This is at least the third or forth time I have decided to change the course of this blog, and my focused area of research. You could say I wander wherever my attention is captured. I remain interested in all…
Blog Archives
The Power Plant -or- The Wood Fired Refrigerator
I don’t like heat pumps. Wait, let me rephrase that: I don’t like grid tied heat pumps. It’s the electricity! Heat pumps are an amazing technology which I am currently obsessed with, and I am in fact in the process…
Tagged with: biochar, diy refrigeration, gasification, gasifier, homesteading, HVAC, off grid, refrigeration, refrigerator, steam engine, thermal mass
Posted in Dehumidifiers, Dwelling, Hot Water, Philosophy, Refrigeration, Refrigerator, Tiny House, Water
Posted in Dehumidifiers, Dwelling, Hot Water, Philosophy, Refrigeration, Refrigerator, Tiny House, Water
Build A Community, As If Your Life Depended On It
These are uncertain times to be sure. The human population is almost 7.3 Billion, and as of this writing, the net population growth on Earth this year is about 602,000; yet it is only January 3rd. I don’t look at…
Tagged with: "tiny house community", extinction, intentional community, minimalism, overpopulation, overshoot
Posted in Dwelling, Personal, Philosophy
Posted in Dwelling, Personal, Philosophy
Creating Affordable Housing in Portland
There are many reasons for wanting to live in a city as beautiful and progressive as Portland. For us, we like the fact that by staying close to the city core, we don’t have to commute for our jobs which…
Tagged with: "cooperative consumption", "tiny house community", "tiny house on wheels", collaborative consumption, communal living, cooperative, land trust
Posted in Dwelling, Personal, The Squatch, Tiny House
Posted in Dwelling, Personal, The Squatch, Tiny House
The Right Dwelling For Me
I think I’ve nearly come full circle in my desired house. When I was raking in a lot of cash working at a coal mine in Pennsylvania, I wanted to buy a pice of rural property and build a house,…
Tagged with: "tiny house community", minimalism, natural building, tiny house
Posted in Dwelling, Personal, Philosophy, The Squatch, Tiny House
Posted in Dwelling, Personal, Philosophy, The Squatch, Tiny House
Yet Another Change Of Course
I want to talk about overunity. Anyone that has looked around this blog knows that I have a special place in my heart for refrigeration, “heat pumps” more generally speaking. Vapor compression systems have fascinated me for years. It has…
Tagged with: biochar, biomass, char, gasification, rocket stove, syngas, wood gas
Posted in Dehumidifiers, Dwelling, Hot Water, Philosophy, Refrigeration, The Squatch
Posted in Dehumidifiers, Dwelling, Hot Water, Philosophy, Refrigeration, The Squatch
Squatch: 2nd Month Water Figures
Here we are, two months in our motorhome at this lovely trailer park. I’ve been keeping busy with projects of various sorts and collecting data in regards to our water consumption habits. I feel as though this little self contained…
Tagged with: "water conservation", "water meter", minimalism, RV, rv living, squatch, tiny livng
Posted in Dwelling, Hot Water, The Squatch, Tiny House, Water
Posted in Dwelling, Hot Water, The Squatch, Tiny House, Water
Urban Homesteading and PITAC
I’ve adopted a policy in our motorhome of “Pain in the Ass Conservation”. That’s the best term I can come up with at this early hour. What it comes down to, is a little taste of rural homesteading in an…
Tagged with: conservation, homesteading, minimalism, motorhome, RV, rv living, tiny living
Posted in Dwelling, Hot Water, Philosophy, The Squatch, Tiny House, Water
Posted in Dwelling, Hot Water, Philosophy, The Squatch, Tiny House, Water
Feedback Conservation
Chatting with a friend over drinks the other night, we were discussing the conservation of resources like electricity. He was explaining to me that back in Arizona, a program existed with the power company that allowed the customer to buy…
Tagged with: bigfoot, conservation, minimalism, motorhome, rv living, squatch, tiny living
Posted in Dwelling, Philosophy, The Squatch, Tiny House
Posted in Dwelling, Philosophy, The Squatch, Tiny House
C-3_H-8…Propane!
