Let Freedom Ring
I’m so proud of Andrew and his friend Salem, two 14 year old boys, serving at the Tim Tebow event for special needs kids to be king and queen for a night!
They were the youngest volunteers and worked harder than anyone else at registration and food service!
If you ever get a chance to serve, you will be blessed indeed!
Trading Ordinary Space for Extraordinary Adventures
by Shari Snyder
Two years ago, our family designed and built 384 square feet of “tiny luxury on wheels” to replace our 4 bedroom/2 bath “forever home”. Our “why” was to realize our family values and mission, living in a real house, without a 30-year mortgage haunting us. We didn’t want to be a slave to debt and experience the pain of regret. Having two children leave the nest and a 12 year old still at home, experience told us you can never go back. Relationships produce the greatest joy in life. As pioneers and business owners in the tiny house movement, our journey has not been easy, but we can honestly say the adventure, simplicity, freedom, and family closeness, that tiny living has brought us, are worth it!
Trading Stuff for Adventure
Since becoming minimalists, we have found many unexpected joys and adventures. We have found the joy of collecting memories, not stuff! Life is short. You only live once. Why not go on an adventure, take a risk, and try something new? We have launched two companies, been featured on HGTV, Daily Mail, The Sun, New Atlas, and travelled the country in our tiny home. Doing the things that awaken passion and make you feel alive, is an adventure worth pursuing!
Trading Space for Freedom
We traded unused space in our big house for more time and freedom. We have the power to choose where we want to live, what we want to do, and how we want to spend our increased free time. Every day is a new adventure full of new choices, including our career paths. We are passionate about building environmentally healthy tiny home communities for families to thrive in. We are on a mission to pay it forward and help others discover adventure, freedom, and simplicity, through tiny house living. Our motto is, “Shrink your house, not your dreams.”
Trading Stress for Simplicity
Live MORE by owning LESS! Less stuff equates less stress, plain and simple. We had no idea how heavy the burden of financial debt was until it was gone. Being debt free and mortgage free cannot be underestimated or understood until one experiences it! To kiss our debt good-bye after 23 years of marriage, is priceless! The weight of all our possessions was keeping us from a life of true freedom. Instead of spending 3 ½ hours cleaning, we are done in 30 minutes. We don’t have to maintain a big yard, clean the pool, or fix things around the house. We have claimed back our weekends for hobbies, fun, and family adventures!
Total Wellness
As a wellness lifestyle coach for 17 years, I have helped hundreds of clients improve their physical, environmental, financial, and personal health and wellness. My passion to achieve total wellness for body, soul, and spirit, was a perfect fit to embrace minimalism and tiny living. I’ve already shared some of the benefits for financial and personal health and wellness. Let’s review some of the mental and environmental health benefits we experienced too.
Mental Health
Clutter in my physical environment created chaos in my mental state. A lifestyle of minimalism, began to replace the stress and anxiety with more clarity and focus, resulting in more peace. Having a place for everything and everything in its place, simply helps you function at your best. We have found so much joy in living with less. We don’t collect things that don’t add value to our lives.
When I was downsizing, instead of asking, “What can I live without?”, I began to ask, “What do I need to live?”. The mindset of simplicity transformed our shopping habits and carried over into every area of our lives, including how we operate our companies.
Environmental Health
Of course, the actual build process is environmentally friendly and the ongoing costs of utilities are about 70% less, but the choice of materials we build with also promotes environmental health. For example, we use Rockwool insulation, a wool like material that is mildew and fire resistant, has a R value of 15, is very economical, and also deadens sound. We install a fresh air ventilation system and whole house water purification to promote wellness as well.
In addition, we use and promote a line of eco-friendly cleaning products that are up to 12 x concentrated. This saves an enormous amount of space inside, as well as plastic for the environment, and makes the air inside the tiny house free of outgassing and polution.
In an unprecedented study, PhD student Maria Saxton looked at 80 people who downsized to tiny homes to quantify whether their environmental footprints really got smaller. She reports an 86% positive effect on environment and a reduction of 45% in carbon footprint. In the final sentence, Maria says, “In sum, I found that downsizing was an important step toward reducing ecological footprints and encouraging pro-environmental behaviors.” Read entire article here.
