Life in 120 Square Feet

The Tiny Table: Jerk Shrimp and Noodles

2013-05-18T11:55:00.000-04:00

Years ago, when Matt and I lived in our big house in Atlanta, we would often buy this frozen seafood product. When our local grocery store stopped carrying it, we were sad. Apparently it is still made but not sold in North Carolina and I am not too keen on ordering shrimp on the internet.

But I thought to myself, "Self, I might be able to recreate this dish!"

It's not like jerk marinade is difficult to find or anything.

So I went to our local store and bought some jerk sauce, frozen shrimp, and angel hair pasta.

I marinaded the shrimp in the jerk sauce for probably about `10 minutes or so while I boiled the angel hair. Once the angel hair was done, I drained it and set it aside. I threw the shrimp in a skillet. I chose frozen cooked shrimp but you could do it with either cooked or raw - just make sure the shrimp is nice and pink and you'll know it is done.

After I was happy with the shrimp (they curl up too and get so cute and yummy), I threw the pasta in to cook in the sauce, tossing it with tongs to get it coated. If you want a little extra kick, which I do sometimes, you can add some crushed red pepper flakes as well.

It won't take long for the pasta to be coated with the sauce and once that is done, the dish is ready. It is super quick and really easy to prepare, even in a very tiny off the grid kitchen.

I served it with a local spring seasonal beer from Highland Brewery right here in Asheville.

Video Tour of Life in 120 Square Feet

2013-05-13T08:35:00.002-04:00

To honor our one year anniversary in the tiny house, I shot this incredibly amateur video this weekend. In spite of the shaky camera work with an iPod, I hope you enjoy this tour of our tiny house in the mountains.

There are also brief cameos of Matt and Piglet, who share the tiny house with me.

Tiny Living Doesn't Even Have to be Tiny

2013-05-09T09:01:00.001-04:00

A lot of people have very strong reactions when we tell them we live in 120 square feet.

Some people wonder how exactly we can handle that together. Some people want to know about our kitchen or our bathroom. Others simply exclaim, "I would love to go tiny, but not that tiny."

I have learned that tiny living isn't necessary about the size of your home but about how you live in it.

Okay, it might be a little bit about the size of your home. If you have a 3000+ square foot house I don't think tiny living or even small living can apply to you.

But there are many ways that tiny living can happen and it doesn't just have to be in a less-than-200 square foot home.

Tiny Living is a Philosophy.

When you read through the blogs of people who have done this for themselves you won't see a common thread in the designs of their homes. Some people will have luxury kitchens and others will have washers and dryers. Others still might be off the grid with fewer modern amenities.

The real thread you will see tying all of these people together is a desire to live deliberately. Each tiny house builder and dweller wants to engage with their lives in a way they had not done before. It might be about finances or about building community or it might just be about adventure.

Here are some of the things that I think are important to know about the tiny house movement.

It is primarily DIY.
It changes your life.
There is no one right answer.
It isn't for everyone.

When I say DIY what I mean is that most people who live in a tiny house want some control over the building process. Not everyone will chose to build themselves but they will work with a builder who can work with them, understand their needs, and translate it into a home. Those of us who do want to build our own house do it to have the experience. For us, the building was just as important as the living and it taught us a lot about our home and ourselves. Some people build tiny buildings just for the pure joy they get from creating something. They may never even live in them.

No matter how you chose to build your tiny house, it will change your life. It gave me the opportunity to quit my job and pursue something I've always dreamed of doing. For others it gives them freedom to travel. A tiny house isn't a magic bullet, but changing the way you think is.

The tiny house movement is not a dogmatic one. Each and every tiny house built is different from all the other tiny houses, even if they are built off the same design. One person might want have a full bathtub. Some builders might want to include a staircase or a first floor bedroom. A trailer might work better for some and a foundation for others. The possibilities are literally endless. As long as it can fit in the footprint of your small home it can be done. But no one can do it for you.

It is easy to romanticize tiny living. I love it but it isn't always easy. Most of the tiny house blogs you read will also demonstrate love for the lifestyle. If you don't love it that doesn't mean something is wrong with you. It also doesn't mean that something is wrong with tiny living.

This lifestyle is more about the mindset than it is about the trappings. You can live small in a 1000 square foot house if you're conscious about your resources, your space planning, and the way you use your home.Tiny living doesn't even have to be tiny.

