The Small House Society - Smaller, Simpler, and More Sustainable Living

[mykwilwin]

where can these be placed to live in? are permits needed, i was thinking about buying a small mountain lot around 5k and get one of these small houses to put on it

[gareebee]

While the movement is one I would endorse, I would hope that, in addition to the advantages pointed out, it would also lead to a revolution in what defines a "house". Yes, these are radically smaller, but per-s.f. cost is higher. By the time you factor in all the finishing, plumbing, elec., etc., they still end up being rather expensive. We have the technology to create housing that is FAR cheaper. Too much money to be made in keeping methods of construction as they are. Time for radical ideas!

[yesiamanalien]

My comments concerning small homes is as follows. I'm a single man in my late 20s who does eventually plan to marry but not right now. For me a tiny home of 100-200sq ft would be plenty for my foreseeable future. As it is I live in a small (and expensive) apartment for which I don't use most of it. It's maybe 800 sq ft but I typically only use a small portion of it. Someday I will be building me a tiny home on wheels and I know I would enjoy it.

[knowamericaknowbible]

Another issue is that You can't have a very big stove and no oven. If you like to cook it's not very practical.

[resourcesforlife]

@knowamericaknowbible -- The homes are custom built for each person and their interests. Those who like cooking can build a home to accommodate a larger kitchen. Nobody is dictating that you can't have a larger kitchen.

[Livinggreen100]

@knowamericaknowbible

I'm building my tiny house with a larger kitchen. It will complete with a peninsula that one can sit at to eat, a standard size double sink, 9 cubic feet of refrigerated space, a small chest freezer, a fullsize front load washer, water softener, about 15 linear feet of counter top space, a ceramic tile floor, solid wood cabinet with glass panel upper cabinet doors, and a back door.

I'm Vlogging my progress. Follow me as I build my Tiny house.

[DVDluvr123]

@knowamericaknowbible You can have anything you want. The basic point is to have a house that is appropriately designed for you as an individual rather than just buying a huge house solely because other houses are huge.

[yesiamanalien]

@knowamericaknowbible I like to cook as well and I have seen tiny homes with nice kitchens. It's all about the design. Some don't like cooking much so their kitchens are smaller and the rest of their home is bigger. This guy has a really nice tiny home with a decent kitchen and enough space to potentially sleep 2 couples easy watch?v=3ltvIUHp42Q

[knowamericaknowbible]

I also find it funny that he used Katrina as an example. You'll save money if it get's blown down by a storm like Katrina. Sure you'll save money because if you lived in a house like that in Katrina if you didn't evacuate you'd be dead. Might as well put a bullseye on the house for tornado's.

[resourcesforlife]

@knowamericaknowbible -- If you've seen the ravages of a tornado, as we did in our town, you know that no home (big or small) is protected from a tornado. We had a tornado go through our town, and it destroyed everything in its path. The belief that a big home will save you is a myth.

[knowamericaknowbible]

@resourcesforlife No, that's not what I was saying I've never heard of that Idea that a big home can save you. what I'm talking about is these tiny houses lack of an interior room or bathtube in which you can take shelter in in case of a tornado. That way if the tornado takes some or all of your house you might still be safe. You see interiror rooms have no windows so if the wall cave in on you, there is less danger of getting stuck by glass.

[Livinggreen100]

@knowamericaknowbible It doesn't matter what type typical home one lives in, The only real protect from a tornado is a storm shelter. Whether a mobile home, a tiny home, a site built home of any size- The best protection is a storm shelter which can be bought, premade, and installed in the ground.

[knowamericaknowbible]

My only concern is that these people are encouraging people to live in small homes with very little thought of safety. Only one door and your other fire exit is up in the loft. As for tornado's you're better off with your house on wheels so you can try to outrun it because there is no interrior room or bathtube. you could put in a very small basement if it was on the ground.

[resourcesforlife]

@knowamericaknowbible -- Regarding safety, any home (large or small) can be built poorly in a way that creates unsafe living conditions. Size has nothing to do with it. Generally the smaller homes have more thoughtfulness and care given to their construction than bigger ones.

[knowamericaknowbible]

@resourcesforlife So if you get a good contractor to build one of these they will consider the ammount of time in which it takes a small fire to become a big one and make sure window's are accessible and could fit a full grown man or woman through them should the door be blocked? The real tiny one on wheels I think are freaky because I'm not very fond of gass. In a neighboring town there was a house that exploded cnt.

[Livinggreen100]

@knowamericaknowbible all the more reason NOT to use gas. I'm not using any type gas in my 275 sq. ft. tiny house. I'm not even using it in my 400 square foot home now.