I am an advocate for wellness, people, and community building. As a wellness lifestyle coach of 17 years, my focus is on total wellness for body, soul, and spirit. That includes physical, environmental, financial, and personal goals. As the Chief Hope Giver of Tiny Town Texas, my mission is helping people trade ordinary space for an extraordinary lifestyle
We are Tiny House Dwellers, Designers, and Builders. After downsizing from the large 4 bedrooms, a 2 car garage, and in-ground pool home, to live in the 390 square feet we built on HGTV, we are now educating the world on this high-quality, low-impact lifestyle. As pioneers of this movement of minimalism and tiny house living, our motto is: “Shrink your house, not your dreams”.
What’s NEXT for the Snyder Family?
Our vision is to be a part of a community of likeminded people working towards a common goal of creating and sustaining meaningful relationships as part of a holistic lifestyle. Follow our journey as we design and develop beautiful inspiring communities for families to thrive in for years to come. We call it Tiny Town Texas, more than a place to be ~ a place to belong.
Hill Country Tiny Houses has partnered with the founder of Bigelow Homes to create an extraordinary solution for affordable housing in pocket neighborhoods that can be duplicated across the country. Stay tuned…
FEEL THE DIFFERENCE
Imagine for a moment that you are in your new home. You step out your front door onto a large porch and look out to see children playing catch in a spacious green park or trying to climb one of the many beautiful trees. Your neighbors across the park wave hello from their porches while the scent of roses from the park drifts over to you in the breeze. Your friend next door steps out to walk her dog and you invite her to sit with you for a cup of coffee. You enjoy the friendly conversation while the sound of children laughing, chatter from other porches and the wind in the trees melds in the background.
BIGELOW’S POCKET NEIGHBORHOOD *Used with permission from Bigelow Homes website
At Bigelow Homes we don’t do typical neighborhoods. You won’t find garage fronted houses facing high speed, unsafe streets with sidewalks that are unable to be walked on because cars are parked across them. Instead, you’ll find a real neighborhood that has been thoughtfully designed so that each home faces a welcoming and beautifully landscaped pocket park with a front porch that is meant to be lived on and enjoyed, making them the perfect place to work, play, and relax. We believe that neighborhoods are a way of life, not just where you go to sleep every night.
Bigelow Homes has been building neighborhoods for 40 years and was honored to receive the most prestigious award in the housing industry, the National Builder of the Year Award. We became the nation’s first developer and builder of highly energy efficient homes in the early 1980’s. Our emphasis on energy conservation naturally led to an interest in cultural and social sustainability. This interest became a deep rooted passion and has resulted in the following practices applied to each neighborhood we design.
Our Objective is to design and develop beautiful inspiring communities for families to thrive in for years to come.
Our Passion is building healthy communities that are more than a place to be ~ a place to belong.
Our Mission is building Joy-filled communities (high performance teams and individual’s dreams) by connecting and empowering people.
Our Core Value is high levels of collaboration emphasizing 3 key things: Strengths, Unity, and Humility.
Our Goal is to attract, build, and maintain high-performance teams through collaboration to accomplish more with less so everyone wins!
*More productivity, more fun, more profits with less employees, less stress, less micro-managing, less waste (time and $$).
Our Strategy
Introduction…Invitation…Involvement.
Marketing Strategy
Relationship Marketing, Word of mouth referrals, growing our online community of more than 37,000 loyal fans right now.
Measures of our success
1. Community Growth: ie. “not only do we sell out before we’re finished, but there’s always a long waiting list to get in because word spreads.”
2. Additional markers: Vibrant Relationships, Transformation, Belonging, Restoration, Healing, Joy, Miracles…
About Shari
Shari is an advocate for wellness, people, and community building.
Shari is an advocate for wellness, people, and community building. As a lifestyle wellness coach, her holistic approach includes practical solutions for body, soul, and spirit. As the Chief Hope Giver for Tiny Town Texas, her mission is to help people trade space, stuff, and stress, for freedom, simplicity and adventure.