Our House Featured in The Laurel of Asheville

2013-05-06T10:30:00.000-04:00

I am so excited to be able to share this information. There is a long history of the making of this article.

Before we even moved into the tiny house last year, I got an email from the folks at The Laurel of Asheville, an arts and culture magazine based here in Western North Carolina. However, in spite of writing our own blog, Matt and I prefer to keep our tiny house pretty private. We were concerned about inviting a photographer up to the tiny house.

Occasionally, the Laurel contacted us to see if we had changed our minds. They assured us they would respect our privacy in the article. So, finally, we agreed to the meeting.

In January we met Leah, the author, at a nearby coffee shop to talk about our tiny house and experience. Then Paul, the photographer, joined us and we went up to the tiny house to show them around. They took photos and asked a few more questions. They were both absolutely delightful people. I was glad we agreed to meet with them.

And now, in the may issue of The Laurel of Asheville (available online) you can see the result of that meeting. I am incredibly pleased with the article and they were, as they said, very respectful of us. The only regret I have is doing the photo shoot in January when it was so cold!

“There was never an ounce of wanting to give up. It never crossed our minds,” says Matt. He and Laura had their share of frustrations, however, especially when hoisting 2,400 pounds of cement up a hill and setting the foundation in the rain. “If it’s not something you want to do, all that stuff is going to stop you,” he advises, adding that the tiny house lifestyle is not for everyone. “The basic skills aren’t that hard. It’s having the patience and working through the hard parts.”

Check out the entire story here!

Ladders Vs. Stairs: A Vote for Ladders

2013-05-02T09:39:00.000-04:00

The tiny house community is often split over whether ladders or stairs or even a single story tiny house "better." I find this an interesting conversation because the very nature of the tiny house experience is not a one size fits all solution. Many tiny house dwellers have built their own homes to suit their own needs and any design choice should be fair game.

I was thinking about the ladder vs. stairs argument yesterday when I realized something.

In our tiny space we chose a ladder for practical purposes. The need to save space was the top criteria since we had always planned on building a very small house.

We also wanted to be able to move the ladder between the sleeping loft and the storage loft to access everything. By installing the J hooks on the front of each loft and eye hooks on the ladder itself this is a very functional part of our home.

However, there is one other reason a ladder works better for me than a small staircase. This occurred to me yesterday when we were at a concert venue here in Asheville and I had to walk up some relatively steep stairs without railings to get to my seat.

Well, I should add walking UP was not the problem.

Then I had to walk back DOWN the stairs.

I wear glasses. I don't wear them as a hipster fashion statement. I wear glasses because without them I am very truly blind. My prescription is pretty hefty and I have to use the special light weight plastic so my lenses aren't too thick to fit in smaller and cuter frames. Even with my glasses my depth perception isn't that great. Because of that I often have a hard time going down stairs, even with a railing.

And don't even talk to me about down escalators.

The ladder is a much easier way for me to access the loft. Because I can climb it hand-over-hand I feel very secure when going both up and down.

Now, I am certainly not saying "Ladder good, stairs bad." In fact, the thing I love the most about the tiny house movement is that there is no single answer. Each tiny house builder has an opportunity to design a small space that is perfect for their own needs.

Building A Tiny House

2013-05-01T16:48:00.001-04:00

Building A Tiny House, a set on Flickr.

Just a quick post to let you know I've updated our Flickr page. Since the house is done I suppose we can officially stop adding photos.

Can Workshops be Every Weekend?

2013-04-30T16:20:00.000-04:00

I had such an amazing time at the Wilmington Tiny House Workshop. I really wish I could do the event justice by writing about it, but I don't believe that is possible.

There were so many bloggers and builders there - people I have known for a very long time but never met. I got to meet Andrew and Crystal Odom, Alex Pino, Kent Griswold, Steven Harrell, and Derek Diedricksen. I also got to see Ryan Mitchell, Joe, and Mariah Coz again. I keep thinking I've missed someone but I don't think I have. Of course we were also able to meet 25 or so attendees, all with a different story and with different ideas but all of whom were interested in tiny living.

There is no real way to describe the feeling you get from going to these types of events. Our enthusiasm for Tiny Houses has never waned and yet I find myself even more excited to start new projects. We even have an idea for a second tiny house of our own!

I did get quite a few photos. I do wish I had taken more photos of all the bloggers. Next time I will be sure to do just that.

