Bigger isn't necessarily better:

We originally learned about Jay Shafer's home on a cable program which was featuring alternative homes. I admit he has taken the concept of smaller to a unique extreme. However, after speaking to a few friends about Jays concepts I began to realize there's not only a need but some people have a real desire to build one of these smaller homes. So I invited Jay to write a short article for Personally Green .com which you will find below.

I live in a house smaller than some closets. This is possible partly because I reside alone, and partly because I get most of my aerobic exercise outside. Good design helps too. Because it was laid out to meet all of my domestic and ergonomic needs, my house never feels crowded– unless, of course, there is a crowd in it.

My main reasons for living in such a tiny abode are varied. There is he affordability issue. By putting less money into quantity of space, I have been able to spend more on quality. At about $4oo per square foot, my house is, in a way, the most expensive place in town. But then, at just 96 square feet, it also remains the cheapest overall.

General economics inform my lifestyle choice too. In the most Thoreauvean sense, economic means "the amount of life spent" to achieve something. I have yet to understand America's steadfast obsession with dusting, vacuuming, heating and cooling vast rooms that never get used for anything other than dusting, vacuuming, heating and cooling. I can think of other activities I would rather engage in, and working my fingers to the bone to scrape up monthly mortgage payments is not one of them either. A high maintenance debtor's prison is not my idea of home.

Environmental concerns play a role in my decision as well. The average American house produces seven tons of construction waste from the get-go. Then it emits eighteen tons of greenhouse gases every year thereafter while consuming even more fossil fuels and other non-renewable resources. Building small is the greenest thing that can be done with a new house. A four thousand square foot straw bale structure for two with reclaimed lumber, bamboo flooring and passive solar design is not "green" by any stretch of the imagination. Sustainability cannot be achieved simply by using different technologies and materials. It happens when we use less.

There is another reason why I live as I do. I call it civil disobedience. It was when I first discovered that a small residence is illegal that I fully committed to reside in one. Minimum size standards are a part of nearly every U.S. city's building codes. According to these regulations, my home is about one third the size required to be legally habitable. To meet the codes, I resolved to put my tiny abode on wheels. Building codes are for buildings, after all, not vehicles.

Since building my house back in 1997, America's "bigger is better" perception of housing has changed dramatically. While then it was almost consistently believed that smaller structures inevitably diminish nearby property values, diminutive dwellings are now frequently recognized as an asset to neighborhoods across the country. Entire bookstore shelves are being devoted to the subject, and any news source worthy of its salt (plus Fox News) is talking about the merits of scaled down housing. Where the media leads, the codes will follow. Minimum size standards have been found to be unconstitutional in some U.S. courts, and the antiquated laws have accordingly begun to erode. Simple living and common sense, it seems, may have a place in this world yet.

Jay Shafer
Tumbleweed Tiny House Company
Website: http://www.tumbleweedhouses.com/
E-mail: Jay@tumbleweedhouses.com

PO Box 941, Sebastopol, CA 95473