When we first started researching tiny houses we of course came across a couple of the more popular and high profile sites. It wasn’t until several months into our search though that we found Alex Pino.

Founder and editor of Tiny House Talk, Pino began the site in 2009 as a hobby while still employed as a computer technician.

To writing about tiny houses and simple living while building his own publishing business out of a 500-square-foot apartment, Alex has been instrumental in advocating the modern tiny house movement while being an official voice of the tiny house community! 

Also in this episode:

• Dan Louche and Tiny Home Builders
• Alpharetta workshop
• Molecule Tiny Homes

I can’t count how many times I have been asked, “When is the podcast starting back?” Likewise I can’t tell you how many times I have responded with, “I have no idea.” Well, I have an idea now because here it is! And man am I excited. The next few weeks are going to be loaded with great, new guests, tiny house insights, huge announcements, and the like. But why write about it? Let’s listen in!

I have talked many times about my affinity with North Carolina. From the waterfront of the East to the mountain ranges of the West to all the cities and municipalities in between I think I like the state more than…..well, James Taylor or Old Crow Medicine Show. I have often said that my idea of peace on Earth is traveling through Carolina, stopping long enough to live a new adventure. The place you are living is every bit as important as the home you are living in. And so with that I am proud to announce that along with Steven Harrell, Laura LaVoie, and Ryan Mitchell, I am beginning an organization called TinyHouseNC.com.

What makes us so special? Well, nothing really. We are no more special than anyone else in the dynamic tiny house community. However, each of us has been part of the tiny house scene for many years and we believe we have a lot to offer. Living in North Carolina is an important part of our personal journeys so when the opportunity arose to join forces (think Justice League of America) we jumped at the chance. North Carolina breeds diversity in its people and its landscape and each of us experience different parts of it daily. Through TinyHouseNC we hope to create a perfect place for small living enthusiasts to seek advice, services, and resources here at TinyHouseNC.

Our mission is “To showcase tiny house builders, dwellers, and dreamers in the state of North Carolina as well as be a vital resource to them in their path to a tiny life.”

The tiny house movement is on the rise and we know many people are looking for ways to downsize and simplify their lives. Exchanging a fast-paced life for a simpler, mortgage-free house can be the answer for many individuals right here in North Carolina. Coupling the minimalist lifestyle with off the grid energy solutions can encourage people to consume less and reduce waste. The possibilities for a tiny lifestyle are endless and the four of us here at TinyHouseNC.com represent many different options.

Imagine resources like this throughout the US, and even the world, where other tiny house builders can use their experience to assist others right in their own back yard. There was a time when tiny house builders were so spread out that the nearest might be several states away. Those times are changing and the gaps are filling in. We can reach out to our own neighbors and work together to make tiny living a truly sustainable resource.

The TinyHouseNC.com website is currently under construction but if you’re interested in knowing more about the launch, go to the page and enter your email address. We are also on Facebook, Twitter, and Google+. We hope our model and our mission is something tiny home builders in North Carolina have been looking for and that we can share our own passion for tiny spaces with others in our state.

To quote our website, “Tiny House NC is passionate about being fully engaged with the tiny housecommunity in North Carolina. We want to forge connections with and promote the lives of the community and its members. It isn’t just about building houses but turning them into homes.”

Do you own an iPad? Are ou one of the millions of people who use the Newsstand and subscribe to online magazines? Do you love tiny houses and look forward to any opportunity to take a peek inside one? If so, Tiny House magazine - edited and published by Kent Griswold – is probably the magazine you should be reading!

If so, the Tiny House Magazine by Kent Griswold is available to you.

Kent Griswold: the man behind the mag

Kent is the owner of Tiny House Blog, the first ever blog/website dedicated to tiny homes. I was able to chat with Kent recently at the Relaxshacks Tiny House Workshop in Wilmington, NC about the blog, the magazine, and most things in between!

