How to Live in 320 Square Feet: April 2012

4/18/12

Needs vs Wants; I WANT 3 acres in the country, I only NEED a tiny space for my house, a garden, and some flowers.

This is when to buck conventional wisdom. There are a lot of great books on being mortgage free. “Buy the best land possible with the least amount of money” is some advice often given. If you search the phrase “When NOT to buy land” or something similar, your effort would result fruitless. So I am writing the first article on the web EVER about when NOT to buy land. *disclaimer….I often exaggerate.

When we decided to get our tiny house, the first questions asked was “Where ya gonna put it"?”. Good question. I thought I wanted land. My own land. You are supposed to own land. So off we went to look. Here I what I found:

In our area, where I WANT TO LIVE, land is going for $15,000 to $30,000 an acre! Thank you Wal-Mart. 20 years ago my parents bought land for $500 an acre, 10 acres total. That land just sold for $15,000 an acre.

Our county requires a minimum of three acres per house if you want to build in the country.

To build in the country, often there is no access to water, and you must dig a well. My parents water well cost them $10,000. Here is a good article I read on calculating the cost of digging a water well: Digging a Well, What You Need To Know

Sometimes the land does not perk. If you are fortunate, and it does, you have to put in the septic tank. This will cost between $3,000 to $7,000.

So here is the breakdown:

$40,000 minimum for land
$4,500 for septic tank
$6,500 for water
Electric hookup, this will vary depending on how far in you want your house. Up to $75.00 linear foot.
Property taxes. We paid $960 a year three years ago on a 2,000 square foot home.
Factor into all this our ages. My husband is 60, I am 45. I do not need land, I need savings. My son needs savings for his education.
These obstacles are not insurmountable, it is just that I do not want to exert that much effort when my real goal is to TRAVEL!

Now, this is what it ‘costs’ us to rent:

$125.00 a month. In the summer we rent for free, since the land we rent has a good garden plot, we are able to grow our own vegetables, saving at least that amount per month. So, in reality, we only pay about $80.00 per month, (possibly less) for space to park our home.
The next reason we do not own land is freedom. For this reason alone many people rent. You can pick up and go, not have to deal with selling your land. If I leave after three years (which I may. My ageing mother-in-law may need help, we have freedom to go), I only have ‘invested’ $3,000. If I sell my house and land (supposing I purchased), I will likely have to pay that much in closing costs and fees.
Property taxes – $0.00 Just because that is the way it is. The savings on property tax alone would pay a significant part of our rent.
Low overhead for our business. I split the rent between our business and our personal expenses. How many business rent a space for $40.00 a month?

So, this is where I live:

4/17/12

Smelly Feet = The Smell of Success: Making Natto

This has nothing to do with living in a small home. Actually it does. I HATE spending money on something I can do myself. I read about this Japanese superfood called Natto (fermented soybeans), and my taste buds HAD to try it. How can you NOT want to taste something that has been described as smelling like stinky feet?

Basically, Natto came into existence several thousand years ago. Almost all sources that I have found make mention that Natto was made by "accident" from boiled soybeans preserved in straw. Its health benefits are innumerable. You can google it.

Here is what well made Natto looks like – remember, this is fermented soybeans you are looking at:

Fermented Soybeans, yum

Here is the process: First, purchase Non GMO soybeans from Laura’s Soybeans.

Next, soak overnight. Or all day, if you are a night owl. Then you will steam them. I use the pressure cooker method, about 3/4 cup of water for 15 minutes. I have a ‘fan’ type steamer that spreads out in the pressure cooker, and I place the beans evenly. This is one half lb of beans. I usually make 1 lb total, I have two steamers and two pressure cookers in my tiny, tiny kitchen. Steam the soybeans until you can smush them between your thumb and pointer finger.

They already look delicious. These are the cooked beans. Next, I take my two glass cooking pans that have been sterilized, and place the beans in a shallow layer (I sterilize them by placing them in a 350 degree oven for 15 minutes). I have heard horrors about how bad this can be if you do not use properly sterilized utensils and pans. So do not skip this step. I love Natto.

Now you will take your Natto Spores, a powder you will purchase here: Cultures for Health. You mix a tiny tiny spoonful (use the spoon they provide) with 1/8 cup of water, some salt, and 1 tsp of sugar. Mix this concoction with the steamed soybeans.

The beans are now ready to ferment. The basic idea for creating an ideal environment is to keep the beans in a humid, warm climate at about 80 degrees Fahrenheit. You will have happy beans. Place the pans in a rigged up Natto maker like mine; I use a Styrofoam cooler and a pet heating pad (don’t use the heating pad with your pets if you are going to do this, OBVIOUSLY, everything must be sterile). Man, I love Natto.

Poke holes in the aluminum foil to allow air to pass through, and put a thermometer from your kids’ science kit on top. Let the soybeans do their thing for 12 to 24 hours.

When your small house (or big house) begins smelling mildly of smelly feet, you have smelt (I KNOW that is not a word) the smell of success. Oh, I do love Natto.

If you want to purchase Natto premade (which I suggest, so that you have an idea of what good Natto tastes like first), you can get it here: http://www.meguminatto.com/order.html

I LOVE this stuff. Mixed with green onions, and low sodium soysauce, over brown rice….I am drooling now.

Next, I return to how to make a deck out of a pallet.