So, I thought I would just share the photos I do have from the weekend and let you see it for yourself. The little home office that was being build didn't get 100% finished but got pretty close.

Building the office for Tiny House Listings

Ryan Mitchell looking pensive in the tiny house.

Tennessee Tiny Homes Shows off the "Outhouse"

A photo from the inside

Another outdoor photo

Deek Diedricksen and the Tiny House

If you've ever thought about attending a tiny house workshop, especially a hand-on one, I can't recommend it enough. It is certainly great to network with like-minded people. It is also a good idea to get familiar with tools, safety, and building basics before you start your own tiny house.

Earth Day 2013 at University of South Carolina Upstate in Spartanburg, SC

2013-04-23T11:50:00.005-04:00

I have been talking a lot about our upcoming events - like the Wilmington NC workshop this weekend. I also mentioned our trip about an hour south of Asheville to speak at the University of South Carolina Upstate's Earth Day event.

It was a great time. We arrived just in time to see the first speaker - the school's librarian - who talked about her experience on a work study trip to Kenya to map animal populations. It was a great way to see education in action.

We were the second speakers and I think the students and professors in attendance enjoyed our presentation. We talked about our choices to go tiny, our lives before we made this decision, and how it impacts our lives today. We talked about our systems including solar power and our water usage. Our talk was about a half an hour and for the second half hour we got a lot of great questions. I was very pleased.

After our presentation a graduate of UNC Upstate, who is currently working on a PHD program at University of North Carolina Charlotte, spoke about sustainability in the Piedmont area.

It was also fun connecting with an old friend. Not old in the age sense but old in the length of time we have known each other. The professor of Geology at UNC Upstate and I go way back - to high school. We also went to the same college but started at different times. She was friends with Matt before I was even a freshman. So, it is partly her fault for introducing us that we have been together to unleash our unusual brand of combined oddness on to the planet.

This weekend is our second event. I am beyond excited to meet everyone listed on this poster and the additional guests who have been announced since this was printed!

At Earth Day we were talking primarily to people who had never heard of the Tiny House Movement. This weekend we are going to be in the thick of it. It is the largest gathering of tiny bloggers and builders ever assembled. 25 workshop attendees are there specifically to learn how to build a small house and hear what we have to say about our own tiny experiences. I can't wait.

While the presentation yesterday involved PowerPoint slides in a campus lecture hall, our talk at the workshop will be held around a campfire and be pretty casual.

I live this life because I love it. Before we built our tiny house I knew something was missing from my life but I wasn't exactly sure what. I knew I needed to make a change and I sincerely hoped this was the right one. Turns out, it was exactly what I needed. Regardless of our ecological impact or our financial goals, living in this tiny house has made me reconnect with myself. I'm more engaged with my own life and, as a result, with the world around me.

I want to share this experience with others not because I want everyone to build a tiny house but because I want everyone to consider what it is that will make their life feel complete and strive for that. Live deliberately.

Workshops and Presentations

2013-04-18T09:33:00.000-04:00

I am so excited for the coming week. Matt and I are eagerly preparing a PowerPoint presentation for Earth Day and then we head down for what is turning out to be the largest gathering of Tiny House bloggers and builders ever assembled.

A friend of ours is a professor at University of South Carolina Upstate. It was nearly a year ago when she wondered if we might be willing to come speak about living in our tiny house for the following Earth Day.

When the talk became a reality just a few weeks ago we started to get super excited. See, we really love living in our tiny house and we love to be able to share our experience with others. We aren't expecting everyone to immediately go out and build a 120 square foot house but we do hope that we can make people think about what they really want to do in their lives and work on making it happen. That is what the tiny life is all about for me. Like Thoreau suggests, "Live Deliberately."

This event is free and open to the public so if you find yourself anywhere near the Spartanburg SC area on Monday, April 22, you should come and check us out. We'll be speaking at 4pm.

After our trip down to Spartanburg, South Carolina, we will be heading out to Wilmington, North Carolina, for the Relax Shacks/Tiny House Listings workshop. The workshop is sold out and packed with speakers. The most exciting part to me is being able to meet other tiny house bloggers. We've known each other online for many years - most of us has been doing this for a very long time. It will be incredible to meet everyone in person. Plus, we haven't been to the beach in North Carolina yet so that sounds like a great time.

In honor of Earth Day I thought I would make a little image. I know I keep quoting Thoreau but he had a lot of great stuff to say.

Do you have any plans to honor Earth Day this year?

