Tiny House Alternatives
  • Home
  • Jaclyn
    • Path to Tiny
    • Thank You's
  • Contact
    • Where I will be/when
  • Gypsy
    • 19 Big & Beautiful Pictures
    • Construction Evolution
  • News
  • Book
    • Sample Outline

My Gypsy Island Sanctuary

My Tiny Dream Home--my priorities.  What would be yours ?
               Let me be your 
     Your Hunter-Gatherer 
to share visions & tips  not only from my view, but from the view and    experience of many.

CLICK  See More Pictures, BIGGER

Why Go Tiny?  Plan A:  Quality of Life

11/29/2013

0 Comments

 
Today,  let's look at some of the reasons so many are going tiny.  The most glaring reason is the economics of them.  Later in this post, check out the statistics on the high cost of living with the mortgage of a standard house.  More and more people are shifting their budget from the material to experiential priorities, and simplifying, de-cluttering their environment to make it calmer and more nurturing with less upkeep.    Or they want to have adventures throughout the country, but don't want to  "relocate" each time,  or live in motels, to do so.  Then, there are those who want a home design that is  special and unique to them, like the tree house, or airplane conversion.  
  The sweetest advantages of going tiny are the least obvious to the uninitiated.  Those are the calming and  nurturing effects. You gotta live it to believe it.  It's like walking into your cozy, loving nest.  You immediately slow down.  You HAVE to.  You don't have any room to rush around.  That's simply not a logistical option. So, you gear down. Calm down.   You may not give up your TV, but you find you curl up and read, more.  Also, clean up is a breeze; minutes instead of hours.   First, you don't have the clutter of a standard sized home.  You've already prioritized away all your clutter, and everything has a place.  
Picture
 You have already asked your friends to give you only  consumables as gifts, as they do in Japan,  like a gift certificate to dine out; a fruit, nut and/or cheese platter, or a ticket to a theme park, for two.   You won't have the surface space for the ultimate Japanese consumable gift, the ice sculpture, and if that's offered, you'll probably have to turn it down. The reason for this is, that if something new is introduced into your highly organized environment, you will probably have to trade it out with something old that is in that designated space, or save it in the trunk of your car, or truck to re-gift it.  The only clutter you will have to deal with are the dirty dishes, putting away groceries, and leaving  the closeting of clothes until morning, when you have more energy.  So, the next, obvious reason for quick clean-ups, is the vastly reduced space to clean. 
Picture
I have gotten more into cooking, than ever.  The whole process is so easy, with every option available by simply turning, squatting or reaching from one spot.   You're looking from the handle of the 'fridge, "across the hall" to my kitchen work space. The butcher blocks can sit in the sink wells, to create extra counter space.  Two NuWave induction cook tops to the right have pin-point temperature control, making a HUGE difference in the quality of my cooking.   Cabinets above and below; the doors of which sport fish plaques,  framed jewelry  and a  barber's mirror.  Cookware hangs above the window at my finger tips.  And the NuWave (3 wave oven) is behind the little door, next to my combo. washer/dryer.

Across the "water room" hall, again, is the loo and a combo. bath/shower/"steam bath."  More luxury  per sq. ft. in my  grand total of 192.sq.ft (including porch) than the 2000 sq.ft. home I left behind. 
And, there's nothing like sleeping, snuggling, napping and dozing in a tiny bed loft, especially if you are, as I am, surrounded by skylights.
Picture
  I wake up, awash in the three colors of my antique, church sanctuary, stained glass window. 

Picture
 Then, I roll over and watch the squirrels in the trees above, through my rose bud skylights.  

There are a growing number of people who have chosen to go tiny, not for a resolution  of financial difficulties, as I did, but in pursuit of financial freedom... 

Read More
0 Comments

Why You Need a Tiny Plan B, Now.  Are You Safe ?

11/29/2013

0 Comments

 
So you're happy with your home.  You can afford the mortgage or rent, without compromising your quality, life experiences.
But, have you read, or watched the news, lately?  There are abundant things that can take away your secure home, besides foreclosure on the house.  Many folks who owned their home, outright, have found they were not able to keep up with the taxes on the property, and lost the whole thing to a tax auction.   How would you like to come   
Picture
 home, one evening, and find nothing left, except these front steps?  Oops ! 
Or, you could be collateral damage when your new landlord wants to flip your apartment into an expensive condo unit.  If you live in Florida, don't even think about the odds of your home being swallowed up by a  sinkhole, maybe with you in it.  
Your parents passed on and left you their paid for homestead, that you grew up in, bonanza !  What could go wrong ?  There is a housing nightmare that is much more common than ...

Read More
0 Comments

A New Era for Me, as a Gypsy Island Girl

11/29/2013

0 Comments

 
Yesterday, while taking a break in my writing, I tuned in to the "Lady Gaga and the Muppets, Holiday", special, and I found my theme song. What serendipity! Lady Gaga sang everything I felt. Basically it was a song of dilemma between being in a stable, loving relationship, or being a Gypsy. It said: "I don't wanna be alone, for ever, ...maybe we could see the world together...but, I cannot be denied...I love the Gypsy Life."  FYI, my Gypsy Island Sanctuary IS designed to quickly convert to ample space and an adventurous life-style for two.   Just sayin'

To view this video, which has been blocked from viewing on such sites as this, cut & paste the following URL into your internet search bar:  
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9Be0ZXtMxY
You get "extra credit" in my book if you watch and comment.  :D
0 Comments

Happy Thanksgiving Friends, old and new

11/28/2013

0 Comments

 
Picture
May this Day of Thanks be your legacy to family, friends and community.   Fill yourself, family, friends and community with Joy, Laughter, Hugs and  Gratitude .  Even if you are by yourself, today, watch something funny, reflect on your blessings and actually phone someone to share those  joys & blessings.  Pay them forward.    
Live Life Large ! :D   Jaclyn

0 Comments

Who am I?  Really.  A Simple Island Girl.

