thoughts on tiny

Where am I?

Posted on June 15, 2013 by Naj Haus (Kate)

My view for the last days and days…

Good question. The last several weeks have been such a blur, I barely know myself anymore. I’ve been scrambling to get everything ready at work to be able to take 5 weeks off for my first build stint, and every moment not at work has been spent on wrapping up my designs, ordering windows, and all the myriad other things that need to get done.

Yesterday I had to have some last minute surgery so today I’m laid up and following the Yestermorrow Tiny House Fair via the Yestermorrow blog, and the Smalltopia and RowdyKittens Facebook pages – it’s kind of like the tiny house olympics! Can’t wait to see the videos of the presentations – what a great resource for everyone. Check out this awesome Mushroom Tiny House blog using mushrooms for insulation and structural stability!

Tomorrow I pack and Monday I drive 12 hours to Oregon to start prepping and building to be ready for the PAD work party on July 6th! It’s all a little surreal.

And my view in the other direction – my entire living room is covered in building books. These are the ones I use the most: Go House Go, Building Construction Illustrated, and the Ultimate Guide to House Framing, plus the Tiny House Design & Construction Guide eBook. See the Resources page for links to all of these.

Current systems thinking

After I wrote my post on my decision to go without plumbing, I was asked what I’m doing for my other systems (here you go, Paula!). Don’t hold me to these since they may well change, but this is where I am at the moment:

In general, I’m trying to see how simple I can go without feeling deprived. It’s been a good exercise to look at how I live now and how much change I could be comfortable with. I also have tried to design my systems so that I can easily live both on and off the grid. It’s a little challenging having to plan for future parking situations when you have no idea where you will be! So, the more options and the more self-sufficiency, the better. Would love to hear what others are considering along these lines.

Electrical – I still have a lot to learn about setting up a solar system. Due to the expense, I may hold off on installing one until I know where I will end up and whether I will have access to grid power or not. In terms of wiring my house, fortunately if you use 10/2 gauge wire you can keep options open for either system. I’m planning on building a tool shed on the tongue to house the batteries and other electrical equipment. I’m not going to have high electrical demands so will just need to have enough juice to power a few lights and charge my laptop and cell phone, and perhaps a couple other things. I’m also curious to look into wind power to see if that is feasible where I might end up. Continue reading →

Categories: design, thoughts on tiny | Tags: design, flexibility, simplicity, systems, tiny houses | 8 Comments

On plumbing, meditation & healthful hearts

Posted on May 27, 2013 by Naj Haus (Kate)

Urinal at Tassajara Zen Mountain Center.

Oh, oh, oh, everything changes…
~ Eurythmics, “This Is The House”

I got my new wave, granola self through freshman year at college on that song. That and my dad’s stock advice whenever we were going through childhood trials and tribulations: “The tide comes in [said on a rising intake of breath then long pause before the exhalation]; the tide goes out.” It was somewhat tongue-in-cheek, but, as much as I was impatient for answers, there’s a certain comfort in the way it puts our small personal worries in perspective. It also is a reminder that everything is in constant flux. Apparently that holds true for the plumbing plans in my tiny house as well.
Continue reading →

Categories: design, PAD, tangents, thoughts on tiny | Tags: being still, design, nature, plumbing, simplicity, tiny houses | 15 Comments

Tiny House, Big Heart – help Kim rebuild her tiny house!

Posted on May 1, 2013 by Naj Haus (Kate)

From Kim:

“Last summer, the tiny house on wheels I was building burned to the ground in a mysterious fire that started in the barn adjacent to my house. I had spent several years working extreme hours to raise the capital for the project and spent countless hours figuring out the logistics of building my tiny dwelling. The house was halfway done at the time of the accident and the loss was devastating emotionally and financially. But with the help of many dear friends and community members I’m ready to raise the funds necessary to start over.

Please check out the fundraising campaign and help me rebuild my tiny dream. Thanks!”

She’s got an awesome indiegogo campaign going to rebuild her tiny house, offering custom artwork and cds of Northwest artists and musicians for those who contribute. Help spread the tiny house love!

For more information, visit Tiny House, Big Heart.

Categories: thoughts on tiny | Tags: community, dreams, fundraising, kim langston, new starts, tiny houses | Leave a comment

Letting go

Posted on April 26, 2013 by Naj Haus (Kate)

Loon Lake last summer, Sierra Mountains

This river that is mine now
This morning it was yours
And by afternoon it will have nearly reached
the sea
In this way
Don’t we always learn the most
By letting go of what is right in front of us?

~ Meg Hutchinson

This is a fragment of a poem singer/songwriter/poet Meg Hutchinson wrote recently. I believe the genesis was from a place of grieving over the loss of her dog, but it has been resonating with me on so many levels the last couple of weeks.