Live Deliberately

2013-04-15T09:15:00.000-04:00

Shameless Product Placement

2013-04-08T11:25:00.001-04:00

Look what we got for the Tiny House. Yes, that is a pillow with our own logo. It's kind of like a band wearing their own t-shirt at their own concert. But I'm okay with that. It's a damn fine logo.

You, too, can own 120 Square Feet merchandise!

The Tiny Table: ABC Sandwiches

2013-04-04T09:19:00.001-04:00

My sister, brother-in-law, and two nephews were here to visit over Easter weekend on their way to a spring break destination on the Carolina coast.

On Easter morning, before they started the final leg of their vacation drive, we hosted them for brunch. We made many delicious things including Pineapple Dip (mix pineapple flavored cream cheese with marshmallow fluff and serve with fresh pineapple - yum) and chocolate croissants (home made - use squares of puff pastry, add a Hershey kiss in the middle, fold and seal and bake until golden brown and delicious.)

We also made bacon that we got at the local butcher shop. That place is delicious. Their bacon is house smoked and we order it extra thick because we really love thick bacon. We had quite a bit left over after brunch (we kind of over bought the bacon) so Matt suggested making BLTs with it this week.

But then he suggested using avocado and cheddar cheese rather than lettuce and tomato. I was sold.

The result was one of the most delicious sandwiches I have ever tasted.

We fried up the bacon and then put it on a hoagie bun along with slices of avocado and slices of cheese. We broiled the resulting stack open-faced style until the cheese was melty. Then we put some mayo on the other half of the hoagie roll and pressed the whole thing together. It was so good.

Don't mind the mushy vegetables, they were certainly not the star of this show.

Speaking of Workshops

2013-04-03T13:40:00.000-04:00

As I mentioned yesterday, Matt and I will be heading out to Wilmington, NC at the end of April to participate in what is turning out to be one of the largest gatherings of tiny house builders and bloggers in the country. I think this has a lot to do with the great Tiny House culture of North Carolina, but I'm probably biased. I think we live in the best state ever.

I thought I would give you all a little insight on workshops and maybe some reasons you want to consider going to one or more in your area.

A friend of ours had introduced us to the tiny house concept years ago after seeing Jay Shafer on Oprah. At the time his company, Tumbleweed Tiny Houses, was the only game in town. We already had some land building a tiny house seemed like a great idea, but how could we know it was the right decision.

An answer smacked us pretty hard right on the head. Jay announced his first workshop east of the Mississippi - right here in Asheville, North Carolina. It was exactly the sign we needed. We signed up for the workshop that day.

This was before we began building so I am thinking it was sometime in late 2008 or the beginning of 2009. It was before I started recording things, too, so I'm really not sure. The workshop was held in a small conference room at a hotel downtown and there were maybe 15 people, including Jay himself. It was a really intimate affair as we spent all day discussing tiny house building with everyone else in the room. We were immediately sold on the concept and bought the plans that day.

Early last year, Tumbleweed was offering another workshop in Asheville. We were invited to speak about our experience building one of their tiny house designs. We met with the presenters, including the fabulous Pepper Clark, the night before we were scheduled to speak and asked how many people were at the workshop. We were expecting something similar to our first experience- around 15 people. The answer: "well, the room holds 100 people but it is standing room only."

Now there are lots of options for workshops. Deek Diedricksen has hosted a few, including the upcoming one pictured above. The Tumbleweed Tiny House Company has several announced and Jay Shafer's newest company, Four Lights Tiny Houses, will be doing several as well. There is also the Yestermorrow fair in Vermont and Alex Pino of Tiny House Talk has recently announced a partnership of Dan Loche for a workshop in North Atlanta in May.

The best part about most of these new workshops is the addition of hands on experience.While sitting in a hotel conference room talking about tiny houses is pretty neat, there is nothing like really getting your hands dirty. Honestly, I had never used a drill before building the tiny house so having a some hands on training with people who've done it before sounds like a great idea in retrospect. Heck, now I am someone who has done it before!

The workshop experience was an important step to my own tiny house adventure. If we hadn't attended that event I wonder what we might have done. Everything fell into place for us at that moment and the tiny house concept felt right. I recommend that everyone attend a workshop if they can and network with other tiny house builders and dreamers and take your own ideas to the next level.

Trust me, you won't regret it!

Did you know you could hire us?