Tiny r(E)volution: How long have you been blogging at Tiny House Blog?

Kent Griswold: The Tiny House Blog turns 6 year old in May of 2013. It has been a fun journey and I have met many neat people along the way.

Tr: Was it really the first website/blog dedicated to tiny houses?

KG: Yes, it was the first blog dedicated to tiny houses though many others have followed I have been fortunate that so many of my original readers have stayed with me over the years.

Tr: What has sustained you all these years? Are you still just as passionate about small spaces?

KG: I think that I have become more passionate about it as the years have progressed. It has been fun to see it grow from such a small interest group to the large one it is today. I hope that it becomes even more progressive as the future unfolds.

Tr: Why move in to a magazine? Was it by audience request or did you want to build something other than just a blog?

KG: The Magazine format takes me even more back to my graphics design roots but with a modern twist. On the iPad different media can be put into place such as video and internet related programing making it more interactive. I also saw this media as a way to reach people who have not been exposed to the tiny house idea through other forms. The magazine is also different in the fact that it takes the best of the tiny house bloggers and influencers and puts their content in one location.

Tr: What has the general reception been?

KG: The Tiny House Magazine has grown slowly but steadily and I have been asked by many to make it available in another format. The plan is to launch it this week in PDF format so that anyone can now read it on any devise. It will lack some of the interactivity of the iPad but I will attempt to keep as much of that in the PDF version.

Tr: What do you see in the MOST IMMEDIATE future for THM?

KG: The most immediate change is the conversion to a PDF and whether or not it will become an accepted format. I will test this out over the following several months.

What To Expect and How to Subscribe

So far there are three available issues with contributions from a number of tiny house folk including Kent, Dan Louche, Steven Harrell, Tammy Strobel, Logan Smith, Kirsten Dirksen, and myself.

How to Get the Tiny House Magazine on iPad

If you’re not already on your iPad, go get it! If you are on a desktop or laptop or even a Kindle or other eReader that accepts PDF format…..go get them! Point your web browser to this link! (You can also visit http://www.tinyhousemagazine.co/)

Step 1. Select which version of the magazine you wish to purchase – iOS or PDF – by clicking on the appropriate image.

Step 2A. If you select iOS you will be prompted to open in iTunes. Once in iTunes you will download the App. Once downloaded you can select which issue (or a full year subscription) you wish to purchase. For just a few bucks you’ll be able to easily read Tiny House Magazine in your iOS Newsstand.

Step 2B.  If you select PDF you will see an image of each cover to date. Underneath the image is an ‘Add to Cart’ button. Click on the button of the issue you wish to purchase. Then select BUY NOW. With just one download you’ll be able to easily read a PDF version of the popular Tiny House Magazine.

In The Future

You will see a sidebar ad for Tiny House Magazine. You can easily click that ad or instruct a friend to and simply follow the direction. In no time at all you’ll be reading the latest (or your favorite) issue of Kent Griswold’s Tiny House Magazine!

Ryan Mitchell – editor of The Tiny Life and fellow TinyHouseNC‘er – has been working on a great eBook over the last few months. Written to dispel some of the myths of all the red tape and zoning issues circulating in the tiny house community, this guide is an affordable, quick reference that will help anyone quickly familiarize themselves with some of the key bureaucratic road blocks, suggest possible pathways to building your home from the legal perspective, and several strategies to make it a success.

If you are hoping to build a tiny house, this is information that you will need.  For those who purchases this they will also get and additional 180 pages of reference materials and free updates on future versions!

After hours of trying to figure all the coding stuff out and hours of working with local code enforcement, zoning, builders, trades folks, and published resources, Ryan authored this much needed book which will also help you navigate utility setup, sewage installation, and water provisions.  The real strength of the book though is that Mitchell himself has “been there, done that” during his own tiny house build and land pursuit. He is experienced with real world issues of a tiny house and now he has given us all a leg up.

Just a few days ago I got in touch with Ryan to ask him about his book and how he came to write it.

