In 2014, Ariel McGlothin moved into her small house called Fy Nyth (Welsh for „My Nest“) in the beautiful mountains west of Wyoming.
Since then, she has been living without a mortgage, and her life has never been better.
Previously, she shared a rented apartment with a roommate until the owners sold the house.
In search of a new place to live, they couldn’t find anything affordable.
Exploring van life options, Ariel encountered someone with a tiny house on wheels.
After learning more about the lifestyle, she thought it made sense to have a small, easily heatable, and mobile house in a snowy climate.
Today, Ariel lives on a spacious piece of land where she grows her own food.
She doesn’t even pay a mortgage and can enjoy the beauty of her surroundings every day.
Living in an off-grid house without a mortgage requires Ariel to take care of everything herself, including hauling water from her neighbors‘ well and chopping wood to keep her space warm.
The primary heat source for Fy Nyth is a wood stove, and her backup is a propane tank that she only needs to refill every year and a half or two.
Ariel also gets a small amount of energy from a 400-watt solar panel on a hill near her mobile home.
It provides enough power to charge a laptop or camera batteries.
„I had my tiny house built by professionals,“ Ariel told Exploring Alternatives.
„We worked out a design, and I got something I really love.
I designed this house essentially to have space for all the things I wanted to keep.“
Ariel’s interests include wildlife photography, hiking, and trekking, so she made sure her house had space for all the equipment needed for these hobbies.
The interior walls of Fy Nyth are made of pine wood, while the exterior is clad in cedar wood.
The floor is cork, which Ariel finds gentle on the joints and very warm.
The roof and exterior have a metal roof, and in winter, the snow easily slides off.
Half of the tiny house is occupied by the kitchen, which includes kitchen countertops on both sides of the stove, a double sink with an integrated draining board, soft-close cabinet doors, a propane gas stove, an oven, and a refrigerator.
There is also storage space for dishes and food, along with a cupboard acting as a pantry.
The house has a small bathroom with a composting toilet and a shower.
The other half of Fy Nyth is the living room, equipped with an L-shaped sofa with storage space underneath.
It can also transform into a small guest bed by adding an extra board.
Ariel also purchased a table that can be opened to become a desk where she could work.
The extended table also allows her to invite friends over for dinner.
Above the living room is the loft with the bed, accessible via stairs.
It has a partial wall that blocks the heat from the wood stove below, so the loft doesn’t get too warm.
The wall also provides more privacy to the space.
„I’m really satisfied with the design here. Practically everything has turned out exceptionally well for everything I wanted to do and have.
It’s been fantastic,“ Ariel said.
Ariel’s life is proof that it doesn’t take much to be happy and satisfied – all you need are the important things.
Watch the video here for a tour of her cozy, mortgage-free property.