In October 2010, I had the pleasure of interviewing Lisa Gansky about her book called the The Mesh. The Mesh is all about the new economy and resource sharing.

I decided to run the interview again because I was looking for information on this topic earlier today. And I felt depressed after reading a report about increasing poverty rates. I hope the interview will inspire you to share with those in need.

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Tammy: Can you tell us about your book The Mesh and the philosophy behind the name?

Lisa: Of course. Simply put, The Mesh is a fundamental shift in our relationship to our ‘stuff’ – in our personal lives, communities and businesses. It’s in part powered by these little web enabled communication devices that we all seem to be dripping with these days. When I was first beginning to observe The Mesh and thinking about how people would want to use these concepts to create or refine their businesses, I realized that at the heart of The Mesh is integration of people, systems, data, tools, cities and businesses. I saw it as iconic and visual. It was a mesh. I also really liked that it could be used as a verb, as in, “Let’s make a real mesh of things!”

Tammy: In The Mesh you talk about the concept of “heirloom design.” How can Mesh business embrace the idea of heirloom design and move away from our “throwaway culture?”

Lisa: Well, we can begin to think about how things will need to be designed to support sharing—more frequency of use rather than single ownership or intermittent use. I found in my work and in speaking with others who design products, the attributes which will rise to the top will be: durability, flexibility, simplicity, expandable functionality, recoverable parts, reparable and minimal, non-toxic waste. For example, we use our cars on average in the U.S. 8% of time; which shockingly means that 92% of the time it is just sitting around taking up space (usually high dollar real estate somewhere).

We could increase the utility of what we already own (our cars, homes, offices, bikes, etc.) by making them available to more people via a share based service, such as Roomorama, Vacation Rentals by Owner (VRBO), Adopt A Hacker or AirBnB. The way we would think about the design of the kitchen, say, would radically change. As more people gain access to a pool of bikes, cars or homes, the designs will evolve to support different body types, backgrounds, and competencies. We’d create tools that improve the experience of using these products and services. For example, bikes in a bike share service will likely have far more sophistication than one owned by one person. B Cycle and Openbike incorporate built in locking mechanisms, easily adjusted seats, GPS, and maintainence and inventory management systems. Even so, it is still quite early in the process of making bike sharing bikes sexier than what’s currently in my garage.

Tammy: In The Mesh you mentioned a recent survey which reported “that over half of Americans (56 percent) see the recession as an opportunity to live a less materialist lifestyle.” How can Mesh business help facilitate this lifestyle change?

Lisa: Peer-to-Peer transportation like RelayRides, GetAround and Spride in the U.S. and WhipCar in the UK use technology to allow you to gain access to and rent your neighbor’s vehicle when they’re not using it. This provides more utility for the community as the number of cars parked and sitting around decreases. Secondly, sharing cars creates a type of bond between the owner and the borrower, and third, people using these early services are generating additional income of about $300 to $750 per month. This same strategy applies to homes, offices, shops, land, rooftops, tools, and high fashion.

In our recent history we purchased things when we wanted them and many things stayed around long after they were used. Or we bought something full time when part time would have been sufficient. This model prevailed; The Mesh opportunity is to make ownership deliberate not the default choice. We will still choose to own some things, but the appeal to a less materialistic lifestyle is thrust forward when we can gain access to goods and services only when we want and need them. We are aligning the value we place on things with the cost of using them. This balance will naturally create a less materialistic lifestyle than the highly acquisitive one we are still recovering from.

Tammy: Do you think large corporations can join the Mesh?

Lisa: Definitely. They already have. NetFlix, ZipCar, Kimpton Hotels and Amazon Web Services are already there. Many others are experimenting with Mesh offers and actively creating partnerships. For example, Emeko furniture company and CocaCola partnered to create a beautiful, highly functional chair which is made from 111 recycled CocaCola plastic bottles. The chair is easy on the eyes and the seat, and beautifully demonstrates how mega corporations are partnering to test new markets and offers. I especially like the emeko chair because CocaCola has converted its waste to big-brand and shareholder value. There are many more examples of these strategies, even though we are at the very beginning of this wave. I am personally very enthusiastic about what’s possible here for large companies and well-crafted and responsive brands.