Tiny r(E)volution: Within the first….well, directly in the introduction you mention that the two most commonly cited “loopholes” are not magical solutions to tiny house legalism. You go on to distinguish between building and living. Do you think there is a pretty strong chasm in the two?

Ryan Mitchell: It is a certainly an important distinction, but in a way it is a mixed blessing.  Many cite things like if it is below a certain size you don’t need a permit or if its on a trailer, its a vehicle not a house and this is all true when it comes to being allowed to build it.  The trick is that the moment you want to live in it, all that goes out the window and municipalities have some pretty crafty tricks to catch you.

Tr: You talk early on about room requirements. That is probably something 99% of tiny house folks don’t think about. What has been your experience in building your tiny house in regard to room code requirements?

RM: You look at minimum room requirements you begin to understand how municipalities define a home.  This home usually requires a living space, a bedroom and bathroom each with their own square footage requirements, when you add them up you begin to see that a house must be 400, 500, 600 square feet, sometimes  much more.

Tr: To get to the legal level we are at with our tiny house we chose to be upfront and honest from day one. How important to you is doing things on the “up and up?”

RM: I think it is important to be a citizen of your community, this would include following the laws, you should make every effort to do so.  That said, even if we can achieve what the spirit of the law aims to achieve and we are still not afforded the ability to live within it, we need to evaluate things.

Tr: If for no other reason do you think people should own a copy of your book for the expansive glossary?

RM: It’s a great resource to have if you are looking to build anything, I found it helpful when I was selecting materials at the hardware store, watching videos online, and researching building techniques; it helped me navigate the jargon of the industry that can be overwhelming at times.

Tr: Water, Sewage, and Electricity? Do these comprise the holy trinity of tiny house living? What one piece of advice can you offer tiny house dreamers regarding the three?

RM: The access to these three things is pretty crucial in modern society, there are certainly way around this, but nothing beats having all three setup.  Utilities is where municipalities flex their muscles when it comes to illegal structures.  With each one of them they have a lot ways to discover your tiny house and block you from key parts of making your house livable.  We take it for granted when we turn on our tap and clean water flows out, if you have ever hauled water before you know it is heavy and even the most resource conscious person uses a lot of it.  You should be sure to make provisions on these three before you even start building because they can be difficult to obtain, expensive to install and sometimes not available at all.

To purchase this eBook designed to help you logically navigate all the red tape when it comes to housing visit the store link by clicking on the image below. The download includes original content as well as 180 pages of reference materials and free updates on future versions!

About a month ago I had a conversation with Susy over at Chiot’s Run regarding cooking spray, olive oil, and other additives that give flavor without burning…..no, wait. That was a different conversation. Susy and I talked about how I could make banana chips in the oven since we don’t yet have a food dehydrator and my first attempts were making the chips soggy and bland. She recommended I brush the parchment paper with coconut oil or just brush coconut oil directly on the chips before putting them in the oven.

We had never before used coconut oil although Crystal had often voiced her desire to try it. She had used it overseas before and had fond memories of the flavor. Well, despite Crystal’s desire and Susy’s recommendation we didn’t have coconut oil. I quickly asked where we could get some and was pointed in the direction of Tropical Traditions. After requesting a sample to try I began reading more into the health benefits of coconut oil and how it stacked up against other oils we had used or were currently using. I have to admit that even some light research I felt like coconut oil was this holy grail I had yet to discover; a real superfood, if you will! In just a short time I have become a convert to the ways of coconut oil and its ability to boost the immune system and ward off even the common cold.