2013-04-02T10:03:00.003-04:00

At the top of the page you see some tabs for various things - the About Us section, my other blogs, and a link to our 120 Square Feet store. You'll notice one other tab that is titled Hire Us.

Workshop in Wilmington NC

Matt and I have a lot to share about our experience building a tiny house. We can talk about construction challenges, solar power systems, off the grid living...anything you can imagine. And We want to be here for the tiny house community.

There are a lot of workshops coming up, including one at the end of this month in Eastern North Carolina. We will be speaking at that event. If you are hosting a tiny house event, especially anywhere in the eastern half of the US, Matt and I would love to come share our story.

If you're an individual, couple, or family looking to begin your own tiny house adventure and you want to talk to someone who has done it before we also offer one on one consultations which can be done over the phone, over the net, or in person depending on where you are and what you need.

Our prices are reasonable and based on your specific requirements. You can contact us directly at lmlavoie [at] gmail [dot] com or PM us through our Facebook page - we check messages regularly.

We can discuss what you're looking for and how we can help you and go from there. A friend posted today, "Promote what you love." That is exactly what I would like to do. I love my tiny life and I would love to share it with people who dream of doing it for themselves. If I can do it, anyone can. Let me know how I can help you!

Update on 120 Ideas for Tiny Living

2013-03-27T15:05:00.001-04:00

Hi Folks. I just got back from a week's vacation in New Mexico and Arizona. It was fantastic.

Now that I am back though I am focusing on the book, which I originally planned to have out by my birthday - which is this Friday, March 29th.

That isn't going to happen.

I want to make sure I have the best product available for you and right now I believe that it needs a little bit more time to cook. Not much time, but a little.

It is currently off to the editor who has let me know they are a little under the weather so it may be a few days before I get it back. Then I need to get the proofs before I can release it to the public. I am hoping the delay will only be until Mid to Late April - in time for the Relax Shacks Workshop in Wilmington, NC.

So, folks - bear with me. I think you'll be glad you waited.

In the mean time, want to seem some of my vacation photos?

Sure you do!


Frank Lloyd Wright's Arizona Estate, Taliesin West

A hummingbird in flight. Not bad for an iPhone photo

The grand canyon. They filmed "The Brandy Bunch Goes to the Grand Canyon" here

A photo of Mount Elden from Flagstaff, AZ. I really loved this town

And finally, your humble narrator on a hike to Jemez Falls north of Albuquerque

I have put these photos on backwards. The actual vacation started in Albuquerque and ended in Phoenix, but I didn't think you'd mind.

Goodbye, Hash Brown

2013-03-17T09:14:00.001-04:00

I struggled overnight with this post. It was a lot to decide if I even wanted to post it at all.

It is with a broken heart that I have to share the news that our neighbors' dog Hash Brown passed away yesterday. He was hit by a car and they couldn't save him.

My heart hurts for them.

But this isn't my news - Hash Brown wasn't my dog. I wasn't sure if I should be so public about the loss of someone else's pet. But at times Hash Brown felt like a part time dog to us. He was there throughout the construction of the tiny house as he would bound up the hill with his tail wagging and his tongue lolling to greet us.

He would bring a stick and make us play with him until we got tired of the game. Hash Brown never got tired of the game.

A rare photo of Hash Brown being calm.

For a while Hash Brown learned the command "Go home!" He would hang his little golden head and walk back down the mountain toward his own house. Later he decided he was going to stand his ground and when you commanded "Go home, Hash Brown," he would simply lay down and wait for you to forget that you wanted him to leave.

I never really wanted you to leave, Hash Brown. I hope you know that.

So many friends who worked on the tiny house will remember Hash Brown fondly. I want to give everyone a chance to remember this crazy dog and his crazy life. I know you would all want to know.

Hash Brown was a good friend to Life in 120 Square Feet and the building of this house wouldn't have been the same with out him. I'll miss you, HB. I'll miss you a lot.

Spring is Springing

2013-03-15T10:52:00.002-04:00

Just two posts ago I was writing about our first real snowfall here in Asheville.

Today, it will be 60+ degrees outside.

I am so grateful for the return of spring. I know it happens every year but I am always overwhelmed by it.

Today I will celebrate with a hippie skirt and sandals! I will walk into downtown with my camera and see if I can't catch some of the promise of spring.

I really have no other purpose here on the blog today than to bask in the beauty of the sun and the world greening all around us. It is truly glorious.


