Very Quick COMET update

Hey all!

I spontaneously moved the COMET from her hiding place behind my father’s mill building back to my house/workshop yesterday. The weather had been consistently nice and it’s time to break some ground inside. I towed her myself for the first time and she handled as nicely as I could expect from a trailer that old!

I’ll post pictured of her in her new home later on, but for now I am on my way to a Photovoltiac workshop at Hampshire College, where I am helping to build a “solar wagon” which will hang out near the bus stop and charge cell phones, laptops, ipods, etc. Check out soldesignlab.com to see what I mean.

Oh, and big THANK YOU to Derek Diedricksen over at Relaxshacks.com, who did a blog post about me today. Thanks Deek for helping me get the word out about The COMET project!! And if you haven’t already, go over to relaxshacks.com and sign up for tiny house summer camp, it’s going to be awesome. July 6-9th in Vermont tiny houses galore full roster to be announced today and I’ve heard it’s going to be NUTS!

 

COMET Update – Documenting Progress

Well, the weather has been steadily improving here in Massachusetts, and I’m getting really excited about “breaking ground” in the COMET. I’ll be moving her away from her factory parking lot home to my house where I can work on her. Soon I’ll be peeling back the walls to see what surprises wait for me there (most likely a rotten wood surprise). Then I’ll be testing the electricity and looking at the wiring to figure out how to best implement my totally DC solar system, while fixing up the tow wiring/lights.

This may be a little premature, since nothing has really been set in stone yet, but I’m VERY excited and honored because Derek Diedricksen, fellow MA tiny house guy and artist (check out relaxshacks.com) asked me to bring the COMET to his summer Tiny House Workshop this year, and give a little talk about the project and show it’s progress. It’ll be great for people to be able to feel the space and see my work in progress: a behind the scenes sort of thing. The fact that I’m going to be towing the COMET around while it’s being worked on makes me think I should work backwards: design and repaint the exterior first, then work on the inside. I want to have a really eye-catching and informational exterior design so that people know what the project is all about, and maybe put the website on the side so people can find more info about it. Anyway, more details on the COMET’s live appearances this summer will follow.

This past week I have been reflecting on the progress of The COMET so far, putting together a very large and detailed presentation about what I’ve done in the last few months. There’s so much research behind the scenes, behind every blog post. It’s so interesting to look back on my preliminary project ideas, my first grant proposals, and other material from a few years ago, when the COMET was just a dream, and then look at how much progress I have made in terms of the concept and what the project really means and needs to accomplish. It’s also amazing to see how much my knowledge of sustainable sciences, materials, and systems has increased and grown from a general interest to a real understanding.

One thing that I have been thinking about in particular is the pros and cons of using newly manufactured “eco-products” versus recycled and repurposed materials, which may not be “eco” per-se, but would have otherwise ended up in the landfill. In my mind, it is better to use an existing material (reused, recycled, or just leftovers) than purchase something brand new, because no matter how sustainable the new product is, it has to be manufactured using some form of energy, it has to use fuel to travel, etc. I think instead of using as many “eco-friendly” products as possible in The COMET, I am going to focus on the repurposing and recycling of existing materials, and whatever I can’t find used, replace with eco-friendly new. I’ve been thinking of innovative ways to re-use things that I already have in order to make what is currently missing in the COMET.

This post was really scattered, but I just wanted to give you all a general update 🙂 Thank you to everyone who has been reading along and following the progress of The COMET. Contact me with any feedback you may have or ideas you think I should be incorporating into the project!

Tiny House people: The future belongs to us!

Tiny Houses and campers/RVs are great because they can be awesome living situations for young people with a young-person’s budget and mobile lifestyle. Today I learned about a couple of other people my age (college kids and other early-mid twenties crowd) who are building their own tiny houses. This is fantastic! When I was a kid there was no way I thought I could ever afford my own house when I was 20. This really changes the way we think about independence, autonomy, mobility and opportunity. So I wanted to point out a couple of other people who are working on and documenting their own Tiny House adventures.

I would love to create some sort of network for connecting young people that are building their own (first-time) homes on a college-kids’ budget. We can really get creative with our homes.  Salvaged materials, free-cycling, DIY! It’s very exciting to see other people my age caring about the things I care about.

Also, I’d love to connect with other young people looking to live in a camper or RV (or other converted mobile situation) for the first time. I’m sure we could all learn a ton from each other. If you are living in a camper or on the road, or in the process of becoming a full-timer, I want to hear from you! Tell me about it in the comments and leave your website if you have one!

Here’s some other people building and documenting their Tiny House progress:

http://littleyellowdoor.wordpress.com/

http://littleyellowdoor.wordpress.com/

http://kiestinyhouse.wordpress.com/

Kie's tiny house

 

AND I’d like to point you in the direction of 16 year old Celina Dill, a young lady beginning to build her own tiny house. Her blog is still just starting up, and I think she’s at the stage of gathering salvaged materials. Definitely one to watch though. She’s a beautiful writer and really inspiring. I wish I had started my tiny house 4 years ago!! Also, she has  salvaged the same 1950’s Dixie stove one of my other camper’s has. Her frugality and re-use is really great. Check her and her little house out at: http://mytinyabode.blogspot.com/

 

Here’s some other sites I stumbled on today! REALLY glad I did!

http://tinyhouseontario.wordpress.com/

http://minimotives.com/

http://www.120squarefeet.blogspot.com/

Let me know in the comments if you’d like to be in my “RESOURCES” list, if you’re building a Tiny House, or if you’re converting an RV or camper into a full-time living machine!