Although we have not really gotten deep into our use of coconut oil yet (mostly because we just moved and we are still setting up “home”) we intend to use coconut oil as one of our main cooking fats, along with local pastured butter (we have a wonderful Mennonite store close to us) and organic olive oil. Coconut oil has a higher smoking point than olive oil and butter, so it’s very useful in high heat cooking. And while I haven’t yet used it for popcorn or any other frying I am still trying to perfect my fruit chips now using coconut oil! I must admit I haven’t tried any other brand of coconut oil and I don’t feel like I need to. Tropical Traditions came highly recommended and we are even looking forward to adding a few more of their products to our gourmet tiny house kitchen, including Expeller Pressed Coconut Oil, Coconut Cream, and Coconut Chips (for some delicious candy making!)

And beyond the kitchen coconut oil can be used as a skin lotion.

Since the FDA does not want me or anyone to discuss the health benefits of coconut oil on a page where it is being sold or given away, here is the best website to read about the health benefits of coconut oil.

Coconut oil truly is a “tiny house” type of product being adaptable to so many uses. What other product can you use for hand cream, popcorn, shampoo and conditioner, cutting board seasoning, and cooking? Not to mention it’s non-toxic!

So all of that to offer all of this…….

Tropical Traditions is giving away one 32 oz jar of Gold Label Virgin Coconut Oil to one lucky reader. Just comment below (based on the question in bold) and join their Sales Newsletter for your chance to win! Contest is 1-Day ONLY 1-WEEK ONLY so enter now! (winner will be chosen at random by random.org has been chosen!)

I also subscribed to their newsletter which posts great sales on what seems like a weekly basis. I encourage you to also follow them on Twitter and circle them on Google+!

Disclaimer: Tropical Traditions provided me with a free sample of this product to review, and I was under no obligation to review it if I so chose. I am not reviewing it. I don’t feel the need to. I love it that much and am anxious for Crystal to find even more ways for us to infuse Tropical Traditions into our home.  

Do you currently use Coconut Oil in your kitchen or home? If so, what for? Do you have any favorite recipes to share?

Win 1 quart of Gold Label Virgin Coconut Oil!

Tropical Traditions is America’s source for coconut oil. Their Gold Label Virgin Coconut Oil is hand crafted in small batches by family producers, and it is the highest quality coconut oil they offer. You can read more about how virgin coconut oil is different from other coconut oils on their website: What is Virgin Coconut Oil?

You can also watch the video they produced about Gold Label Virgin Coconut Oil:

Tropical Traditions also carries other varieties of affordable high quality coconut oil. Visit their website to check on current sales, to learn about the many uses of coconut oil, and to read about all the advantages of buying coconut oil online.

UPDATE: Congratulations to Meredith of Dare You To… She is our winner chosen at random and will receive the Coconut Oil prize from Tropical Traditions. Thank you ALL for entering the contest and please…stay informed. Stay healthy!

Together with her husband Karl and their two kids, Ella and Archer, Hari Berzins has been living for about two years in a cozy 8′ x 21′ tiny house in the mountains of Southwestern Virginia. She has been documenting their adventure over at tinyhousefamily.com.

The tiny house family is currently building a slightly bigger house as part of their plan to build a mortgage-free-micro-homestead on their three acres of property.

Although Hari is a noted blogger having written her families stories onto the audiences of Anderson Cooper’s daytime talk show, Yahoo! Finance, AOL, Huffington Post, CNN.com, HouseLogic.com, and more, she had recently put all focus on her first book entitled Coming Home.

I was fortunate enough to read an advance copy and to talk with Hari about the transition from blogger to author and what her families adventure has done to shape her as a writer. Below is the dialogue we shared.

Tiny r(E)volution: You live in a tiny house? What does that mean literally?
Hari Berzins: Literally, our tiny house is 8’ x 21’ with two sleeping lofts. That means we have 168 sq. ft. of living space “downstairs” and as much space in our lofts, though there is only 3 feet of head room up there.

Tr: But do you feel like your house is “tiny?”
HB: That depends on the season.  In winter our house is beyond tiny. Sometimes I feel like an animal at the zoo, caged up. Other times the tiny house feels like a cocoon. Tiny, yes, but unbelievably cozy and comfortable.  In summer time I hardly notice the tiny part of my house, unless it’s raining. We spend most of our waking hours outside, tending to the chicks, ducks, dog, cat, garden and our building projects. When the weather is nice, my house is huge! It includes gorgeous woods, a creek and lots of sky.

