Jewel is leading the conversation on inclusiveness and diversity in the tiny house movement and is a wonderful interview guest. We talk about a wide range of topics, from her own tiny house and the special features inside it, to some issues that persist in our housing and financial systems. There are many problems with housing in the United States, and there’s been systemic racism built into our housing system and financial structures for a long time. I think it’s important that as we build the tiny house movement we do what we can to prevent this movement from reflecting the system at large by keeping these kinds of things in mind, and Jewel has some great suggestions on how we can all move forward.

On today’s show, we will be exploring the possibility of heating your tiny house with compost. Not long ago, I came across a book called The Compost-Powered Water Heater. It's only about 140 pages and I read it in one sitting. Author Gaelan Brown details the experimentation and the work that has been done in harvesting the heat from a compost pile and using that to heat a greenhouse, barn, or even a hot tub. I was surprised to find out that the author also lives in a tiny house, built on the back of a flatbed truck, named the Dodge Lodge.

Brenda Mason downsized from a 3100 sf, 5 bedroom home to a 310 sf converted motor coach tiny home in just 31 days. Brenda is passionate about helping others downsize their own lives, and she recommends doing it fast! In this conversation, Brenda shares her take and tips on downsizing, plus reflections on the emotional attachments we all have to our stuff.

Lee Pera is an early pioneer in the tiny house movement and she actually helped build the first tiny house community that I ever saw, which was Boneyard Studios in Washington D.C. I wanted to have Lee on the show because she is planning a tour to teach classes in construction project management, and in addition to that, she has a lot of experience building tiny house communities. We’ll talk about why Boneyard Studios ultimately did not succeed, but how it’s all part of her tiny house journey. It’s a really interesting conversation that will teach you and inspire you quite a bit.

I've been wanting to introduce you to the FIRE movement for quite a long time, and I finally found the guest to do it! If you haven't heard of it, FIRE stands for Financial Independence Retire Early. It's a movement dedicated to extreme savings and investment, and it allows people to retire far earlier than traditional budgets and retirement plans allow. My guest Diania Merriam is both a participant in the movement and is also in the process of organizing a conference to share these ideas. FIRE is very applicable to the tiny house movement and Diania is here to tell us all about it!

As I mentioned in my last episode of the Tiny House Lifestyle Podcast, I just finished teaching a two week design/build course at Yestermorrow Design/Build School in Waitsfield, Vermont. Working alongside other talented instructors was an inspiring experience for me, and a highlight was being able to work with students on framing and sheathing a tiny house on wheels. Teaching this course reminded me how challenging it can be to properly build your tiny house around the wheels of a trailer, so I decided to do a solo episode all about trailers! We’re going to be talking about trailer terminology, different styles of trailers, and also which types of trailers I recommend for building your tiny house on wheels.

Erin Maile O'Keefe is a talented designer who designed and built the Paper Boat tiny house for herself and her husband, where they live in the backyard of a house that they own. In this conversation we'll break down the Paper Boat design, and in the process, share some of the ways that Erin thinks about designing tiny spaces so that they work for the occupants.

Sierra Martin decided to skip the expensive rent in Burlington, Vermont and instead built herself a tiny house on wheels. When she started, she had no building skills. Her beautiful home is heated with a pellet stove and features bright, beautiful wood walls and floors. Oh, and Sierra keeps 3 of her 4 bicycles inside!

Liberation Tiny Homes combines fine Amish craftsmanship, affordable pricing, and a pretty quick turnaround time to produce a tiny house package that is pretty appealing. They have preset models, they have custom models, and they can work in a range of different sizes and styles. On the show today I’ll ask Matt to give us an inside look at the workings of Liberation Tiny Homes, his tips for working with Gooseneck trailers versus regular flatbed trailers, and how this company (that has built over 60 tiny houses!) has seen the tiny house movement change over the last four years.