In 2018, a woman named Christine welcomed the crew of Exploring Alternatives—a YouTube channel documenting people experimenting with alternative homes and lifestyles—into her lovely tiny house.
After watching a Netflix show called “Tiny: A Story About Living Small,” Christine was inspired to pursue a similar path.
Christine found the idea of living in a tiny home to be very appealing because she likes small, cozy spaces and wants to reduce her environmental footprint.
Within a week of seeing the documentary, she met someone selling trailers and bought one for herself for just $6,000.
Christine then called up her ex-husband, George, a contractor, and asked if he could help turn the CAD trailer into a tiny house. The man said yes, picked up the trailer, and took it to his place to start the construction.
“The tiny house is built with extended roof trusses which double as the home’s framing. The insulation is a combination of rigid foam insulation and spray foam insulation,” said the video’s caption on YouTube.
Christine named her tiny house “Lilly Mae,” after her mom, Mae, and her grandmother, Lillian.
“My mom has dementia and one of the few things she could remember was that I was building a tiny house,” she explained.
Since moving into the tiny house, Christine’s expenses significantly dropped. The home runs entirely on propane—from the stove, hot water, and heating—and it only costs her about $70 for two months.
A friend concerned about Christine’s safety let her park the home on his property, but it’s only a temporary arrangement that will last for a year. Eventually, she would like to move to a community of like-minded people living in tiny homes.
Ideally, Christine’s permanent location would be a treed area that would allow her to walk and snowshoe—somewhere that will bring her closer to nature.
“I work with the dentist, so it’s very clinical, and everything’s got to be on time and stuff like that. So when I get home, it’s just nice to not have to cater to anybody else. It’s just me and my tiny; it’s very easy to keep clean,” she said.
Christine’s living room area has a nice comfortable sofa where she does her knitting.
Her kitchen is complete with a three-burner stove, a little oven, a pull-out pantry, and a great working space.
Christine’s bedroom is found in the loft area. It has a full-sized bed placed right next to a window that makes the space feel bigger than it actually is. At night, she lays there and watches the stars.
At the time of filming, the home didn’t have solar panels yet, but Christine said she hoped to have them installed at her next location.
The bathroom features a composting toilet. But if Christine were to do it again, she would use a dry toilet instead because they’re lighter and easier to empty.
Christine said she sees herself living in her trailer home until she’s a “little old lady,” and we can totally see why!
Check out her beautiful tiny house in the video below.
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