Tr: And now you are publishing a book. Why not just continue with your blog and post there regularly?
HB: Yes! Now I’m publishing a book. I will continue with the blog, and I plan to post even more regularly there, but publishing a book gives me an opportunity take readers deeper than a 500-word blog post. This intimate collection of letters gives the reader a sense of the passing of time, and the personal growth that living tiny inspired in me. Readers who imagine living tiny can get a perspective on the experience. I offer questions at the end of each essay to encourage personal reflection.

Publishing an e-book also gives me the opportunity to open an income stream with my writing. As I’m sure you know, maintaining a blog takes a lot of time, and I do need to earn a living, so I’m working on making our blog a micro-business. My first income stream was the weekly letter, and it’s been a wonderful first step, now adding an e-book gives readers more insight into our tiny, mortgage-free life, and proof that it’s possible, and also gives folks the opportunity to support the work I do so that I can spend more time documenting this journey. I hope to really map it out, so that others can take similar steps to freedom.

Tr: What was the ePub process like? It has been said that anyone can be an author now.
HB: The process was super easy, since I hired Chris O’Byrne. I don’t know enough about the technical stuff to produce a well-functioning e-book, and Chris has really impressed me with his talents.  It was enough for me to focus on the writing and face the vulnerability of opening myself in this way.

Yes! Anyone can be an author now, which is very exciting. We have a real opportunity to support positive work all over the world. It’s the “buy local” mentality going global—because in a few seconds’ time, we can buy directly from the artist next door as well as the artist on another continent. The whole idea still astounds me. I imagine more and more people living the life they love, helping others by sharing what they learn and supporting themselves that way. The power of the internet is truly awesome. We are connected globally and can work together to build our collective communities for the good of all.

Tr: How does living in a tiny house affect your creativity though?
HB: Living in a tiny house affects my creativity quite a bit.

Within the confines of a small space, I am forced to be creative. Artists throughout time have used constraints to force their best work. The simple constraint of limited space forces me to be creative about finding the space I need. Something in this act gets my creative juices flowing. For example, I can’t focus with the rest of the family up and about during my writing time, so I’ve started getting up at 5:00am, so that I can have the house to myself—this constraint of time has given me a regular writing practice. To add to that, when we have overnight guests, they sleep on the couch which is where I write every morning at 5:00am. Last time my mom visited, I dried out the shower stall and filled it with pillows and blankets. It made a cozy and productive writing studio. When my brain switches over to this resourceful mode, it comes through in my writing. So, in this way the tiny house has really helped my creativity.

I do look forward to having an office in the big house where I can hang my bulletin board and leave my desk set up. Currently, my “desk” is my backpack. I also miss having wall space to hang a large bulletin board where I keep track of my projects. I feel a little scattered every time I pull my “office” out of my backpack.

Tr: What is one universal message you hope readers get from your book?
HB: That home is with you no matter where you go. If you know your heart and your courage, you are already home. Your house doesn’t define you, your heart does.

Tr: Is there anything you left out or had to omit that you now wish were in the book?
HB: I have written several essays in the last few months about the darkest time of the year and the intense struggle that was. We were already editing at that point and I wanted to send Chris another essay, and say can we add this? But at some point, the book has to be finished. Of course the book of our lives is always being written, so maybe I’ll collect those essays into another little e-book.  There are a few essays that touch on the struggle I faced during winter, but some didn’t make it in. I feel passionate about being fully honest about how this lifestyle impacts my psyche. Be prepared for winter in a tiny house—or fly south with the birds!

