turning tiny
the small-living paradigm thats reshaping the way we think, live and dream
Chapters by over 60 tiny house movement luminaries
Compiled and presented by Darin Zaruba
Copyright 2016 by Darin Zaruba
and the Tiny House Jamboree
All Rights Reserved
First Edition
ISBN (ebook): 978-0-692-75006-3
No part of this book may be reproduced in any manner without the express written consent of the publisher, except in the case of brief excerpts in critical reviews or articles.
All inquiries should be addressed to
c/o Turning Tiny
1465 Kelly Johnson Blvd #200
Colorado Springs, CO 80920
Or email at
Cover Design: Christopher Bacheldor
Cover Photo Credit:
The Morrison hOMe, by Andrew and Gabriella Morrison of TinyHouseBuild.com
Project Manager: Andrew M. Odom
Book Production: Lee Lewis Walsh, Words Plus Design
Visit our website at
www.turningtiny.com
www.tinyhousejamboree.com
Acknowledgements
This compilation book came about because of the amazing stories I have been following on social media for the past few years. Those stories literally came to life for me at the little event last summer that came to define the tiny house movement and its people: the Tiny House Jamboree of 2015. It was an unbelievable time; magical, and life changing for so many people. It was like the first family get-together of an entire movement. Most of us there knew that this was the start of something greater than a singular event or even a movement. Out of the hundreds of stories that came out during the Jamboree at least some had to be shared and even memorialized. Some stories were old, some were being retold with more detail, and some were just starting. How to choose? Turning Tiny is just a small fraction of them. We knew even that August that we needed something to look back on; a way to relive the stories over and over. We also needed something to start from. Who knows where it will go from here. Thats the fun part!
First and foremost, I would like to acknowledge the entire tiny house community who has both humbled me and inspired me with their vision, their passion, their mission, their lives, their dreams, and yes, their houses.
I would like to thank Andrew and Gabriella Morrison who inspired me and encouraged me to jump into this craziness, and Andrew Stewart who gave me an early vision of what a tiny house community could look like, and helping me to create that vision.
And I would especially like to thank the Turning Tiny section coordinators: B.A. Norrgard, Kim Kasl, Gabriella Morrison, Andrew Odom, and Frieda Bakker, for their dedication, time, and energy. Certainly though, much praise goes to Andrew Odom, without whose help organizing and coordinating this project, we would not have been able to pull off Turning Tiny. I truly bit off more than I could chew, and Andrew was my sanity.
Thank you all! Have fun turning tiny!
Darin Z
Preface
Every successful organization has to make the transition from a world defined primarily by repetition to one primarily defined by change.
Bill Drayton
Have you ever wondered what makes the tiny house movement an actual movement? Have you longed to hear the stories behind some of your favorite non-traditional homes? Do you wonder if the movement is more of a shift in thought rather than a blip on the architectural screen?
Turning Tiny is your direct-access pass into the minds and lives of tiny housers in various arenas including design, building, community planning, and the emerging business around it all. Its a collection of stories from 60+ contributing authors of how and why they turned tiny.
It is no secret that tiny housers exist in all walks of life. Our interests are in raising families in tiny houses, defining a tiny house, figuring out where to park a tiny house, assimilating into a community, the future of the movement, and much more. In the following chapters are the answers to those questions, written in the words of tiny housers themselves. Each chapter is written by a different tiny house enthusiast from their personal perspective and provides a microcosmic look into an issue directly impacting them.
Read on. By picking up this volume you recognize that the old real estate American Dream has failed America. It is neither attractive nor sustainable and that living on a smaller scale is becoming the new paradigm. So indulge. Allow yourself to turn tiny with each page turn!
Contents
Angela Alcorn
Social Media Queen and a Tiny House Jamboree coordinator
At some point most of us have asked ourselves the deeper question, What is my purpose in life? Whatever your purpose may be, the one common goal we all seem to have is happiness. It seems clich but it is true. Of course, todays society has led us to believe that bigger is better and the more we have the happier we will be. What I have learned in my lifetime thus far is that adage simply isnt true. Happiness comes from an emotional state of wellbeing; something that can only be found within us and not from material items. I can assure you that living in a tiny house wont magically give you a life purpose, or make you the happiest person alive. It will go a long way to opening up vast possibilities for a life otherwise non-existent.
Two years ago my familyBobby, my husband, and our two daughters, Gillian and Calliefelt strongly that we had lost sight of what life was truly about. Routine had set in and obligation felt closer to us than each other. Bobby and I wanted to teach our girls how to live a purposeful life; one that would allow them the opportunity to forge a future based in experience and adventure rather than consumption and collection. God alone has blessed us in that journey and for two years now we have worked toward a life we never before knew existed. In just 140 sq.ft., we have rediscovered ourselves, each other, and the world around us. We are literally and emotionally closer than we ever have been before.
We certainly arent alone in our pursuits though. It seems to be reality that there is a whole world full of people like us; people searching for purpose. This really came to light for us tangibly at the inaugural Tiny House Jamboree of 2015 where thousands of like-mined people convened into one spot! And we werent just there. We were in the middle and the thick of it, in all of its glory, beauty, craziness and behind the scenes mayhem.
Our working relationship with the event began a few days after the announcement of the Jamboree. Hearing the vision that Darin Zaruba and his team saw for the event was an inspirational turning point in my understanding of the purpose behind the entire tiny house movement and philosophy. I wanted in! I wanted to help! I wanted to preach the word, and preach it we did. So I took on the social media campaign, and can now say I had no idea what I was really jumping into. The interest in it, and the movement seemed to come to a crescendo and overwhelmed us all. The passion and effort that the entire team had put into creating the Jamboree was herculean, and best of all it was something that seemed like it would make an actual difference in the tiny house community. I was brought on board the team alongside some very talented members like Marcus Alvarado, and Coles Whalen who helped pull this off in a matter of months.