It has been some time since I published anything here. This is because I am no longer living in my tiny house. Due to this, I felt it was dishonest of me to write as though I were.

Some of you may have noticed that I shut down the associated Facebook page about a year and a half ago when I was making the transition. This was because I was getting a lot of nonsense there from people who thought I was running a business or owed them information because of their misconception that blogging and living in a self built tiny house makes me a business. With around 80,000 followers there, it was a full time (not for pay) job, which was increasingly stress inducing, and really – to be completely honest – not part of my life objectives. I don’t want to give the impression that this was all unhappy! There are so many lovely people who I have come in contact here, and on my Facebook page. Still, there are trolls and goodness knows we don’t need those in our lives taking up our oxygen. So, those few nasty jerks pushed me (ironically) in the direction I wanted to be going, thanks for that!!

So, here I am, a full time artist now, which was my evolvement plan – despite my housing situation. Extreme housing costs put this off for me for a long time now BUT, I had already moved in with my spouse to a small house (a little over 900 square feet) in Guelph Ontario. Here, I continue to concentrate on painting and (if Covid gets stopped) teaching in my home Atelier. I have attached a couple of examples of my work; if you are interested in seeing my evolvement, you can find me here:

https://www.instagram.com/atelieroflauraleemoreland/

https://www.facebook.com/AtelierofLauraLeeMoreland

https://atelieroflauraleemoreland.com

I wish to thank all of the readers I have had over these last ten years. I wish all of you well and hope for a better year in 2021.

Follow your dreams

❤ Laura

You have all entered to win the free bunkie from Bunkie Life I hope!

If not, please do so here!

The draw is in 12 days!

You do not need to make a purchase to win, the contest is in its second year and it is an advertizing promotion. The company owner wants you to know his company name if you ever want to buy a Bunkie!

(if you are worried about the legitimacy of this give away you can check out the information about it on bunkie life.com or google the contest.  There are no strings, YEAH!)

 

I

To everything there is a season.

The time has come for me to move on to the Kitchener area, and therefore my very beloved Tiny House Ontario is for sale.

There are about 9 acres of land, which are all forested, and the property is listed at $198,000.  The taxes last year were just under $900 and the heat was about $200 for the winter.  We run our power off solar so this and insurance are the only costs of keeping the property.  So our ANNUAL costs are similar to a one bedroom apartment for a month.  The place is 24 km from downtown Kingston and just a kilometre off the main road on a well serviced roads.

The land is on an escarpment and about 600 feet above sea level, so you can see the Rideau Canal, and even the windmills of Wolfe Island on clear days.  If you would like to have a view, you will love this property!  Note: in the video at 124 the drone starts to show the escarpment. It is quite high – about four stories.  It gets a couple of good veiws of it.

All furnishings are included except the bedside table that my cousin Vernie made for me.

Here are some photos from inside (last year)

For information please contact Jason Sands at Sandsland.

I can’t help but sing, The times they are a changin’.  Feel free to play this in the background while you read along.

 

Alicia wrote to me (thank you) to let me know that she found this gem while looking around the Stone Mills Township website.  It is absolutely awesome news for those who own property in Lennox and Addington.

Not only are you able to build a secondary dwelling on your property that you can rent out, but it looks like for the time being you can apply for a $20,000 grant to help with the costs.

While looking all of this up to be sure that it was accurate, I also found out that the City of Kingston has also opened up for secondary dwellings!  And they too have a grant program for home owners!!!

When I posted this, my co-Admin Lulu (awesome thanks!)  let me know that Simcoe County is also allowing secondary units and the have a $25,000 grant available as well!

Since Canadians are not accustomed to having secondary dwellings, I will share some options – my suggestions would be to match the style of your house so that the smaller house fits your neighbourhood.  Fence off a small section of your yard or property  and put in a separate driveway, so that that the neighbouring house is clearly seperate from your own.  If you are in town, corner lots are ideal for this.  If you are rural it is just a matter of finding a place on your land which is most comfortable to separate.

• You can build yourself and rent out the secondary dwelling.  (requires personal investment)
• You can look for someone who wants to build a tiny house and have a land lease drawn up.  I would suggest something like a 50-100 year transferable lease with the homeowners having the first option to buy.   (requires very little personal investment)

I am SO HAPPY that these options are finally opening up!