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So far we have talked about the construct of our tiny house. We have talked about our gardens. We have touched on our desire to raise more chickens and add in goats and possible livestock. We have covered our plumbing options. But how in the world does it all fit together? It is a question we have been pondering each night we lay in bed.

Where will the goats go? How will we create enough solar power to run a fridge and a temperature unit? Will we be able to grow strawberries? In fact, the questions are endless. So much so that this week I had to sit down with my niece’s colored pencils and a piece of old art paper and sketch out what our cleared plot will look like.

Please notice that I say what it WILL look like. I believe that you have to set your goals and accept nothing less. We each have the capacity to reach our own limits. Provided we stay healthy, and there is still land under our feet, we are going to run full speed ahead at the r(E)volution.

We’ve come up with a – ahem – highly technical and correct-scale map of our future homestead to assist us in using our space effectively and efficiently, as well as to guide us in our vast projects. In all honesty it really does provide us with a tangible vision, allowing us to prioritize and budget. Within two years we plan to have a fully functioning homestead (or hobby farm, as some would say) that is completely powered by alternative energy sources. In addition, it will provide us with a minimum of 65% of our food in all seasons via our gardens, our chickens, our goats, and our wooded “wild.”

For those who are not familiar with the Tiny r(E)volution yet, we are located on a square acre (which was 100% wooded on day one) within the perimeter of Lenoir County in eastern North Carolina. We have no plans of clearing all of our acre, and certainly no plans to fence off any unnecessary areas. We do hope to purchase up to five more acres in the future to raise some livestock and continue growing our own food as well as surplus for sale or barter.

There are plans to build a fresh water well between our land and the next door neighbors (who are more commonly referred to as Crystal’s brother and sister-in-law). The pump will be manual at first, with a goal of having a DC powered pump. We will not be attached to a septic system, as the tiny house will use a composting toilet. Our grey water system will provide irrigation and drainage. We will ultimately rely on a custom solar installation to provide electricity, and we’ll use deep cycle batteries for power storage. We are now talking with a friend of ours about creating biofuel and ultimately using it to heat the house.

Tiny Home

Our primary living space will be our tiny house. Unlike more popular tiny houses created by the likes of Tumbleweed Tiny Houses, our trailer is 8′ x 30′ that will be our “foundation” for what we are now looking at as a true modular living system.  If you notice on the landscape sketch, the southwest of the home will feature an expansive deck which will serve as a three-season outdoor room providing more living space. Crystal talks about putting a roof of some sort over half of the deck, and having a propane heater or fire pit for colder months. The deck will also provide amazing 5 to 6-hour views of the sky and sun. Quite warm and cozy.

Solar Power System

Our solar panels will be mounted in an array about 8 feet up from the ground. They will face south, angled at 45 degrees for winter months and angled near 25 degrees during the summer. AGM batteries will be located underneath the array in a weather proof “box” designed for ventilation and protection from the weather. This will allow for accessibility and maintenance without disrupting our interior “home life.”  The main power system will be 12 volt DC that is inverted to AC for its primary use. We are also considering a generator system that will ultimately power the well pump and serve as backup.

Heat and Air

Because of our natural landscape we are not using passive technology. In fact, we will be relying on a “window unit” air conditioner for the extreme heat the south has. As for heat we will be using a propane “fireplace” heater with a blower unit. Because of the number of windows in our tiny house as well as the breeze we have discovered in our cleared area, we think the breeze will be more than comfortable for much of the year. During the winter we will augment the heat with that same natural sunlight as well as our recycled denim insulation. Again, we are talking with another family about building a biofuel heating system. That is very experimental, though, and is subject to cost and health standards. Our kitchen will be equipped with a propane drop-in RV style oven and stove, which is what we currently use in “The Bungalow.”

Hot Water

We built a solar hot water shower at our homestead in middle Georgia and fell in love with it. Mixing cold well water with heated water from black, sun-drenched, tubing we found it to be a great way to enjoy an outdoor shower for nearly five months. While we will be using an on demand hot water heater in our tiny house, we would like to find a sunny spot and a water source (possibly the well) to again create an outdoor solar shower.

Rain Water Harvesting

Our tiny house, our shed, and our gardens will be engineered for rain harvesting. Plants love nothing more than natural rainwater and gravity fed systems are so easy to construct. By 2015, we hope to have a buried holding tank with a filtration system for our water needs. With our areas current rainfall we expect to be able to harvest nearly 14,000 gallons of water/year.

Trees and Vegetables

Before we even dreamed of our tiny house, we were growing multiple food products in raised beds, traditional gardens, cleared fields, cold boxes, pots, etc. We were hobby farmers, indeed! We intend to maintain that way of life and sustainability, and to augment it with more cold season crops as well as trees and shrubs. Along Tiny Lane (otherwise known as our driveway), we will grow strawberries up the sides. The soil there has a wonderful sand to dirt ratio perfect for such. We will also be planting both apple trees and blueberry bushes; staples of our current diet. Should we be able to purchase more land we hope to use it for expansive grape orchards, as we both love a good vineyard. Our beds and gardens will grow everything from kitchen herbs to medicinal herbs to leafy greens and stalk veggies.

Chickens and Livestock

On our homestead, we will raise a multiple layer chicken system. Our chickens will start at biddy’s and be raised and separated appropriately as either meat chicks or layer hens. We anticipate upwards of 70 chickens as we will also be selling eggs to our neighbors and community folk.

With the addition of goats, we will switch to goat milk for our dietary needs. They will also allow us to make soap, butter, and cheese. The landscape sketch clearly shows the goat pen, which will be portable so that the goats can also help maintain the underbrush and shrubbery in our uncleared land.