[knowamericaknowbible]

due to a gass leak and this was a normal size home, can you imagine what could happen if one of those tiny houses had a gass leak. I guess I'm just too paranoid. And I know that nobodies trying to force us into living in tiny houses, yet, but that could be a possiblity in the mere future as the whole green intitiative keeps gaining momentum and more states want to charge you for using plastic even though wal-mart recycles plastic bags. cnt.

[Livinggreen100]

@knowamericaknowbible

.. kindof a ramble on of unrelated ideas that are tainted with pointless fear.... ?

[dinamo4889]

@knowamericaknowbible A tank of gas could be stored outside or you could use an electrical stove.I lived in a tiny apt in Tokyo where my loft bed was on top of the kitchen. I had a dual electrical stove top closet space small fridge microwave oven and of course a multipurpose rice cooker that also could be used to make curry and a verity of stews . My rent was only $800 a month bills included. In winter I had a small halogen heater that was perfect for my apt.

[knowamericaknowbible]

also please take care that capitalist developers don't get a hold of this idea because I can just see them developing blocks of these tiny houses and forcing people in poor neighborhoods into them so that they can tear down the boulivard to build bigger and better shopping centers and tourist atractions. Just be careful because this idea could be used for both good and bad.

[Livinggreen100]

@knowamericaknowbible

.. more of the fear thing.... blah. boring

[Soundgarden8497]

incredibly horrible video

[resourcesforlife]

@Soundgarden8497 -- I'm curious to know what it is about the video that you find incredibly horrible. Care to elaborate?

[Soundgarden8497]

@resourcesforlife you

[resourcesforlife]

@Soundgarden8497 -- What is it about me that you find incredibly horrible?

[bartseto]

Two emerging trends: Americans are getting fatter and fatter and homes are getting smaller and smaller. Sounds like a collision course in the making.

[knowamericaknowbible]

@bartseto lol Very interesting antedote. In all the video's I've seen they haven't really talked much about safety and building codes. I'm suprised the athorities haven't gotten after them.

[resourcesforlife]

@knowamericaknowbible -- Actually, the "authorities" have endorsed these homes and the homes being built are winning awards for efficiency, safety, and sustainability.

[knowamericaknowbible]

@resourcesforlife which ones? since when is a home that could go up in flames in minutes considered safe? Nobodies answered any comment I have made about where would these people go in case of a tornado? In fact in all new houses of a normal size that don't have a basement barely or don't have an interior room in the house. I'm just curious, if other people want to live there that's all well and good but I'm just curious about certain safety aspects.

[knowamericaknowbible]

nm some people have responded about tornado's.

[Livinggreen100]

@knowamericaknowbible If our overworked and underpayed building inspectors had the time, perhaps they could "go after" corrupt builders, such as those in Florida, who have built defective properties hoping to cash in on peoples rush to move south.

Then there is all the chemicals in cheap site built homes. Formaldehyde and other toxic chemical, such as from carpeting, paint, and particle board. The building inspectore won't protect you from that.

I going for natural in my tiny house.

[tylerdurdonxx]

i'm sure 99% of the goole searches for small house are for people looking for a house that is like 800 sq. feet. Not 40 sq feet. This guy is an idiot to think that those people are actually searching for this. My dick is bigger than that house.

[resourcesforlife]

@tylerdurdonxx -- The significance of people searching Google for small home is not that anyone is wanting to live in 40 sq feet, but that people are interested in generally living smaller. We have members of our organization who live in 800 sq. feet. The national average is about 2400 square feet. So, what we're about is not obsessing over any specific size, but simply encouraging smaller living when possible, practical, and desirable.

[tylerdurdonxx]

@resourcesforlife Ok that makes sense at least. So you're saying not saying that everyone should live in a 40 sq foot house, but simply saying that living in a smaller house is a better option for many people, and that the 40 sq foot house is simply one extreme.....Ok I can respect that.

[resourcesforlife]

@tylerdurdonxx -- Right. I often need to make that clarification. Most of these tiny homes on wheels are for single people who are minimalists happy living off-the grid. The homes are typically 140 sq. feet or more (if you count the upstairs and livable space). Some are bigger. It's partly housing code that's caused the tiny house movement. Smallish homes on foundations are illegal. So, to get around the codes, people put them on trailers (which makes them even smaller).

[EverywhereVirtually]

@resourcesforlife This is very true. I don't have the money or resources right now to build a small house but I have learnt so much and been inspired by what I have seen already. From just living with less, streamlining possessions and making better use of space. In time I will have a tiny house but for now I am happy to use the tips and tricks in other areas of my life. You have a great resource here!

