well its been a whole week since my latest crazy idea...

I have been a huge fan of Sarah Susanka's Not So Big House, ever since I read the book back in 2006.   The concept is a simple one, a well designed home where you really use EVERY inch.  This aligns with my long term desire to move towards a simpler life, with a smaller "footprint" on this world.  When I sit back and really think about my living space, its pretty obvious I'm not efficient right now with my >2400 sq ft, 4 bedroom, 4 bath house containing me and 2 kids (half-time) and 2 doggies (full time).

With kid exodus looming on the horizon, my long term plan was always to downsize.  When a smaller house became available right next to my sister, I went on a whim to take a look.  Unfortunately, about 2 weeks later when I had decided that maybe this downsizing thing was a good idea in the short term, the house had already sold...  But by then the bug had hit!  So I used up some of my vacation time and took the full week off at Thanksgiving, where I found my perfect tiny house!  Its move-in ready now, but with a little elbow grease and capital investment, it will be my dream house!  :o)  This will give me some fun and needed DIY projects for the future, WOOT!

Here are some quick shots of the house.   My DIY improvements are sure to get some blog time over the next several months.  My plan is to turn attic into a master suite, a full kitchen remodel, yard makeover and a new 2 stall detached garage. Schedule goal?  To have that all done by end of  this summer...  I'm nothing if not ambitious!  Luckily, I have parents that are either ALSO crazy or are just gluttons for punishment and are willing to provide copious amounts of unpaid support!

I close over Christmas break (Merry Christmas to the Littlers!) and I was lucky to be able to slow-roll my current home sale to allow for moving without stress.  Current house will be on the market by Jan 1st, if anyone knows someone looking in the Linn Mar school district!