You’ve seen some stunningly expensive houses for sale on Gabriola. There’s that one down on the waterfront that costs more than I can imagine spending on anything short of saving the world. Then there’s the massive property with enough land and buildings to house a religious cult. Then there’s…. oh, you get the idea. We’ve got some people who spend an awful lot on houses and property here.

It’s got me thinking and reading about houses at the other end of the scale. Today I’ve been looking at Tiny Free House, which is a blog written by a guy who’s building a small house using materials others discard. The blogger, Michael Janzen, summarizes:

I’ve embarked on a little experiment. I’m building a tiny house that’s cross between Henry David Thoreau’s cabin at Walden Pond and a Tumbleweed-like Tiny House on wheels, the only difference is that it will cost nothing. Any money I spend on building materials will be recouped by selling discarded things I find and most of the wood will come from old shipping pallets. Why Pallets? It just seems like poetic justice for a house that questions consumerism to be made from the very things that carried so many products to market.

Michael has a couple of other blogs on the go. One is Tiny House Design (Less is more sustainable) which is about the design of small houses and making the mental transition to living lighter and smaller. There’s also Do It Yourself Freedom, about which Michael says:

In the summer of 2007 I had one of those Ah-HA moments we all have from time to time. The only difference with this Ah-HA moment was that it inspired me to write a book, change jobs, begin building a tiny free house, and rethink my values, lifestyle, and future. But the most important thing I uncovered was a simple way for anyone to immediately achieve more time, more happiness, and more success… [continue]

Hmmm. Well, there’s something to think about next time you look at all the expensive houses profiled on the window of the real estate place.

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