Have you ever gone through your home and counted each and every possession that you own? Most of us have not, but for Dee Williams, her last count was 305 belongings. Ten years ago, the 51-year-old sold her 3-bedroom home in Portland, Oregon and built her own mobile tiny home on a trailer.
Now sitting in Olympia, Washington, Dee’s handcrafted 84-square-foot home sits in her friends’ backyard.
At less than 100-square-feet, Dee’s miniature home features a small seating area (too small for a sofa), kitchen (but no fridge), toilet, and a sleeping loft with skylight. So, how does she make it work living in such a tiny space? Let’s take a look inside.
The ‘great room’ of the tiny home is very simple and modest.
Dee’s friend, Annie McManus (on the right), owns the backyard that the tiny home is sitting in; she often comes by to sit and chat with Dee in the little home’s living room. The space boasts a built-in bench for seating, a table with chair, and a heater to stay warm. Notice the ladder to the left that she moves for access to her sleeping loft.
Dee’s “kitchen” doesn’t have an oven or a fridge, but she does have a sink and a propane burner for cooking.
A jar underneath the cabinet catches the waste water from the sink. Dee’s home doesn’t have running water, so she relies on getting water from inside the main house that Annie lives in. If Dee ever wants to do any cooking that requires an oven, she heads over to her friend’s house to do that as well.
From this angle, you can get a full view of Dee’s 84-square-foot cozy abode.
“Living in a little house made sense for me, it clicked. It gave me a chance to live close to my friends and be happy with the time that I have,” Dee told The New York Times.
The sleeping loft is large enough to fit a full-size mattress on the floor without a bed frame.
The pitched ceilings provide enough room for Dee to climb into bed without too much hassle and a large skylight lets in lots of natural light. There is also a small window near the pillows which looks out to the front of the house.
Dee stores her toiletries above the composting toilet located near her kitchen.
Since there isn’t any running water, and therefore no shower, Dee stores her toiletries near the composting toilet in her home. She can brush her teeth and wash her face with the water she stores in her water jug, and when she wants to shower, she just heads over to Annie’s house.
A large solar panel provides Dee’s home with all the power it needs.
She might not have running water, but Dee’s home has solar power that powers her entire home. It provides electricity for everything from her lights to her laptop.
Dee doesn’t know how long she’ll be in her backyard mini home, but for now, she plans on staying put.
“I came to the conclusion that my little house fits now, but it might not always fit me,” she says about her future. “I like to think I’d be brave enough to make the change.”
As far as her decision on downsizing, Dee is glad to be out of her large 3-bedroom-home in Portland.
“The last time I was over, I noticed the house needed to be repainted,” she said. “I was like, God, I’m glad I don’t have to do that.”
Dee’s journey started with a health scare that made her question what’s important in life. Read more about her story at The New York Times.
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