Feelings of loss, yes, definitely – both on a personal note and as part of humanity. Boston; West, Texas; Bangladesh… Strangely, Meg wrote this just before the horrific events of last week and yet the first few lines capture so well the sense of common bonds and empathy, and the shared, collective wave of grief passed hand to hand like a tragic baton, across the country and around the world. Continue reading →

Categories: tangents, thoughts on tiny | Tags: poetry, resonance, simplicity | 6 Comments

On being lost in a swamp – the end

Posted on April 5, 2013 by Naj Haus (Kate)

Lion’s Mane. Source: Congaree National Park

This is the third, and final, installment of the swamp saga. If you want to catch up, read the beginning and the middle.
________

So where were we? Oh yes, we were still lost in the miasma, losing all definition of where our bodies ended and the swamp began. And running short on food. The only good thing about those best-forgotten days was Peter came back from his vomitous, stygian trip to Hades. There wasn’t much he could do but he at least he was now our fearless leader again as we paddled in circles. Once in a while we would hear a plane fly high overhead and we’d try to find an opening in the trees, waving our paddles frantically. Surely they would send a search party at some point. But nothing. Nada. Back to paddling. Continue reading →

Categories: tangents, thoughts on tiny | Tags: adventure, nature, poetry, swamp | 2 Comments

What’s your nest size?

Posted on March 18, 2013 by Naj Haus (Kate)

Cliff swallow. Credit: Cephas

Bras are composed of over 20 different pieces. Each designer decides how these pieces fit together based on 3 to 4 fittings done on a fit model, whose measurements are intended to represent the designer’s idea of the perfect woman. Therefore, with different designers using different fit models, and the added complexity of different countries producing their versions of a B cup, it’s never one size fits all…

~ True & Co.

Like with brassieres, shoes, and pretty much everything else in life, there is no one perfect nest size that fits everyone. We all have different needs and circumstances, and these change over time. You may have a large family or many pets, you may have physical challenges or limitations, you may suffer from claustrophobia or like to pace in large circuits late at night. You may have lived in small spaces all your life and just crave a change. A tiny house may not be the answer for you, but that doesn’t mean you can’t be an honorary tiny houser.

The tiny house movement is more about making conscious decisions than it is about the size of your house’s footprint. It is a particular mindset, a unique investigation for each individual, a way of living in the world.

There’s no one right answer. It’s the questions that are important. Continue reading →

Categories: thoughts on tiny | Tags: nature, simplicity, tiny house movement | 1 Comment

Sheer madness, shear strength

Posted on March 9, 2013 by Naj Haus (Kate)

Scottish sheep. Credit: George Gastin

When I was in film school, I wrote a short screenplay called Shear Madness about a sheep and a hairdresser who was waiting to hear if she had breast cancer. It was a strange, dark little serio-comedy; probably a good thing it didn’t go further than paper. What interested me was playing with various takes on the words shear/sheer and madness.

We took ourselves very seriously in film school.

I had to look up the terms for this kind of word play, which opened up a whole new esoteric world. According to Wikipedia: “In linguistics, a homonym is, in the strict sense, one of a group of words that share the same spelling and the same pronunciation but have different meanings. Thus homonyms are simultaneously homographs (words that share the same spelling, regardless of their pronunciation) and homophones (words that share the same pronunciation, regardless of their spelling). The state of being a homonym is called homonymy.” Try saying that three times fast! Homophones that are spelled differently are called heterographs. Confused yet?

In that weird cyclical nature of life, shear/sheer and madness – in all their heterographic and homonymic splendor – have come up again 17 years later as I find myself pondering plywood and wool for my tiny house. Continue reading →

Categories: design, thoughts on tiny | Tags: architecture, art, design, madness, nature, strength, tiny houses | 8 Comments

On being not so still

Posted on February 23, 2013 by Naj Haus (Kate)

Ortelius World Map 1570. Click on any of the maps for an interesting discussion of early world cartography.

There’s a delectable tension between being still and not so still. Each bear gifts and each have limits. Tiny houses on wheels embody a beautiful blending of the two.

This has been on my mind for two reasons. One is that I got the call that my trailer is ready, which excites me to no end. The other reason is that after I wrote my post on designing sparefully, which included a lot about the importance of being still, I noticed that WordPress lists my user name as the author: notsostill. That made me laugh. It also made me reflect on the role of stillness in my life – or rather, the lack thereof – and why a tiny house on wheels is so perfect for me. Continue reading →

Categories: tangents, thoughts on tiny | Tags: art, being still, childhood, nature, resonance, tiny houses | 5 Comments

Skunks and a tiny house valentine

Posted on February 14, 2013 by Naj Haus (Kate)

Credit: Tom Friedel

Valentine’s Day tends to annoy me with its Hallmark triteness but it’s notable in that it signals the start of skunk mating season.

I know this because I lived in a cabin in the redwoods that had a bit of a skunk problem. Okay, it was a big problem. About this time a couple years ago, all olfactory hell broke loose. Continue reading →

Categories: design, tangents, thoughts on tiny | Tags: nature, skunks, tiny houses, valentine | 1 Comment

On bitterns and tiny house parking: putting your best foot forward

Posted on February 9, 2013 by Naj Haus (Kate)

American bittern. Credit: Jerry Segraves

Lately I’ve had bitterns on the brain.

In college, I couldn’t decide whether to major in biology or art. I ended up with a bio degree just because I’d taken a couple more classes in it. One of those classes was how birds have adapted their coloring for camouflage and mating displays. Continue reading →

Categories: design, thoughts on tiny | Tags: design, nature, tiny houses | 2 Comments