My first mentor for this journey is Jay Shaffer and his Tumbleweed Houses. My friend Susan was the first person to mention his work to me and as soon as I saw one of his houses 6 or 7 years ago I knew I wanted to build a house on wheels, not just have a RV or a motor home. There is quite a tiny house movement going on now and it’s a lot of fun to gather together with other people who have the same tiny dream. I met with about 40 people in Boulder, CO in January at a Tumbleweed House workshop led by Jay. Though my house is quite a bit larger than most of his that are on trailers and has a different shape because I have a gooseneck trailer, it was great to get the feeling that I could actually do this and to share ideas with so many.
I’ve been getting a lot of ideas about letting go of “stuff” and what it might mean to live a different lifestyle from Joshua Fields Milburn and Ryan Nicodemus and their website The Minimalists. Though I want to keep many more things than they do I’ve gotten a lot of value from thinking about the things they have considered. Besides, it’s a process, so I’m just taking it at my pace and allowing myself to change over time. One of the things I’ve decided is to keep some of my really beautiful things that I love and actually use them.
There is a blogging “competitor” Little Yellow Door who has a great blog on building her own little house on wheels. Ella is much braver than I in that she is really in charge of her own building – she’s the main carpenter. I like her style and she’s also helped me think about certain aspects of the process. If you have the time, check out her story.