11/26/2013

1 Comment

 
Picture
I'm just a simple Island Girl.  And you know what they say, "  You can take the girl out of the island, but you can't take the island out of the girl, especially when I've had sand in my soul as long as I can remember.  As an infant, I was moved from my birthplace, Tucson Arizona, to Bakersfield, California.  My mother tells me that, as a toddler, I would go to the public pool from when they opened in the morning, until I was pulled out, shriveled as a prune, at the end of the day.  When we moved to my grandmother's, in Berkeley, Cal., I spent all the time I could,  in the neighborhood park sandbox.  When I married and moved to Nevada...

Picture
... we bought a home and, in the back yard,  I  built a sand island, complete with  a jungle gym to climb, as island monkeys, and a Giant Tire for them to nestle into and "hide," so they could jump  out at me, yelling,"Surprise! You couldn' find me ! "

Picture
Then, in 1980 we moved to the St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands.  We finally had endless beaches and endless Caribbean Sea.  We bought a little  "Sun Fish," a two person paddle/sail boat.  If I wasn't at school teaching, busy with children or Baha'i teaching, I was paddle/sailing in my wee little boat.   Later,  1982, I relocated to ...


Read More
1 Comment

And Just How Happy, Was (our) BIRTHDAY ?

11/25/2013

3 Comments

 
Picture
What a wonderful Birthday , for ALL of us.  
It was my 69th.  Never too late to start new.
It was the birthday of the Tiny House Alternatives blog.
And it was a birthday for YOU, in birthing your consciousness of,  and options of, downsizing, smart, as a way to Live Large.  

The evening of my birthday, my friend (you will see him in the massage clip, to come) Jay T. brought me a balloon and flowers. And the day after, Debra N. brought me a whole covey of flying balloons, a heavily frosted "birthday cake donut" and the offer to run me around while taking care of much neglected errands and bill payments.   So Sweet. 
Many old and new friends responded their happy wishes, congratulations & hopes for the success of this venture, by phone, email, and facebook. I'm SOOooo happy, I'm doing my happy dance.  (Sorry the video of me doing the chicken dance didn't come out, so here is my favorite inside, Thanksgiving Chicken Greeter, to demonstrate.   

Picture
Picture


And my doorman, Wally the Alligator, will continue to celebrate, as long as the balloons last, inviting visitors to ask, When was your birthday?  And what they will be told is not only mine, but Tiny House Alternative's , and YOURS.    

A new journey is starting for all of us...Happy Birthday on the first day of the rest of your life..   My gift to you is....



Read More
3 Comments

Is It Really True?

11/20/2013

2 Comments

 
I’m pinching myself !  Could it be true that I’m actually beginning this service stage of my journey ?

It is my dream help you turn your lemons into lemonade. I want to show you, how you can turn your loss into your gain. Your economic “scaling down,” can transform into “Living Life Large, Tiny.”

Once I have shown you the possibilities you never imagined, I will get all “nuts & bolts” with you. You can be assured that you will have all the construction and facilitation details that will prevent your dream from becoming a nightmare.

You can learn from all my research, my applications and my mistakes.

And they said it couldn’t be done. Well, guess what ! I couldn’t have done it by myself, however. There are those, without whom, it never would have been possible.

Read More
2 Comments

    Jaclyn Tredway

    Picture
    When the economy crashed and Jaclyn was being forced from her home due to foreclosure, she knew she wanted more than just a roof over her head.  She wanted to travel, and have adventures, but  didn't want to live in an RV.  She  wanted her home to be soul inspiring and nurturing, but needed to create it on a shoe-string budget.  So, with  minimal funds and a little help from her friends, she built her tiny traveling sanctuary.

    In this blog, you'll find the story of Jaclyn's journey from foreclosure to Living Large, Tiny in her Gypsy Island Sanctuary.

    Go here for her story.

     Sign-Up Email
    To stay in touch with new design alternatives, coding clues, and updates on my  Tiny  Gypsy Island  Sanctuary Tips and Travels, and  upcoming book release,
    go here.
    Copyright © 2014 Tiny House Alternatives, All rights reserved.

    Archives

    March 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    July 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013

    Categories

    All
    Campers
    Conversions
    E-courses
    Family Homes
    Fan Favorites
    Homeless Homes
    Micro Homes
    News
    Rentals
    Tough Cookies
    Upgrade-by-going-tiny
    Water-homes

    RSS Feed

Proudly powered by Weebly
  • Home
  • Jaclyn
    • Path to Tiny
    • Thank You's
  • Contact
    • Where I will be/when
  • Gypsy
    • 19 Big & Beautiful Pictures
    • Construction Evolution
  • News
  • Book
    • Sample Outline