About

This post may contain affiliate links or compensated reviews. Please read our disclosure for more info.
Updated July 17, 2024

Hi there! Welcome to Tiny Shiny Home - We're a family of 6 that loves living off-grid. We're also counter-culture, against the grain, off-in-our-own-little-world weirdos. We love homeschooling, tattoos, dreads, art, food, travel, and homesteading.

Our Story

Up until 2015, we lived a pretty normal suburban life. But then things got weird (and fun)! We decided to start living like we meant it in the most audacious ways possible.

RV in the culdesac

Full-Time Travel

We sold our house in May of 2015, bought a Grand Design Refelection 5th Wheel, and began traveling the country. It was the beginning of an epic adventure that started as a way to spend more time with our kids and show them the world, but ended up fundamentally changing us forever. 

The first year was spent in our huge 5th wheel and stuck in campgrounds. But it wasn't until we experienced and fell in love with "boondocking" (camping without hookups) that things began to click into place.

Airstream Bed

Renovating a Vintage Airstream for Off-Grid Living

After realizing we wanted to camp off-grid more, we sold the huge rig for a 31' Vintage 1972 Airstream Sovereign Land Yacht. Then we spent 6 months completely gutting it and renovating it for off-grid living. Stuff like fold-down bunk beds for the kids, solar panels, lithium batteries, composting toilet and a robust internet boosting setup have allowed us to camp in gorgeous remote areas, save tons of money, and experience nature like never before.

We've also begun to create resources to help others who are renovating their own Airstreams!

Resources

Hurricane Airstream Sunset

Boondocking & Camping Off-Grid

Once the Airstream was finished, we set off on a series of even more epic adventures, boondocking all over the U.S. and Canada. The freedom of not having to make reservations, the quiet and solitude, the gorgeous landscapes - it was everything we had dreamed of when beginning to travel full-time. We had finally found the romance.

As we began to share pictures of our polished Tiny Shiny Home in all these beautiful places, we started to get so many questions. "How do you find these spots?" "How do you find, store, and filter water?" "Do you feel safe?" So we began created guides, courses, and resources to help others learn how to boondock.

Boondocking Resources

Tiny Shiny Homestead Fencing Workshop

Building an Off-Grid Desert Homestead

After 5 years of traveling full-time, it was time for a new season. Our children were getting older (and bigger), and our Tiny Shiny Home was getting tinier by the day. But we realized that boondocking had ruined us! We could never go back to a regular subdivision. It was time for something different. After lots of family discussions and research, we bought 11 acres of undeveloped land in South East Arizona, and are currently building an off-grid homestead. Let the new adventures begin!

Resources

We are on a quest to simplify our lives, live sustainably, and give our kids unforgettable experiences instead of disposable things.

Email Newsletter

Want to keep up with the Longneckers?

We'll send you email newsletters whenever we post new content. Just enter your info and hit subscribe!

Who is Tiny Shiny Home?

Jonathan and Ashley homeschools/roadschools/unschools our 4 awesome kids, and together they run Tiny Shiny Home, build cool things on their property,  make fun videos, and create awesome products.

What to Check Out Next 

Full-Time Travel

Airstream Renovation

Boondocking

Off-Grid Desert Homestead

Our hope is that some of our crazy ideas will inspire you to change your life, marriage, family or business for the better. To take a chance, question the norm, and do something different.

Live Tiny. Live Shiny.

Jonathan, Ashley, Adali, Jett, Jax & Ada Longnecker

Support

Become a Tiny Shiny Homie!

Subscribe to our patreon-style community & help support our family so we can keep making things for you! Get early access to videos, special behind-the-scenes updates, & goodies like exclusive stickers and name drops in our videos.

Signup & Become a Homie

Apparel

Grab a fun, comfy t-shirt & help support our family.

Jonathan Longnecker

About the Author

Jonathan Longnecker is the strongly opinionated tattooed and bearded half of Tiny Shiny Home. He loves making music, figuring out nerdy solutions, exploring the outdoors, and living off-grid.

follow Jonathan: facebook twitter instagram

Posted September 18, 2014


comments powered by Disqus

Want to follow our story?

We'll send you email newsletters whenever we post new content. Just enter your info and hit subscribe!