Tiny house news: For the past three years my partner and I have been building this tiny house. With no prior building experience, we both went into this rather blindly. Sure, we researched what neat designs we wanted for the house, but as each step came, came more and more new research. I remember thinking this tiny house would only take us 3-6 months to build. That seems laughable now. One major flaw I’ve noticed with the tiny house movement is that it paints this picture that tiny house living is so easily attainable by anyone. I’m not saying it can’t ever be accomplished, but for most people who aren’t skilled craftsmen or very wealthy, it’s going to take a long time. It may be small, but it is still a house. Houses are no easy feat. We were lucky that through a large percentage of our build, we were able to stay with family and didn’t have nearly as much pressure to finish the house as some others have (though we did put a lot of pressure on ourselves). With no building experience, very limited money and time, it takes a long, long time to finish a house. Let me state this very clearly: I adore my tiny house, I love knowing that we did this by hand and all the experience it has taught me, as well as new found patience and appreciation. I just want new tiny house builders to really know what they are getting into. Like my friend @jessica_friday stated on her blog, assuming a person works Monday through Friday, but still commits a full year of 16 hours a week to the tiny house (8 hour days, Saturday and Sunday), with not one single day off, that person would still be lucky to have their home finished within a year. There is a lot of stress that comes with building a house, including lack of time for yourself, or really an other hobbies or interests. This is the first year in my life I have ever been above the poverty line. I try to live as efficiently as possible, and now I’m finally going to bite the bullet and enlist the help of contractors to finish this build. I know it means new debt (~$10k), but it’s worthy it if it means this year, this house is officially home. Please stay tuned in the following months as our tiny house is completed. 🎉🏡🎊