A 13-year-old builds his own mini-house in his backyard, look inside and be impressed

Most middle schoolers probably have other things on their minds besides building houses.

But Luke Thill, a 13-year-old from Dubuque, Iowa, is unlike any other middle schooler you’ve seen before.

This talented and proactive boy has crafted his very own little house — in his parent’s backyard.

The project cost him roughly $1,500 USD — and now Luke is living his dream in his little cottage.

Come on in and have a look at what it looks like inside.

I think it’s safe to say that Luke is not like many of his 13-year-old peers. In a time of iPads, smartphones, gadgets, and X-Boxes, this young man decided to keep himself busy in a different and more ‘old-fashioned’ way. As he explains on his YouTube channel, his desire to build a small house grew out of feeling bored last summer.

After some thorough research, Luke had a pretty good idea of how he was going to put his plan into action.

The Process

It took him about a year to get the money and materials he needed to build the house. Luke mowed lawns, started a fund-raiser online, and ran errands for anyone who needed help in the neighborhood to make money.

An electrician Luke was friends with helped him install the electricity in exchange for Luke cleaning his garage out, for instance.

Luke used about 75 percent recycled material, many of which were things left over from his grandma’s house. The front door of the house was a gift from an uncle’s friend.

The 89-square-foot house is 10 feet long and 5 1/2 feet wide, with electricity but no plumbing, so no water or bathroom… yet.

“I liked the minimalism,” he told The Des Moines Register. “And I wanted to have a house without a huge mortgage.”

Luke has made several video clips and posted them online, where he talks about his project as many have grown curious about the little house.

As you can imagine, Luke also received some help from his parents, both financially and with the building itself.

But dad Greg made sure that it would be Luke himself who would pay for most of his project and also build most of it himself.

“It was a chance for a kid to do something more than play video games or sports,” Greg told The Des Moines Register. “It teaches life lessons.”

Teenager’s Dream

The house is in many ways a teenager’s dream, an oasis where you can chill and hang out in. It has a microwave, a TV, and a loft with a bed.

There’s even a barbecue and flowers at the back.

Luke usually does his homework after school at his new house and some nights during the week he gets to sleep there.

Luke already has aspirations to build another house — one that’s a little bigger for when he starts college. He also hopes to inspire others to follow their dreams:

“I want to show kids it’s possible to build at this age,” he says in one of his videos.

You can really see how proud he is about his project below.

Luke’s story is a great example of what a child can achieve with a clear goal, a strong worth ethic, and support from home.

This woman came across an old, filthy luggage in a bush

A nurse from Essex, England, found an abandoned suitcase on the pavement on her way to work. Her instincts told her to go closer and look around. When the woman opened it, she was genuinely surprised!

In a bush was found a bag that contained fifteen kittens that were no older than three or five weeks.

The suitcase has multiple holes punched in it so that air could get inside and let the poor kittens breathe. It seems that whoever left them must have wanted them to live. Additionally, the “luggage” was deliberately disposed of next to a well-known animal refuge.

A shelter employee named Alison Gamble was contacted by the nurse for assistance. After examining the animals, Gamble was pleased with how well the kittens were doing, noting that “it’s clear that the kittens have been away from their mother.”

Since the kittens have not yet been weaned, feeding them to a person is necessary to avoid nutritional problems.

Fortunately, caregivers at the facility are ready to search for the 15 souls until they find a home. At this point, the kittens are too young and delicate to be let out into the wild.

“Although the others initially seem to be in good health, we want to closely monitor them to ensure their overall well-being. Six of them exhibit some symptoms of eye infection.”