Tr: Was your family supportive in your publishing?
HB: Yes! Ella especially since she’s a little writer herself. She thinks it’s so cool that mommy wrote a book. She often gives me titles or sayings and she keeps her own various journals. The whole family’s been incredibly supportive. There are times that I’m not finished writing when everyone gets up, and I’m on a deadline. I have nowhere to write but on the couch (okay, I can sit in the shower) where everyone else sits, and that makes it hard for them. Especially when I say, “Please be quiet for a few more minutes.” It’s not easy, but they ultimately understand and are excited to see me reach the finish line with this book. Karl is even considering writing his own book. He’s so methodical and clear; I know he’d write an awesome book explaining the process of building our big house—I’m hoping he’ll be inspired and share his amazingness with you all.

Tr: Do you think the book appeals more to tiny house folk or does it have a potentially broader audience?
HB: I think it appeals to tiny house people because it is written within the “container” of a tiny house, but the themes have universal appeal. The book holds the valuable lessons I’ve learned in the last year from really settling into living this lifestyle. When we strip away the excess of mass culture and come home to ourselves, there’s a real sense of being alive. So, while this is a book about my life in a tiny house, it’s not a how-to-live-in-a-tiny-house book, it’s a how-to-accept-yourself-enough-to-be-happy-living-in-a-tiny-space-with-your-family-and-love-your-life book. That’s pretty universal.

Tr: You talk quite a bit about acceptance – of life, of circumstance, and even of weather. How big of a role does acceptance play in your day-to-day life?
HB: Acceptance plays a role in my second-to-second life. With every breath, I breathe in acceptance. Sometimes the breaths are more of a sigh or a grunt, but I’m always trying to see through the eyes of acceptance.  Resistance to unwanted circumstances has the power to keep those circumstances alive and well for a very long time.  I find that when there is snow and ice all over the deck and nothing to do in the tiny house, I get pretty mad because I’m resisting. But if I bundle up and take a walk, the world opens up to me and I realize how much beauty is waiting everywhere I go. This is acceptance. If we accept and live each moment of our lives, then we will have lived.

Hari Berzins book Coming Home is available at Amazon for purchase and you can check it out by clicking this link.

The move is over. Who would have thought that even as minimalist as we are…..as opposed to clutter as we are, that we would still end up needing a 5′ x 8′ U-Haul trailer to finish up our permanent move to our land and our beautiful tiny house. We left the day after Easter Sunday and split the trip into a a 2-day affair as 18-month old children are not really known for their love of the ‘Great American Road Trip.’ By Tuesday at 2pm EST though we were not only parked next to our tiny house but we had boxes on the ground, I was painting the cabinet doors, we were putting Salad Bowl Finish on our reclaimed Pecan IKEA-hack table, and preparing for our first night “home.”

It has been about 6 weeks since we last talked about the tiny house legal process. We weren’t sure what to expect. Certainly we didn’t expect a big parade or ticker tape falling from the sky. But we did expect to have all our ducks in a row and our legality just a check box away.

Days before our move I had already scheduled an appointment with the structural engineer so he could meet us out on our land and have a look at what is now being called “the custom modular.” As agreed upon he arrived at just after 1pm and we gave him the grand tour. By all indications he was impressed both with the structural integrity and the overall aesthetic. In fact, what he said was, “This is really something else. I don’t see any problem with it and I can see y’all took great pains to build yourself a home and not just a house!” I am sure I my smile added a touch of animated class to the scene. Mr. Engineer left telling us to go ahead and have our brickmason come out and put in the piers and anchor straps. “Sure thing!”

The next day brought rain which meant no strapping. But the following day the mason was out with his crew and telling us the job would be done by the end of the afternoon. Boy was he right. His guys jumped on it and about three hours later we had 8 piers and 8 auger anchors. (Editor’s Note: For those of you who have been with Tiny r(E)volution for a while you may remember us talking once before about how to anchor your home. If not, you can revisit it here.) I felt good. Yes, the strapping takes a bit of the “mobility” out of a mobile tiny house but because we have decided on a POD design with our trailer as the centerpiece we know this is a great step toward achieving that for our family. The cost for the labor and materials was right at $500. Not bad considering we are just an hour from the ocean front and are no innocents when it comes to the power of hurricanes and offshore storms. It took us 2 years to build our house. We certainly don’t want to see it blown away in a few minutes!