[iwantosavemoney]

i like the idea of small house and big shop to work out of with every thing being digital it can really help

and im retireing early do to my land and small houes im build with recyled material you can build a small house very cheap with crigslist and freecycle and your local habitat for humanity places and learning how to build altertive buildings

i built my shop out of old trampoline frams and it looks great and the nabors want me to build them one.

the cheap guy

[resourcesforlife]

@iwantosavemoney -- Thanks for taking time to watch the video and comment. If you have a blog it would be great to know more about the project you mentioned. You can contact us through the Small House Society website.

[iwantosavemoney]

@resourcesforlife sorry i do not have a blog i have pictures of the structurs i have built from used material i need to put it all together to show all the stuff i made for free on just my time in going and picking stuff up and how ever long it took me to build it

i say im the cheap guy but if you get somthing for nothing and build what you need for free cant really beat that.

the cheap guy

[jdizzle120100]

I just did a search and ~400 million, not a billion-gotcha journalism

[resourcesforlife]

@jdizzle120100 -- Regarding your ~400 million search results... The day that I created the video, the results showed (as depicted in the video) about a billion results. In the video, I used an unaltered screen shot from the Google results. I wasn't trying to artificially inflate the numbers. The number of search results on Google can change from one day to the next.

[jdizzle120100]

@resourcesforlife -duly noted!

[Engineer245]

Regarding Al Gore and the so called green magazines like Home Power and a few others: I have written more than one letter to the editors of these magazine regarding their building hugh vanity homes with $100k PV Systems. I have recieved replies saying that it is just the reality and they must do what ever it takes to stay financialy sound. I guess they are right when iot come to their finances but it sure sets me off we I recieve my internet delivered subscriptions! Keep up the good work!

[Engineer245]

I truely believe that the bestway to find out if you are a person or couple that is really willing to live in a small house is to move in to small rv camper! Thanks for promoting efficient, ethical and green living!

[MrSafetymeeting]

Living in a small house can provide the freedom to do what you want with less worry about debt. If you need some space, go outside.

[wynn904]

How is the small house any different from an R.V.? Where I can I find detailed costs of owning one of these? Do you have to purchase an RV lot? Can you park it anywhere? What size truck engine do you need to pull one of these? I have more questions, so is there a question and answer forum? Please advise. Thank you.

[resourcesforlife]

@wynn904 -- Most of the small homes are built using residential or industrial-grade materials, so they are more sturdy and usually have more insulation. Detailed costs of owning depend on your circumstances, but usually you'll pay for a place to put it (buy or rent) and then pay utilities. You can put them anywhere campers are allowed. You'll need a big truck since they usually weigh 3500 pounds or more. Google search for Small House Society to find the discussion forum.

[TheJourneyfortruth]

I love the idea of living small for the simple reason that I want more financial freedom, however it almost made me vomit when you mentioned An inconvenient truth. That has proven to be a fraud, with manufactured data. Actually this fits right in with what how the elite want us to live. Look up agenda 21. Still, this life allows me to break free from being a debt slave. I can build it myself and have a home wherever i go.

[resourcesforlife]

@TheJourneyfortruth -- I know a lot of people are turned off by Al Gore (who ironically lives in a huge home). His film about global warming is one of many in that genre that point to ways in which we are over-stressing our global ecosystem. We're using resources faster than they are replenished, and we're spewing land, air, and water pollution in high quantities. Regardless of how one feels about our current climate oddities, we can all agree to be more green.

[TheJourneyfortruth]

@TheJourneyfortruth Al Gore and many like him want your Tax dollars in the form of cap and trade. If they REALLY believed in global warming their altered life styles would reflect their beliefs. We should all be responsible to the planet, It is our home, but it isn't in need of being saved by human made global warming. We need saved from companies like BP and monsanto and our EPA has no plans for that. Why? Who benefits? We were sheep led to BIG living, now were sheep led to small living.

[S0u11ess]

@TheJourneyfortruth

"it almost made me vomit when you mentioned An inconvenient truth. That has proven to be a fraud, with manufactured data"

produce your evidence. last i checked the documentary was based on sound scientific research. if you have evidence of the contrary please provide us with it.

[MrSafetymeeting]

@S0u11ess Why doesn't Al Gore practice what he preaches if it's all real? He doesn't believe the very things he preaches. How could anyone take him seriously? Maybe using Gore was a bad idea and the movement needs a new spokesperson.

[flipwiggins]

@TheJourneyfortruth Even if I were a millionaire and could afford a huge house, I wouldn't want one, because that's not my style. My motto is: the more stuff I have, the less freedom I have. So, I don't care how the "elite" want me to live; I will live however the hell I want to!