Leaves budding near the tiny house building site in March of 2008

The Accidental Pumpkin

2013-03-11T11:49:00.000-04:00

I was going through my photos yesterday to finish adding some things to my book.

No, this post isn't exactly about the book, but I'll share some info on that as well.

What this post is about is this photo, The Accidental Pumpkin.

That, my friends, is pumpkin blossom that grew up in our suburban flower bed in June of 2008.

We did not plant this pumpkin. Well, not on purpose anyway.

This was the reason a pumpkin vine started growing under our hydrangeas that year. Matt and I carve pumpkins for Halloween every year. That year I carved the grim reaper and Matt carved that silly pumpkin king face. We also usually make a pumpkin for Piglet. This year we didn't feel like carving it so we took a sharpie to a pie pumpkin and made little cat ears out of the scraps from our larger pumpkin.

These pumpkins sat on our front porch through Halloween. At some point, just after Halloween, the little cat pumpkin fell into our flowerbed and rolled under the hydrangea. While it wouldn't have been a problem to pick it up we just never bothered. And the pumpkin did what pumpkins do if left to their own devices - it returned to the earth.

I had completely forgotten about it by the time summer rolled around and the little pumpkin blossom bloomed on the little vine in our flowerbed. We called it our Accidental Pumpkin.

As you might imagine, under a hydrangea is not the ideal spot for a pumpkin vine. I wish we could have transplanted it to see what would have happened.

I don't know if this story is a metaphor for anything. Maybe that sometimes seeds you planted have unexpected results. Or maybe that sometimes you don't even mean to plant particular seeds but they still grow whether you want them to or not. I guess I never expected the seeds of the tiny house to become a website or a book, but they have and now I need to cultivate those things. I can't just ignore them and see what happens.

I came across this forgotten picture when I was going through photos for my book, 120 Ideas for Tiny Living. I was (AM) hoping to get the book out by March 29th, which is my 38th birthday. Looking at what I have left to do I'm not sure that will happen. But it won't be much later than that - first week or so of April. I've been formatting it and saw the layout and I am very pleased with it. I hope you are too. I'll keep you updated on the release date and the ways you can purchase it. I don't even know the cost yet but I don't want it to be too much for the eBook version.Keep watching this space for more concrete information.

Winter is Wintering

2013-03-06T13:03:00.000-05:00

After an entire season of snow predictions that never panned out, it finally snowed in Asheville, North Carolina. Now, friends and family in the mid-west will laugh and say that it wasn't real now. I'm not even sure it was an entire inch of the white stuff, but there was snow.

In the south that means only one thing. Everyone ran to the stores last night and bought bread, milk, and eggs. I've never quite figured out why but because of it we started our own tradition: snow day French Toast.

Delicious!

I am pretty happy that we made the decision to experience the city life for the winter months. If there was an inch of now down here that meant the mountain could have a lot more. Not that it would be impossible but the way we chose to build our house might make it a little more unpleasant. Never mind that we are off the grid and we collect our water from the spring. Never mind that we don't have a traditional heater with a thermostat. The big issue is that we built the house 200 vertical feet up our mountain. Regardless of the weather we have to walk up and down our mountain to the tiny house. We chose that location because we loved it but we also recognized the limitations.

But one of the things I love about the tiny lifestyle is that it gives us the ability to do more than one thing. I'm really enjoying our stay in town for a few months while we wait for spring to, well, spring.

Snow on the mountain February 2010

Daffodils on the Mountain February 2012

Build a Better Ladder

2013-03-02T10:42:00.002-05:00

Back in November over on Tiny House Listings I wrote this post about ladders and stair cases in tiny houses.

I mentioned in that post that we had hooks on the front of both the sleeping loft and the storage loft so we could switch the ladder from side to side. Unfortunately, I did not have photos of these hooks, but many people asked about them.

I was up at the tiny house this weekend and snapped a few photos of how the hooks work.

This is the ladder on the bed side. You can see the eye hooks on the ladder and the J hooks on the front of the loft.

This is the storage loft side, which is over the door to the house. The J hooks are on the front of that loft as well.

To switch the position of the ladder you just lift it off of the J hooks and...

Move it over to the other loft.

