housing

Tiny houses, and alternative spaces

By beststuff  |  2011/07/05 23:27 Posted in homesteading, housing, saving money, survival  |  Comments Off on Tiny houses, and alternative spaces

Hey everyone… tiny homes are now gaining popularity fast.

It makes total sense.  How much space do we really need anyway ?   For thousands of years we all lived fine without 5,000 square foot “mcMansions” in the suburbs.  City dwellers know how to be really smart about using space efficiently.   Why heat or cool a huge space if you don’t need to ?    Small homes are much easier to clean.   Do the chores in a few minutes and get on with living.

Click on the Tiny House link below…

http://tinyhouseblog.com/stick-built/reclaimed-space-2/

and while you’re at it, check out Yurts..

Pacific Yurts


Yurts are cylindrical homes with a dome, insulated, wind resistant, and very cozy.  They’ve been used by Mongolian nomads for centuries.    In USA, they are not taxed, as opposed to a regular home.    Pacific Yurts makes incredibly beautiful yurts.

Yurts – great, inexpensive housing

By beststuff  |  2010/03/12 16:52 Posted in housing  |  Comments Off on Yurts – great, inexpensive housing

Wikipedia link ( click )


Yurts are the Mongolian’s version of cheap, moveable housing.  They got it together with housing design over centuries of living.    A Yurt is a cylindrical, dome type of home, some up to 30 feet in diameter, with a small vent hole in the center of the roof, a hearth in the middle of the room.   Mongolians live in them for months at a time, following the seasons and game migration.    They are insulated well, and worked wonderfully for a very long time.

Today, you can get a modern yurt, in a wide variety of sizes and options, typically 18, 24, and 30 feet in diameter.    In most states yurts are considered temporary living / shelter, so are not taxed.   I met a person who lived full time in one for 3 years.   Today you can get ones with full baths, windows, stoves, and connect them to other yurts to make a multi-roomed structure.    People typically install them on a platform with a wood floor.

Yurts can be used for storage, for guest shelter, and countless other things.   They withstand winds well because of their shapes.