[XCritonX]

Small houses: "When your a selfish prick and have no friends to invite over and no children to raise you just don't need the space."

But seriously, I do have one of these houses, that is where my dog lives. I will probably get another, for my other dogs.

[resourcesforlife]

@XCritonX -- Another way to understand the small house movement is that it isn't making people live a certain way (such as without a large family and pets), but instead that it is responding to a cultural shift. Couples are choosing to have one child (or no children) instead of five. Many people are choosing to live a single life. The small house movement is simply a response to an existing and increasing demand for simpler living, not a means to force people into living a smaller life.

[petrus4]

@XCritonX It isn't necessarily due to selfishness. You could view your house as being primarily where you sleep, (or where you do spend some alone time) and for socialisation, choose to go to a more neutral, public area. In the future, we're going to be focusing more on large gardens as meeting/socialisation areas for people. This can help increase safety, as well.

[resourcesforlife]

@petrus4 -- Goog points.

[TulipWife]

My husband and I are excited to join this movement. All we have been doing these past couple of days is talk about it, and look around for land :)

[resourcesforlife]

@TulipWife -- Cool! Thanks for taking time to watch the video and comment. My wife and I are looking for land right now also!

[EasTexan6326]

But where will I park my Hummer?

Come on people...

[resourcesforlife]

@EasTexan6326 -- LOL. You might need the Hummer to pull the house!! Actually, it's quite funny how small houses inspire a desire to have your material possessions be in proportion to the house. So, while a car may not seem like a large possession for most people, once you live in a tiny house, a car seems like it's just way too big since most are about the size and weight of a tiny house!

[855h0le]

I live in Shitty Connecticut. As far as State and Local laws go- THIS type of living would be in a sense "ILLEGAL:"? I TRIED to convert sheds and NOSEY Neighbors cause me Legal problems. Ive "hid" trailers in woods and some ASSHOLE send the Town a GOOGLE SATELLITE PHOTO and the Town comes down on me. I am 2inches from shooting someone with my ar15. How can this be and where do I need to go to be HAPPY and left the HELL alone??? I WANT this lifestyle! thanks people! mk

[resourcesforlife]

@855h0le -- As you've apparently discovered, people want you to live like they do, and if you don't they feel threatened. In some neighborhoods, there are covenants requiring people to live in certain size homes, with only allowed trees planted, and only certain styles of architecture. It's a bit repressive. However, there are some places in the U.S. like Montana where a person can get some land, and live how they want, without others telling them what to do.

[christocr]

I've been obsessed with small and tiny houses for a long time. I appreciate folks like you who attempt to dispel the myth that having an obese home is the ideal. I'm convinced that most folks don't need all that space, but just don't realize it because, in the forest of McMansions, they've never even seen a reasonably and well proportioned small home that offers all that any reasonable person could want or need. Rock on and spread the word! Down with McMansions!

[resourcesforlife]

@christocr -- Thanks for taking time to watch and comment!

[trailkeeper]

Why pay rent to big-brother when you can get something like this and have something to show for your money.

[resourcesforlife]

@trailkeeper -- Exactly! We need home ownership options for people who want to live in a home the size of a small apartment. Such options aren't readily available, so those living simple and small aren't able to build equity and capital.

[MikeyBagofDonuts]

I recently purchased a 1 bedroom house that is less than 640 square feet. I am excited to live a minimalist lifestyle in the space.

[resourcesforlife]

@MikeyBagofDonuts -- Thanks for sharing, and for promoting simpler smaller living.

[resourcesforlife]

@MikeyBagofDonuts -- Thanks for taking time to watch and comment.

[tybrady64]

Very nice video. In some areas you can live in a "camping" trailer without needing permits. You could take care of the black-water with a composting toilet, but gray water is still an issue. (health department still considers it "sewer") If you're in the dessert you could evaporate it.

As far as Google hits, the proper number of hits should be done with quotation marks i.e., "small house", otherwise you're also counting all the hits for house and small. I get 2,740,000, still very impressive.

[resourcesforlife]

@tybrady64 -- Thanks for taking time to watch the video and write a comment. You're right about the search results. I also noticed later, the 1 billion results was only there for a few days and then it dropped back into the millions. Google results can rise and fall. You're right, it's best to search on "small house" in quotes for more specific results.

[johnmonk66]

aren't you going too small? isn't there a minimum square footage a house must be? isn't the way you get around it is by putting the houses on wheels, so these are really trailers? I think you would attract more if you focused on building legal houses

[resourcesforlife]

In the first phase of the small house movement, most of the visibility was a result of super tiny homes. However, we're now seeing small but legal-size homes designed and built that are closer to what most people could reasonably live in and not feel too cramped.