For the last 14 years, Shari has held an Executive Director position inside a now 3 billion dollar company (they were half a billion when she joined them) amongst the top 10% producers/leaders. She recruited and trained a sales team of about 40 leaders nationwide and helped them generate $1.7 million in profits for their families.
Her team consistently produces an annual revenue for the parent company of more than one million dollars, with a customer base of nearly 1400 monthly shoppers, and a 97% reorder rate. Along with Todd, their award wining designs for floor plans, space-saving innovations, and interior design, have been featured on magazines and TV shows.
About Todd
Todd has been building and remodeling homes since 2003. He was one of the first and only innovators to engineer steel frame slide outs in a tiny home. Other innovations in the tiny house industry proves to buyers that he thinks outside the box. You will often hear him answer a crazy request, “Sure, we can do that! Maybe it hasn’t been done before, but I’m sure it’s possible.”
The family’s journey
Shari and Todd, along with their son, Andrew, are Tiny House Dwellers, Designers, and Builders. In 2017, they downsized from 2200 square feet to 384, to embrace minimalism, start a family business, and pioneer a movement. In 2018, their family was on HGTV’s Tiny Paradise, showing how they built their own tiny home. They are passionate about building environmentally healthy communities that are more than a place to be ~ a place to belong. They are on a mission to help people “shrink their house, not their dreams”.
Our Advisory Team
Todd and I are buried in work, meeting a deadline to submit a pocket neighborhood Proposal to the city! The City came to us about a year ago to help with their housing crises. We have assembled a winning team of consultants and developers! Now to gain their approval for all the unique pieces this project will require…
Stay tuned…
Our proposed project is a cottage-type neighborhood design that has every modern comfort with a little Hill Country flair.
A pocket neighborhood is essentially a cluster of homes gathered together around a shared open space that affords residents the chance to get to know their neighbors and be a part of the community.
(Think of a cul-de-sac, but with parking behind the homes and instead of facing concrete, picture a beautiful green space.)
It’s different from a traditional neighborhood because there’s a function: The front porch has to be big enough so you can sit on it on a Sunday morning as your neighbor walks by. Most of the pocket neighborhoods are groups of up to 12 homes and act like villages within towns.
They share a lot of the same traits:
What homeowners say about Bigelow Neighborhoods and Homes…
“We really love our home and the neighborhood. There is a very warm feeling when you enter the subdivision. Our lot is perfect. Even our friends have commented that there is a good feeling in the neighborhood.”
– Michael & Verna B.
“We love our house. It is above and beyond our expectations. The quality of the construction is better than the homes twice the price across the street. Thank you Bigelow Homes!”
– F. Mulligan
“I believe that the HomeTown subdivision is one of the best I’ve seen. It is so inviting to everyone that visits me. They always ask, “are they still building and can I see a model?” The neighborhood is beautifully arranged with landscaping, the pond, the ducks, and the friendly atmosphere.”
– J. Club
Beautiful, built extremely well from slab up, and I feel blessed to have an energy efficient, quality home in a unique spot for a great price!
– Gwendolyn K.
We are extremely pleased with Bigelow Homes. We’ve been recommending you to friends and family and even blogged about your great work. The home is beautiful and as we expected.
– Eugene E.
www.bigelowhomes.com
Just finished journaling day 25 of 40 days of miracles for 2016. When I was a young mom, I quit reading and journaling like I had before. I regret this and see less growth during those years. Pick up your journal today and create the life you were meant to live, the life of your dreams. My journals are full of ups and downs, but mostly prayer letters to God. He is so faithful to hear my cries and answer me. I know he will for you too!
Now THAT’S a mobile home! Jaw-dropping two-story house complete with wide screen TVs and a jet-spa bath can be TOWED behind you (and you can snap one up for $98k)
PUBLISHED: 05:58 EST, 7 December 2017 | UPDATED: 07:15 EST, 7 December 2017
A resourceful couple have created their very own home on wheels in the form of a 40ft custom-made trailer. Todd and Shari Snyder, from Hill Country, Texas, ditched their spacious conventional house for the stunning compact home they can take anywhere.
