I was so surprised when she opened the door.

A woman did not want to spend hundreds of dollars on rent, hence she decided to get creative.

Little Things reported that a single mother, Lulu, built a home for herself and her daughter in a shipping container.

Originally from Argentina, Lulu now lives in the United States with her daughter. She went back to school but was never interested in a traditional 9-to-5 job.

She did not desire a lifestyle that required her to constantly work just to pay rent.

One fine day, when it was time for Lulu and her daughter to move out of their house, the single mother decided to move into a home she built herself. The duo moved into a shipping container.

Their humble abode was the container which was used to bring things back and forth from China. She had no prior building experience. Yet, she went ahead with the plan.

Lulu spent a month and $4,000 for installing windows, insulation, and for a fully functional kitchen which includes a water heater and camping stove.

“It’s really mostly built like a shed. It’s a nice looking shed, but it’s really an 8 by 16 shed with windows in it. When you don’t have money you just get creative.”

Lulu, Fair Companies, November 26, 2011.

Building her home was not an easy task. She had to make multiple trips to the junkyard and she practically found everything she needed to build the home out of recycled materials.

It is impressive that the 160-square-foot home also has a bed, couch, bookshelf, and kitchen cabinets, bathtub, toilet, sinks, and a makeshift playroom.

They the mother-daughter duo needed a little more space, Lulu decided to build a new bedroom on a used flatbed trailer.

The two now live in a 288-square foot home but more importantly, they have the luxury of spending more time with each other. Lulu wants to a life a simpler life and is challenging the stereotype of a working mother.