[johnmonk66]

thankyou for the reply, I hope to see a video of a realistic small house someday. it is a dream of mine to buy an acre in the north of New York and build a small house on it, but it needs to have running water, so it would have to be legal sized.

i can do without gas, even electricity, but I am not going outside to use an outhouse, lol

[resourcesforlife]

@johnmonk66 -- Thanks for taking time to watch the video and write a comment. We're working on a slightly larger model with all the amenities that most people would want such as bathroom, kitchen, and space for guests.

[resourcesforlife]

Many thanks to all our viewers who have posted positive comments and given this video a positive rating!

[MimiZ914]

"People wanting more freedom," bear in mind the predatory mindset of the banking/loan industry. Bear in mind that the "powers that be," do not want you to be free. Bear in mind that our society does not empower the individual but enslaves them with financial burdens. It's time for a change. BE THAT CHANGE.

[deezynar]

I'm not seeing anyone address the legal problems that a person will get into when they decide to build tiny.

Building codes, zoning laws and home owner association bylaws can all be roadblocks to your dreams. It's best for anyone who's interested in going tiny to go to their building official & let them know what you want to do. They'll tell you the min. size you can build & meet the code & the zoning laws. Also, however cute, Tumbleweed homes are mobile homes & aren't allowed everywhere.

[MimiZ914]

@deezynar Right On for making for bring this point up! the reason for this is that larger houses bring in more tax revenue for the local municipalities. It's all about money as usual. People need to demand authorization and change of laws for alternative building and smaller homes.

[deezynar]

Mimi,

Thanks, but I'm not in agreement w/ you. My position is building codes & zoning laws are public contracts that've evovled to benefit all of us. Zoning laws exist to keep peace among neighbors by specifying what can be done on a piece of land. This system lets you know what to expect before you buy. If you violate zoning laws, you're telling your neighbor to put up w/ something he didn't want next door to him when he purchased his land. I believe that we should respect our neighbors.

[MimiZ914]

@deezynar There are very little "starter homes," being built. The mantra is bigger which makes all costs to owning a home more expensive, (overhead, insurance, taxes, utilities, etc.) I do see how the housing market has lots of people making BIG money off of it and the consumer. Face it, the housing market is a fast big buck type of industry. Anything that puts the power of housing back into the hands of the people I'm all for it. We agree to disagree.

[deezynar]

Mimi,

We're talking about different subjects. I support a community's right to regulate what's done w/ the land in their area & their right to regulate the design & construction of buildings to insure safety. These issues don't need to be at odds w/ the tiny house philosophy. However, pro tiny house folks must lobby to get changes to the laws to allow tiny houses a legal means to exist. Also, existing laws support existing societal values. Change the values & the laws will follow.

[deezynar]

Mimi,

One other thing. As a residential drafter, I've worked on only 1 project in 7 years that was a small house, 900 s.f. I think. The client was a single mom w/ a son. It was a fun project & mostly based on her design. All the other jobs have been huge houses. So, to differ w/ you once again, the problem isn't w/ the builders, it's totally w/ the house buying public who wants huge houses.

And that's where the bias against tiny houses comes from, including zoning laws; your neighbors.

[tommyshere]

my little house/cabin is 8x14feet and it works out great !!

[deezynar]

tommyshere,

Is your house on a foundation, or on a trailer? Did you get building permits?

[MountainWindYurts]

Great video, pls see ours, mountainwindyurts on youtube, live small and prosper!

[earlymusicus]

Great video, Greg! I contacted my Congressman to start re-doing zoning laws so people can have smaller houses. And to the people who think smaller houses are only for single people, I say that any downsizing you can do helps. Even a 1200 square foot 3-bedroom home is better than a 3000 square foot home. Everyone can do more with less!

[britpatRIOT]

nice houses but global warming is a scam dont believe everything your told

[pjamesbda]

teach you cattle to swim.

[h5e5l5l5o5]

cool.

[studiotx]

They are oright if you live along. I can't see a small three member family (like us) living in the sort of small houses you are offering. I was waiting to see the houses on this video but I like the video and can understand your argument. 5* thank you.

[loganenator]

Fantastic introduction Greg! Great work bringing an updated summary of the movement to light! This video production really complements your book. :)

[RowdyKittensDotCom]

Greg - this is an excellent video. Thanks for putting it together. :)

[resourcesforlife]

Please help promote this video by commenting about it, embedding it on your webpage or blog, telling your friends about it, and giving it a positive rating. Thanks!