The ladder is neither light nor heavy. It is sturdy - built from 2X4s and each rung is covered in FLOR carpeting to keep it warm on the toes when climbing down and to help the cat climb up. The ladder is only attached to the lofts by the eye and J hooks and it is extremely secure. I am terrified of heights and the first time I ever got in the loft I couldn't get back down again. That was before we had a ladder and we were just using a construction ladder to get up and down. It was partially because of my panic attack that Matt build this ladder. I have no trouble climbing up and down the ladder now - or sleeping comfortably in the loft.

And here is a gratuitous photo of Piglet climbing up the ladder. This cracks me up every time.

A Tiny Announcement for 2013

2013-02-27T09:28:00.000-05:00

It is funny when you say something online like "I have an announcement." or "a tiny announcement." Everyone seems to think that you're expecting a baby.

Let me set that record straight.

No.

So, then - what is this tiny announcement? Well, it is actually quite a grand announcement. Big. Really big. At least for me.

Let me cut to the chase.

I am now the new co-host of the r(E)vo Convo podcast!

Random photo of me and a dachshund

So here is the build up. Earlier in February, blogger Andrew Odom of Tiny r(E)volution announced that he was searching for a co-host for his tiny house podcast. I had recently been bit by the broadcasting bug and I think I'm pretty good at that sort of thing, as an amateur. I had been thinking about ways to dip my toe into the podcasting world.

When I saw his call for auditions I thought, "why dip a toe when I can cannonball right into it?"

I threw my hat into the ring and next thing I knew we were in business.

Tiny r(E)volution and Life in 120 Square Feet are about to meet over the airwaves and celebrate all things tiny!

The first podcast in this brave new world will be available tomorrow, Thursday February 28th. There will be a new one each week featuring interviews, book reviews and all kinds of conversation about tiny houses and things we think tiny house people would be interested in.

I am super excited about this partnership and I hope that I'll be able to contribute something great to the conversation.

Be sure to check out the next podcast tomorrow and every Thursday!

A Tiny Trip to the Tiny House

2013-02-25T10:09:00.000-05:00

We've been spending most of our time at the city house this winter. Even here in the mountains the cold winter temperatures can drive you indoors. This weekend wasn't particularly warm, but we needed to head up to the tiny house to clean up after some fallen trees.

Our friend and neighbor brought up his monster chainsaw to help carve through the biggest tree that fell right behind the tiny house. While he and Matt were working outside, I did a little work inside to get the house ready for habitation again. I made the bed and I arranged the shelves.

Usually there is a guitar hanging in front of this shelf so you can't see what it on it. We have 4 ounce beer tasters that we've collected from beer festivals in Atlanta. They also make great wine glasses. We have photos of me and Matt as kids. We have books on bird and tree identification for the region. And gnomes.

We have someone coming out the end of this week to interview us for a local magazine. I'll keep you updated on that.

It was an overcast winter day. It was hard to be motivated to do any work. I cleaned some twigs off the main path to the tiny house. And I took some photos.

With the trees leafless you can really see the landscape of the mountain behind us.

Just around the corner from the tiny house there is a path that leads down to a large clearing. From the top of that path you can get this view. With the bare trees it feels like you can see for miles.

A little housekeeping.

By this I mean blog housekeeping, not house housekeeping.

Over at my Facebook page, I am getting very close to 1500 "likes." Once I get there I have a special give away courtesy of another tiny house blogger. I have no idea what I am going to do yet but one lucky Facebook fan will get something pretty cool.

Also, I have a big announcement coming this week. I am dying to tell you what it is but I can't until Wednesday. You're just going to have to wait.

Don't forget to check out Tiny House Talk and Tiny House Listings. I write for both of these blogs and love every second of it. Both blogs have a great team of writers providing tiny house news for everyone.

Like I said, we're being interviewed at the end of this week and I'll certainly keep you updated. Now that spring is springing we will be back up at the tiny house more frequently and will start posting more tiny living updates.

Time: Our Most Valuable Posession

2013-02-19T11:25:00.003-05:00

A couple of months ago I wrote about Debt Free Living here at Life in 120 Square feet. I said that the tiny house made it possible for me to pay off my debts and be able to do something I love rather than something to make money to continuously pay down debts.

There is something else that the tiny house made possible. It gave me back my time.

I firmly believe that time is our most valuable asset. Even as a kid I was keenly aware that life was not a forever prospect. I never wanted to wake up one day and feel as though my life was wasted. It became very important for me to get my time back and live every moment as engaged as possible.