This moment was a bit bittersweet though because almost at the time I was handing over money I received a phone call from Mr. Engineer. He had spoken to the County Inspector and there was some problems. Though no ones fault really and through a bit of miscommunication we had not gotten the proper permit to park our tiny house. We owed the county $100 for that and another $50 for the electrical pole we converted from Ag. use to Residential. During this same conversation I was told that because our tiny house doesn’t even have a water closet on board we shouldn’t hope for a certificate of occupancy. If our strapping met code we could “camp” in the house but if we wanted to be 100% legal we would have to revisit the perc test results, the building permit, a blueprint, electrical permits, plumbing permits, etc. It was a lot to take in and I was feeling defeated. But I remembered a couple of things.

1. We have no doubt this is where God wants us right now and through Him the doors to opportunity will open
2. We DO want to be 100% and we want to pave a way for others so we may have to work through some discomfort occasionally
3. Camping is a rather magnaminous term and when we have the money to move forward with our PODom Annex we will work through the county to each letter of the law

So that is where we are now. Not 100% legal but not 100% illegal either. We are plugged in to our electricity through a pigtail plug and we are cooking on our stove (as it is propane). We live next door to family so they are graciously sharing ‘facilities’ with us for now and well…..we are really happy. The weather has warmed up. The sun is out. We can hear birds just out our window and our view of the stars is unparalleled. Life is good. And I’ll sign on that!

As our daughter is rapidly approaching two years old (much fast than I would like, mind you) we find ourselves often times perplexed by the amount of stuff she already has. Between stuffed animals, blankies, assorted blocks, tractors and farm animals, cardboard books, and musical noise toys, it can all very quickly seem too much. I am not at all preparing to lambast gift giving or toy purchasing or anything of the sort. In fact, it’s our job as parents to make sure we provide for our kids. I think it’s pretty natural even to want them to have the best we can possibly give. Who doesn’t want their child to have bigger, better, and more, than they did as a child? And with online ordering, media saturation, kiddie tech, and the like, it is all too easy to let those same good intentions get out of control when it comes to need -vs- want. And this isn’t just limited to parents. No. It extends to our outer circles too – the friends and family group.

What is so difficult about writing this post though is that it is saturated with truth and a truth that is often hard to swallow. The bitter pill here is that kids aren’t in charge of what comes into the home – parents are! I have already found myself saying, “Our daughter has too many ______________.” I then have to ask myself: Where did they all come from?

And what is worse is that oftentimes parents aren’t actually the main source of the toy tsunami — friends and family are. I realized early on that no matter how I felt about toys, gifts, and the actual size of our home, it was going to be an uphill battle regarding getting others to understand and be on the same page. I maintain this:

Children don’t need to be inundated with stuff to be happy. A large room full of toys will not make a child happier than a small room filled with imagination, creativity, a few toys, and a lot of love.

Ask These 3 Questions

As adults Crystal and I rarely bring anything into our home without scrutinizing the purchase, the need, the desire, the longevity, the investment, etc. So why would we not do the same for our daughter? Don’t we want her to learn from our example as well? As parents we should ask of our children’s things:

Do they love it? (versus just liking it sort of)
Do they need it? (versus wanting it)
Do they use it? (versus collecting dust)

And as our daughter gets older we’ll help her understand those questions and be able to apply them herself. We will try hard to define “need” as something that helps them get through their day like a raincoat or a toothbrush. We’ll try to help her grasp “love” in regards to material possessions. We’ll explain to her that this type of love is an adoration that exceeds all others. Right now she seems to love Ms. Parakeet (a plush yellow pillow doll) and her pull-behind, wooden duck. “Use” will be akin to “need.” But we’ll help her figure out that we don’t need two toothbrushes just because we can have two. It’s not really about being a minimalist or having less. It’s about having things that matter in three very important ways.

