This single mom turned her life around by building a tiny home

Divorced and left on her own with three small children to care for, Kelley Lewis decided to turn her life around and literally rebuild it with her bare hands.

A few years ago, Lewis said things were not going the way she would have hoped in her life. Between career setbacks and a divorce, Lewis was suffering severe depression making it difficult to move forward. "I'm 29. I know I have three children but I'm still just 29, this doesn't have to be the end," Lewis recalls.

In an effort to turn things around, Lewis decided to buy a piece of land. After researching the tiny house movement, she was fascinated. Lewis was determined to build a tiny home, live off-the-grid, and reconnect with what's most important to her.

Still a work in progress, she built her 192-square-foot home over the past two years. Aside from hiring someone to build the shell of the house, Lewis has done just about everything else herself, with some help from friends and family.

The project hasn't always been easy for Lewis. She recalls that designing the home was a challenge with no computer, relying on just a ruler and "a pencil with a good eraser."

She built most other items in her home -- including a composting toilet and wood burning stove chimney -- using tips from YouTube videos. She also made an effort to be environmentally conscious, utilizing recycled materials as often as possible.

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The process of constructing her tiny home has become a family bonding project as well, building alongside her small children. "Kids tend to stereotypically learn these types of things from a dad, or from a male figure, but they're learning it from their mom," Lewis says.

Despite the hardships in her life and the challenges involved in building the cabin, Lewis says she wouldn't change a thing: "I'm a stronger person for it, and by being a stronger person myself will allow me to be a stronger teacher and create stronger children."

To learn more about Kelley Lewis and her journey, check out Cabin Chick, where she shares family photos and more details about her tiny home.

If you're interested in seeing more from the tiny home movement, see photos of this couple driving their tiny home across the nation:

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