I had a feeling the other night, that we were dangerously low on propane. My fears were justified as the heater began sputtering the next morning. I shut everything down, including the refrigerator until I could get some propane. It…
Tagged with: BBQ tank, forklift tank, fulltiming, LP, minimalism, propane, propane furnace, propane refrigerator, RV, rv living, squatch, tiny living
Posted in Dwelling, Refrigerator, The Squatch, Tiny House
Posted in Dwelling, Refrigerator, The Squatch, Tiny House
Simple Things Can Make All The Difference
There’s a few things I’ve done since we moved into the Squatch that make day to day life just a little bit easier. I simply want to change my immediate environment to best suit my needs. I’ve found myself getting…
Tagged with: minimalism, RV, rv living, squatch, storage, tiny house, tiny living
Posted in Dwelling, Hot Water, Personal, The Squatch, Tiny House, Water
Posted in Dwelling, Hot Water, Personal, The Squatch, Tiny House, Water
In the Face of Ridicule
My co-workers think I’m nuts. That’s nothing new; I’ve always worked blue collar jobs with rural type folks. Salt of the Earth kind of people, some would say. I’ve never fit in. My opinions on politics, human rights, environmental concerns,…
Tagged with: collapse, conservation, environmentalism, minimalism, over population, sustainability, tiny living
Posted in Dwelling, Personal, Philosophy, The Squatch, Tiny House, Water
Posted in Dwelling, Personal, Philosophy, The Squatch, Tiny House, Water
Motorhome Living, One Month In – Daily Water Consumption
Well, we’ve lived in a motorhome for a month now, and I think it’s time to start sharing some of our experiences, as well as a little bit of data I’ve collected. We’ve made the life choice to live in…
Tagged with: "water meter", bigfoot, black water, conservation, foot pedal sink, fulltiming, grey water, minimalism, motor home, RV, rv living, squatch, tiny living
Posted in Dwelling, Hot Water, The Squatch, Tiny House, Water
Posted in Dwelling, Hot Water, The Squatch, Tiny House, Water
Modified Hide Away Spice Cabinet
The motorhome came equipped with this nice big spice cabinet, next to the oven and microwave. It extends from floor to ceiling, and is hidden by a tall, skinny door. A tall board with several baskets is mounted to three sliding…
Tagged with: mason jar, minimalism, motorhome, RV, rv living, spice cabinet, squatch, storage, tiny living
Posted in Dwelling, The Squatch, Tiny House
Posted in Dwelling, The Squatch, Tiny House
Two Weeks in Our Motorhome…
Yes, it’s finally happened. After months of waiting for an RV park space to open up, we’ve finally done it; we’ve moved into our motorhome. I thought I would be nervous. I thought it would be nerve racking and stressful.…
Tagged with: bigfoot, conservation, down sizing, minimalism, motorhome, RV, RV fulltiming, squatch, tiny living
Posted in Dwelling, Personal, The Squatch, Tiny House, Water
Posted in Dwelling, Personal, The Squatch, Tiny House, Water
Corollary to a Sun Tracking Tiny House
I must get these ideas for a sun tracker out, so I can move on to more pressing matters. I simply feel the need to develop an idea, and then set it aside for possible implementation in the future. Yesterday,…
Tagged with: "passive solar", "solar tracker", "tiny house on wheels", minimalism, tiny house, tiny living
Posted in Dwelling, Philosophy, Tiny House
Posted in Dwelling, Philosophy, Tiny House
Sun Tracking Tiny House
One of the great advantages of a tiny house on wheels, is that it can be moved or reoriented to suit the needs of the occupants. Don’t like your view? Spin that thing around! I believe this unique feature is…
Tagged with: "solar heating", "solar insolation", "spinning house", "tiny house on wheels", minimalism, tiny house
Posted in Dwelling, Philosophy, Tiny House
Posted in Dwelling, Philosophy, Tiny House
Noodle Soup Rentals – Renting in a Tiny House Community
By their very nature, tiny houses on wheels are mobile. This has probably stemmed from the zoning laws and building codes tiny house people have been trying to circumvent. Also, some folks just want to own a home, but aren’t…
Tagged with: "tiny house community", "tiny house on wheels", communal living, community, living tiny, minimalism, rent, squatch, tiny living
Posted in Dwelling, Personal, Philosophy, The Squatch, Tiny House
Posted in Dwelling, Personal, Philosophy, The Squatch, Tiny House
Noodle Soup Meiosis – Propagating Tiny House Communities
A tiny house community, such as Noodle Soup Village – Lite, which is based on the grander Noodle Soup Village – A Tiny House Community, is a model that could be reproduced elsewhere. Even though all of this is just…
Tagged with: "cooperative consumption", communal living, community, cooperative, minimalism, rv living, sustainability, tiny house, tiny living
Posted in Dwelling, Personal, Philosophy, The Squatch, Tiny House
Posted in Dwelling, Personal, Philosophy, The Squatch, Tiny House
Noodle Soup Village – Lite
As much as I’d like to build a tiny house community, like Noodle Soup Village, zoning and legal definitions of what is habitable are going to inhibit that dream. A large scale endeavor like that is also wildly expensive, due…
Tagged with: "tiny house community", collaborative consumption, communal living, community, minimalism, rv living, tiny house, tiny living
Posted in Dwelling, Personal, Philosophy, The Squatch, Tiny House
Posted in Dwelling, Personal, Philosophy, The Squatch, Tiny House
musings on entropy 