And so now comes the tough part of this post. How to…

Transition to Gifts That Matter

Our tiny house is just that. It is OUR house. It is our home. We are limited on space and we have very specific feelings on what comes into it. We have had several conversations about guilt and about obligation and we really don’t want anything in our house to be there because of either.

So here are a few suggestions to help ourselves, our friends, and our families transition from too many gifts to gifts that really matter:

• A month before the next birthday or holiday, send everyone a personalized note. Notice I didn’t say email. Let this be a traditionally penned, very personal note, letting the recipient know your family is working to live a more scaled back and decluttered life, and in the spirit of those efforts, you’ve made a little gift registry you hope they’ll have fun choosing from. The registry list might include things like movie gift cards, a perishable food item (our daughter has REALLY taken to dried fruit), a play date at someone else’s house or lunch at a favorite restaurant (our daughter already has a thing for black-eyed peas almost anywhere!).
• For close family, a personal call or a face-to-face visit. It can be very frustrating when gifts keep coming despite your requests. And it can be even more frustrating when the perpetrator shares a blood line. So a chat together over coffee or a casual conversation asking them for help in teaching your child an important life lesson might be quite successful.
• Work with your children on a clean-out twice a year. Have a box for donations, a box for keepers and a box for broken or trashed toys. Some children worry that their toys will be lonely or sad to leave. Make the parting one of more sweet sorrow. Suggest a going-away party or urge them to give a great big hug to the departing toy wishing them well in their new home!
• Learn to say, “No, thank you” to hand-me-down toys. Just because a toy was X dollars at a yard sale does not mean it has to come to your house. Feel free to say no thank you or suggest that the toy instead go to an orphanage, church, or children’s shelter. You can even post “toys for free” on Craigslist.
• Practice what you preach! Give family and friends useful and meaningful gifts. Offer to take their kids for the day. Give them a gift card to a movie or a pedicure or something they might not do for themselves.
• At birthday or Christmas (other winter holidays that traditionally involved gifts), ask your children to make a list of five things they would really like to receive. As our daughter gets older we will encourage her to dream; to create a wish list and then explain what a “wish” really is. Ideally we’ll suggest things like a Mommy/Daddy cooking class, a day at the rock climbing gym, or even just an overnight party for a few friends. Whatever the case, we’ll certainly make the holiday about being together, not buying. And with any luck we’ll be teaching lessons that will help our daughter learn a lesson we had to learn the hard way about clutter, confusion, and the angst attached.

Many of you probably read my Facebook status update the other day proclaiming the end of Google Reader. And for those of you who listen to the r(E)vo Convo podcast you will know I rely heavily on my RSS reader to keep me in the know. So now what, huh? What do I do now Mr. Google? Well, Kent Griswold of Tiny House Blog has come up with what I think may be a solution.

On Sunday March 17 Griswold announced a new site called Tiny House News.

When I started the Tiny House Blog I was the only one writing about tiny houses in the blog format. In the last few years the internet has come alive with many new blogs about tiny houses and people sharing there stories of building their own tiny houses.

I have wanted to add a feature on the Tiny House Blog that would show off these blogs but have not been able to find anything that did it justice. Recently I discovered a way to create a news type blog that uses the RSS feeds to connect to many of these blogs and I have created a site called Tiny House News.

Kent’s goal with the new site really is to give a nice, clean, snapshot to what is happening all around the tiny house blogosphere (which – might I add – is growing by the hour it seems!). After looking at the site, providing Kent with our RSS feed, and just doing some cross-checking I see that I can quickly scan the page and click on a story that interests me and then be redirected straight to the blog or news source. Does it get any cleaner than that?