cornsnakecaretiptip

A couple years ago, Manhattan architect Luke Clark Tyler, lived in a 96 square foot apartment. Instead of upsizing with his latest move, he chose to squeeze himself and his belongings into even less space.

Luke now lives in a 78 square foot shoebox studio. It's too narrow to fit a bed lengthwise, but using a bit of plywood and 2x4s he built his own custom bed/couch.

He keeps his clothes, plates, microwave, books, spices and shaving and cleaning supplies in a large built-in cabinet. The rest of his kitchen is a tiny refrigerator that helps hold up his desk (he works for home as a contract architect).

While he admits he misses being able to cook a real meal- though he's vegetarian so eats a lot of vegetables and nuts and can even microwave eggs- Luke doesn't see living small as a sacrifice.

He loves living in the heart of New York City- his place is in Midtown Manhattan's Hell's Kitchen- and he likes paying just $750/month (cheaper than the shared housing he could find in the area).

Luke's website: www.lukeclarktyler.com
Original story: http://faircompanies.com/videos/view/...

Two years ago, Debra and her family lived in a nearly 2000 square foot home on an acre and a half of land. Then her husband lost his job and they began to work 4 jobs between them to pay the mortgage, until one day they remembered they had a choice.
Before having their son, Debra and her husband Gary had spent 9 years living in very tiny homes in South America. Living small hadn't felt like a sacrifice, but a way to stay focused on what is important. They decided they wanted to get back to that.
They stopped working so hard, sold or gave away all of their extra stuff and began looking for the perfect tiny home.
Debra had always liked the Mississippi shotgun style homes, and one day, while browsing craigslist, they noticed an ad for a local Arkansas company custom building tiny homes for a price that could mean an end to house payments.
Six weeks and $15,000 later they had their own fully paid-off dwelling. Today, Debra, her husband and 13-year-old son live in a 320-square foot home that is not a sacrifice, but exactly what they need.

Original story here: http://faircompanies.com/videos/view/...

Home designed and built by Scott Stewart (ozarksbest@yahoo.com) of
Slabtown Customs: slabtowncustoms.blogspot.com

Debra & Gary's home business: http://www.etsy.com/shop/minkeebabygifts

It's a utopian fantasy- discover a ghost town and rebuild it in line with your ideals-, but in Spain where there are nearly 3000 abandoned villages (most dating back to the Middle Ages), some big dreamers have spent the past 3 decades doing just that.

There are now a few dozen "ecoaldeas" - ecovillages - in Spain, most build from the ashes of former Medieval towns. One of the first towns to be rediscovered was a tiny hamlet in the mountains of northern Navarra.

Lakabe was rediscovered in 1980 by a group of people living nearby who had lost their goats and "when they found their goats, they found Lakabe", explains Mauge Cañada, one of the early pioneers in the repopulation of the town.

The new inhabitants were all urbanites with no knowledge of country life so no one expected them to stay long. When they first began to rebuild, there was no road up to the town so horses were used to carry construction materials up the mountain. There was no electricity either so they lived with candles and oil lamps.

In the early years, they generated income by selling some of their harvest and working odd jobs like using their newfound construction experience to rebuild roofs outside town. Later they rebuilt the village bakery and sold bread to the outside world.

Their organic sourdough breads now sell so well that today they can get by without looking for work outside town, but it helps that they keep their costs at a minimum as a way of life. "There's an austerity that's part of the desire of people who come here," explains Mauge. "There's not a desire for consumption to consume. We try to live with what there is."

Today, the town generates all its own energy with the windmill, solar panels and a water turbine. It also has a wait list of people who'd like to move in, but Mauge says the answer is not for people to join what they have created, but to try to emulate them somewhere else.

"If you set your mind to it and there's a group of people who want to do it, physically they can do it, economically they can do it. What right now is more difficult is being willing to suffer hardship or difficulties or... these days people have a lot of trouble living in situations of shortage or what is seen as shortage but it isn't."

Original story here: http://faircompanies.com/videos/view/...