When I worked in a regular corporate job I felt as though I was trading my time for the ability to pay off debts I probably shouldn't have had in the first place. It wasn't the fault of my company, and I had a love/hate relationship with my job for many years. It was the fault of the way of thinking that leads us to feel as though we have to work conventional jobs to pay for our conventional homes.

By reducing my debt and moving into a tiny house I am free to do the things I want to do rather than things I feel I have to do. There isn't a secret formula. I just started marketing myself as a writer and I began to get writing jobs. It is ongoing and I continuously need to market my skills, but I enjoy it so I don't mind. By eliminating my dependence on a conventional way of earning money I am able to take my time back and live every moment the way I want to.

Maybe I can meet some friends for lunch in downtown Asheville while they're swinging through town on their way home to Atlanta. When I was working a conventional job I may not have had the freedom to do this. Maybe I want to start my writing project at 10pm because I don't have any reason to go to bed early in order to get up early and commute to a job. (I don't do this, by the way - I am a rare example of what people call a "morning person".) There is no restriction on my time and it freeing.

I firmly believe everyone can do this. It may take some creative problem solving. It may be about transitioning your conventional job into a work from home situation that is results oriented rather than based on the hours you work in a day. More and more employers are understanding the needs of the 21st century workforce and are allowing these kinds of schedules. Maybe you have a skill like writing or graphic design that you would be willing to turn into a freelance career. There are so many endless possibilities.

Time is not a renewable resource. And it is unpredictable. Without knowing how much of it you actually have I think it is extremely important to spend it wisely. I can't imagine a better way to take back your own time than to engage in something you love and live in a way to make it possible.

Are you ready?

Getting Ready for Spring in the Tiny House

2013-02-18T11:36:00.000-05:00

I am dying for the warmer weather to arrive in the mountains. While we've had cold nights as late as the Spring Equinox before the days are going to start getting warmer. The daffodils agree.


Daffodils by the garden statue.

We are headed up to do some work at the tiny house this weekend! The first job will be to do something with the fallen tree by the Folk N' Ale.

We cut through it to make the path accessible again when we were there last, but it is still in the way.

Once that is done it is time to start getting the inside of the house ready again. We need to make a plan while where there to do things like figure out when to hook the batteries back up to the house and start gathering water again. I also want to make the bed so it looks like a home again.

I'm really aching to get back to this simpler life. I imagine most people think I'm a little crazy for missing my chores and my simple shower, but I do. I don't want to wish my life away but Spring can't happen fast enough.

Happy Anniversary to Matt of Life in 120 Square Feet

2013-02-14T09:00:00.000-05:00

It is a running joke in our house.

"Laura LaVoie built her own tiny house with her own two hands all by herself."

I'm the one that does the blogging and the press. I'm the one involved in the tiny house community. Even as much as I say "we" did this and "we" built that, people seem to always fixate on the "me" instead. Even Huffington Post assumed Matt's last name and mine were the same without asking me.

The truth is there is no way I could have built this tiny house by myself. Not because I am not capable but because it was never a one person project. The tiny house was always the product of our combined ambitions and dreams.

So this post is dedicated to the other half of our team; Matt.


Whoo hoo! I cut a board!

Matt isn't in any of this for the fame and notoriety. I guess I'm not either but I am the one in the public eye. He actively tries to stay out of it.

It has been Matt's dream since he was very young to build a house entirely by hand. His dad was a builder and he died when Matt was very young. For this reason Matt has always wanted to build things for himself.

While I spent hours writing blog posts and inserting photos of our progress, Matt spent hours planning each weekend's work before we arrived in Asheville. He studied how to do foundations, framing, siding, roofing, building a porch, building cabinets, laying down floor, and finishing the walls. I certainly did my share of work, but nothing compared to what Matt was able to do in a weekend.

Part of the reason I am celebrating Matt today is because it is Valentine's Day, of course, but it is more than that. Valentine's Day was also our first date and we celebrate it as our primary anniversary each year.

Our first date was 18 years ago today.

We've been together, partners, ever since. I think of all the things we've done in 18 years and I couldn't be happier. Now we live in a city we love and have a tiny house in the mountains that we built together.

Matt will be with me at the Tiny House Workshop with Deek of Relax Shacks in Wilmington, NC this April. I believe it is almost sold out so reserve your spot now. Matt and I are pretty awesome, of course, but the entire line up is out of this world.

Happy Valentine's Day and Happy Anniversary, Matt. Here's to another 18 years!