,we are slave to" FALSE incentives everywhere in the financial "industry"...
My suggestion read Stiglitz´ "Freefall". It´s not all lost yet.
cheers from yurop
RegioLunar 7 months ago
America going green? Good to see real change.....
RegioLunar 7 months ago
@indman101
Completely correct, and that's who we're fighting now, and who we will be fighting.
whiskerchild 7 months ago