The luxurious family home has two bedrooms, a kitchen, living room, a bathroom and 384 sq ft of living space – and it’s proved so popular, they are now selling identical models for just $98,000 (£73,000).
The kitchen boasts a full-size fridge-freezer, a Belfast sink, hob, oven and dishwasher with a small table and two stools that roll out from under the counter. The Snyders made space for a 55in TV in the living room and a 32in TV in the bedroom and is a washing machine and tumble dryer in the bathroom along with a full-size jet-spa bath. The couple can increase their space with sliding doors between the bathroom and bedroom and Andrew has his own room in the loft space. They also built in two 9ft wide by 4ft recess areas which house the sofa and bed which can be tucked away when not in use to give extra floor space… Read rest here
I’m launching ? an exclusive premiere course the end of February! (limit of 23 Founder’s Group spots)
The Magic of Minimalism:
Shari’s “Downsize NOW Method”. This course empowers people to make space for more JOY, productivity, meaningful relationships, and quality of life.
Is this course for me?
? I want to trade ordinary stuff for an extra-ordinary lifestyle!
? I am sick of the energy-zapping stress of overwhelming clutter?
? I am ready to divorce clutter and chaos
? I want to marry peace and productivity for my future life
? I want MORE…
? emotional and mental peace
? quality of life
***Note: Although Shari downsized her family from 2,600 square feet to a tiny home of less than 400 square feet, the method works wherever you’re at right now.
www.magicofminimalism.com
WHO THIS COURSE IS NOT FOR:
? tire kickers
? Curious stalkers
? those who are unmotivated to change
? those who are fearful of change
If you are accepted, do you promise to complete the homework before our first day together?
Do you promise to participate and bring value to this exclusive group of like-minded world changers?
DO NOT SHARE THIS EXCLUSIVE INVITATION!
There are only 23 spots for this live premiere launch program so you will want to secure your spot BEFORE we launch it the end of February. That’s when we will open it to the public including our 37,000 followers on social media.
(after you go through it, you may share it with your friends and receive referral benefits, but subsequent courses will be pre-recorded, not LIVE!)
NEXT STEP: request to join the private facebook group “The Magic of Minimalism“, answer the questions. Only people in this group can apply to be a Founder’s Group Member.
3 motivations to downsize? take poll. not burden my children with all this stuff. get control of my life. 3?
Must answer questions before you can be invited. To be invited does not mean your application will be accepted. We have limited access to this first program to just 23 people.
POLL: What is your biggest challenge to downsizing your belongings? Multiple choice: Emotional attachment, family members, no extra time, no motivation.
Our motto is I dream it; he builds it!
Oh, the inspiration of nature in his outdoor office Kuz he needed a bigger table than his indoor tiny office has! We are working hard on a new project we hope to share with you all very soon.
Tanya is a woman on a mission! She started her wellness journey in August. Using Peak Performance Vitamins** and Fiberwise, she lost 20 pounds her first 20 days! Now she’s on a mission paying it forward.
Tanya is the chief assistant to the Mayor in North Vernon, Indiana. We met during my trip to Indiana this summer, through a mutual friend. She went on to share the products with 8 friends and received a bunch of free products, prizes and cash! She then achieved another milestone of Director II by helping more people shop to enjoy better health and more savings! I am so proud of her!
She has been married to Kevin for 28 years; they have 3 children and two grandchildren. She loves taking missions trips overseas with her family. Her WHY includes reviving businesses and families in the life of her small town, Dupont, Indiana.
She plans to buy and remodel a very old building to use for a non- profit community building, helping local single moms get more training and skills to create a better life and future.
She was my partner for a company challenge and we won awards and prizes together and received recognition at the January launch! I couldn’t have done it without her.
*Photo and story used with permission.
Watch the Tiny House Nation episode on Netflix. The family hired our company to build the shell on a trailer with the two slides and then finished it out on Television.
ATTN: Those of you who have been wanting to try out a tiny before deciding if you want to buy one! A client of ours was featured on Tiny House Nation and has listed their tiny house on Airbnb in Magnolia, TX. Check these gorgeous photos out on Airbnb!
