In this episode, Jenn Baxter shares some of her techniques to help you start decluttering and downsizing, and tells the “buyer beware” story of her tiny house.
Jenn Baxter is an accomplished author, speaker and blogger based in Charlotte, North Carolina. In 2015, Jenn launched her website, Live a F.A.S.T. Life, based on her own experiences with clean living and downsizing into a 160-square- foot tiny house. Jenn also has a “buyer beware” story to share about her house, so if you’re thinking about hiring a builder, definitely pay attention!
“I have found that when I simplified my life it became more fabulous and when it became more abundant… The more you simplify your life, the more you feel like you’re a live and actually living.” – Jenn Baxter
With a budget of just $30,000 Jenn found a builder for the tiny house of her dreams. The entire process was filmed for the HGTV show Tiny House Big Living (Link: Jen Baxter’s Decked Out Tiny House). However, once Jenn moved in it quickly became obvious that not all was well. First cabinet doors fell off, then she discovered that the house had several major leaks every time it rained. It became clear that her builder did not know what they were doing, and Jenn presented them with a choice: Fix everything or take the house and give her money back. Thankfully, they chose the latter, but that left Jenn without a tiny house to call home.
Since then, Jenn has been living as a full time nomad. She travels full time and is in the process of plannin her next tiny house on wheels. But not without becoming an author and educator and traveling the tiny house festival circuit first.
In this episode you’ll hear:
- Jenn’s advice for avoiding bad tiny house builders (hint: don’t assume that your builder knows better than you!)
- Who are some of Jenn’s favorite tiny house builders?
- How Jenn got interested in Downsizing and Decluttering
- How does Jenn Teach Downsizing?
- Where should you START decluttering if you’ve never attempted it before?
- How do you let go of things that have lots of sentimental value?
- The Three Sweep Process for Decluttering
- The Hanger Test for Decluttering
Links from this Episode:
- Jenn Baxter’s Decked Out Tiny House
- Tiny House Lessons: Buyer Beware
- Tiny House Chattanooga
- Perch and Nest Tiny Houses
Jenn Baxter Online:
- Website
- Jenn’s Book: Live a F.A.S.T. Life
Jenn’s Three Resources:
- Tiny Documentary
- Macy Miller of MiniMotives.com and Episode #001
- Alexis and Christian’s Tiny House Expedition