By now, I’m sure many of you have watched the Tiny Home series in one form or another. For whatever reason, this really appeals to me. Now I have a large family ( 5 kids plus hubby) but they will – with the exception of one- be flying the coup soon leaving just the 3 of us.
I find that with working full time, writing part time, teaching part time, all all the other things that I do in my days, staying on top of housework, cooking, washing etc is a battle I loose on a weekly basis. I was very surprised as I took an inventory, to find out just how much stuff we’ve accumulated. I started looking at it in a different way. If I only have X amount of space, what is really worth keeping? What do I need to make my life run smoothly? Any many other questions like them.
What I learned was that what I needed was actually a pretty small amount. Yes it’s nice to have several clothes and shoes, but day after day, I found myself wearing the same clothes, and the same pair of shoes. So when a charity called looking for donations, I decided to really go through things and anything that hadn’t been worn ( dependent on season) I gave away. I will still have to go back through things again, but I made good inroads.
My hubby and I have decided that as soon as we can, we would like to move to the country and become more self sustaining. We do what we can within city limits ie. aerators on my taps, a garden in my yard, doing our best to make use of our wood fireplace and the sun to warm our house. All of those things make a difference, but we’re both looking to take that next step. To step outside our comfort zone and see what we can accomplish.
Ever since I was little, I’ve always drawn one picture- that of a log cabin with a small farm around it. Now don’t get me wrong, I wrinkle my nose up at the smell of manure same as the next city chick, but I want to have my own animals. I want to feed my chickens and take pride in how they grow, and produce and how lovely they taste on my dinner plate. I want to grow my own veggies and store them in my basement. I want all that, but where to start?
I have no idea where to start. There is not a tone of information that is Canadian. Most of the tiny homes are in the US and in the southern states to boot. Up here, we need insulation. But what kind would be best? I still have to figure that out.
Hubby is not on board for a tiny home, and I can’t blame him as I have no desire to climb a ladder to go to bed, or climb down one to use the bathroom either, so whatever floorplan we go with will need a bedroom on the main level.
I know I would love to have a wood cookstove, but being a city girl, I have no idea how to use one. I will need someone to teach me.
I would love a composting toilette, but what about water? Well? Cistern? some combination of both?
There are many things to consider as we look to our future and it both excites and terrifies me. This will be our forever home, and we’re getting a late start since we’ll be in our 50’s! Are we crazy? Yes, probably a little. Our family is on board though, and are already working on their own 10×10 footprint homes. They’re already planning their summers or time off, and what they’d like to build, or create. I see this as a great way to bring the family together and look forward to seeing their designs come to fruition.
So, all that being said, I’ll keep you updated as we start our journey by doing our research. If you have Canadian sources, suppliers, teachers or any other input, I’d love to hear from you. Otherwise, come along for the ride!
Kate Reid 