I don’t know about you guys, but I can assure you that at 21 years old, sustainable living, gardening and living simply was not what my 21 year old brain was focused on. That is a sad truth that I must live with. I figured all is not lost and though its taken years, I finally get it. I finally get that what is important in life is not what sits in our closet, or the car I drive, or the amount of money spent on stuff. What truly matters is family, love, humility, community, kindness, generosity, God, the planet. All things that don’t cost anything but have tremendous life enhancing value. This is my goal, to live a life where stuff does not dictate my joy or peace. A life where I will be more connected to people, service, community and writing. A simpler tinier richer life.

Don’t get me wrong, I have never been a pillager nor was I someone who spent my days in a mall. Well, except when I spent 15 years in retail which I can tell you, were painful. I never understood the days when we had a One Day Sale and people would line up outside the closed doors hours before so that they could purchase “stuff.” To this day I find it incredibly disturbing when people camp outside of stores overnight, just to get the biggest television. I don’t get it. Don’t get me started on Black Friday! What is that? Bizarre and unconscious, that’s what it is.

So, hence, my absolute awe of Sarah. A friend of mine was in Massachesetts on vacation and see’s an ad in a diner, while having lunch that said, “Got land for my Tiny House?”- on that ad, is the story of a young woman who is building a tiny house as her thesis for Architectural Studies at Mount Holyoke College and seeking land to put it on after it is complete. My friend snaps a photo of the ad and sends it to me. Immediately I am excited and email Sarah, who kindly shares her story with me and invites me up to visit her tiny house on the school campus where she was granted permission to build until graduation day. This was her first building experience and WOW, what a job she did. She did have some help – her father would drive down every weekend for almost a year and work with her on her project. She also had some local sponsors but she did most of the work along with her dad. She quickly became one of my heroes.

I went to visit Sarah on a beautiful day in April with my friend Bob, who happens to also be an architect. Her home was not yet completed, she had gotten as far as wrapping the exterior and some of her electrical was wired. Her bedroom which was genious, as she had a gooseneck trailer (which was purchased used on craigslist), allowed for a light and spacious room with a wonderful huge window, that was not in a loft like many tiny houses, was finished. Her windows were purchased from a local restoration site and she used many recycled materials to build. I was in awe not only of her beauty, both outward and inner, but at her youth and vision and the fact that she designed her own home at 21. Mind blowing to me. No offence but I have never met any 21 year old who was that together. Heck, I don’t know many adults who are that together and actually “get it!”

Going to Sarah’s open house was another confirmation that I was doing this. I remember walking into her house and thinking, “wow this is huge.” When you see a tiny house and think it is huge, well I think that is a sign that you are ready to live tiny. You have no preconceived ideas of wanting more of anything. The more tiny houses I see, the more I know that a 20 footer is perfect for me.

Bob and I hung around talking to other people who were there for the open house and that is how I met Doreen, an artist and art teacher who lives in Rhode Island who is also in the planning stages of building a tiny house. Doreen and I hit it off and have since then developed a beautiful tiny house friendship. We were all so impressed with Sarah’s journey and her immence tenacity. She inspired us! We all left having made a new friend, some connections and another validation that yes, we can do this. We can live Tiny.

I am going to visit Sarah in her now finished tiny house in her new location in August. I have seen photos of her amazing new home site and I can only say that it is going to be a treat. Stay tuned!