If I did a heat map of time spent on particular square feet of my own much larger home, it would probably indicate I’m only using about 100 square feet of it 95% of the time anyway.

-Sean

My idea of perfect living quarters, is a warehouse type space, converted into living, art-working, and car-working areas. But primarily open spaces, separated by some amount of walls, for privacy and practicality (cars are a love of mine, but I’d rather not smell them in my living area), but not cut up into little boxes of rooms.

Space. Give me open space, kthnx.

It could serve as a ‘starter’ house. If someone ended up with a family, and moved to a bigger house they could use the trailer as a guest house or external studio.

Or, it could be turned into a cottage. If you wanted you could take a holiday in one.

And, if built off grid, could form as some sort of survivalist fall back when the apocalypse comes, provided adequate growing land.

Although not as small, or affordable as the tumbleweed homes, the “miniHome” has similar appeal. http://www.sustain.ca/ — Canadian, but not exactly what you’d see on Trailer Park Boys.

People have used trailers for a while.

For that matter, people have lived on small boats too.

The toilet in the shower isn’t that unusual either.

All nonsense, I thought then – and still do – but the toxic fumes you mention the autos giving off after they have been parked – and of which I was not really aware – serves now to perhaps give that feng shui advice a whiff of truth.

FWIW.

But keep in mind that laundromat space can be used 24/7 by many people, while your laundy space and machine get used (a hypothetical) 4 hours a week.

And a garage is not really necessary to store a car – these things are waterproof.

If you don’t use cars or clean clothing, then never mind.

Seriously, though, I LOVE your wagon. It’s very aesthetically pleasing at multiple levels, thanks for showing it off!

If I recall rightly, Mr. Shafer also took the tiny scale of the house as an opportunity to fit in some little flourishes that would have been insanely inefficient if he’d also been trying to build a large house – e.g. I seem to recall he hand-forged the hinges for the front door – just because he felt like it.

http://green.yahoo.com/blog/guest_bloggers/53/a-tiny-apartment-with-24-rooms.html;_ylt=AqQtdYlwTbodmJuYE_1TPpKtV8cX

One thing which occurs to me though: it seems like a great way for a single person to Stay Single.

One thing the tiny homes don’t accommodate easily is a spouse or a pet or a second roll of toilet paper, for that matter.

-S

Even if it is never towed from place to place, the fact that it could be qualifies it as a bona fide trailer, not subject to building code for houses.

I hope to retire in one of these someday, on a mountain or the edge of the desert, where there is lots of land and not so many people. I want to raise chickens, and have an outbuilding/shed where my husband can fiddle with his woodworking projects and I can have my spinning wheel and loom. We will have a vegetable garden, and maybe some sheep too, and will spend a lot more time outside than we do now, busy with our desk jobs and our children.
When the children come to visit with their children, they can camp on our land and chase the chickens and we can have bbq and sit outside until late at night and look at the stars.

Is that a less sad picture?

One day when I am retired and my son has moved out of home this is the house I would like to own.

;-)