Tammy: What’s the most important thing you’d like to tell the audience?

Lisa: Get busy. Try a few services. Test an offer or two and learn before your competition. Share failures and successes liberally as we all benefit from each others’ attempts. Engage your community and build muscle memory in listening to and through social networks. Check out the Mesh community directory at www.meshing.it to see how quickly this is growing and the type of services, products and companies that are already making a real mesh of things!!

Tammy: Everyone has unique skills; skills that I call superpowers. What is your superpower?

Lisa: Spotting significant trends and inflection points early. It’s a combination of being a good marketect and instigator in one. The combination has allowed me to arrive early, define something, and have a great seat from which to make trouble.

Tammy: Thank you Lisa!

***

Don’t forget to Check out the Mesh community directory at www.meshing.it.

Recently, I’ve been getting a lot of questions from readers about blogging, writing, and books. Rather than replying to each question via email, I thought I’d group the inquiries into a themed interview about these topics.

I hope you find this useful!

1. When did you start blogging and why?

I started blogging in late December 2007. Since then I’ve been blogging consistently for three and a half years. At the time, I wasn’t thinking about starting a small business or using my blog as a platform to connect with like minded people. Prior to starting RowdyKittens, I hadn’t thought about the direction I wanted to go with my writing or even if the blog would have a general focus. My goals were simple and straight forward:

A. Learn as much as possible about WordPress and social media.

B. Find my writing voice.

C. Keep friends and family up to date by using the blog as an online journal.

Read the full back-story.

2. What blogging platform do you recommend?

Both WordPress and Tumblr are rockin’ platforms. They are user friendly and have a lot of free themes, which is perfect for folks who are just starting out or who are on a tight budget.

If you’re looking for a premium theme, I recommend the Thesis theme. RowdyKittens was built using this wordpress theme.

3. How do I come up with a blog name and brand it?

When you’re trying to decide what name to go with, pick something that resonates with you. If you’re still having a hard time deciding on a name, make a list of words that you like. Try to combine some of them into two-word pairs and see what you come up with. By combining two words you can often create a term with a new meaning. I used that exercise when I came up with the name for my ebook, Smalltopia.

I didn’t start RowdyKittens with branding in mind and it’s not my primary concern right now. When it comes to writing and business, my core philosophy is simple and straight forward:

- Write helpful content.
- Send out a consistent message.
- Be honest and authentic.
- “Free Is Not a Business Model.”
- Have fun!

For more info read: Branding 101 – How to Promote Your Blog Like the Big Guys Do.

4. What’s your take on blog comments?

During December of last year, I decided to close comments for the month. Moderating comments was a lot of work and I wanted to try putting that energy into writing instead. But as the weeks went on, I felt like it was the wrong decision. A huge part of my writing has to do with community building and I believe that interacting with readers via comments is one way to do so. Turning off comments felt a little bit like sticking my fingers in my ears and running away from the discussion.

However, with the comments turned off, I felt more freedom to write what was on my mind. Overall, I have mixed feelings about comments. Comments are great because I’ve learned a lot from readers; but, on the other hand, dealing with trolls isn’t fun.

For now, I’ve decided to open or close comments at my discretion.

5. How did you monetize your blog?

When I started blogging, monetizing my blog wasn’t a concern. But when I left my day job last year I got more serious about using my blog to diversity my income stream. I’ve done that by selling ebooks, letters, participating in affiliate programs that I believe in, and doing freelance work. In essence, my blog is my home-base on the Internet.

For more on this topic, read:

- Running Smalltopia: Thoughts on money, education, gratitude, and comments

- Everything You’ve Been Force-fed About Blogging Is Wrong

- How to Make Money on the Internet

6. Do you have a writing routine? Can you tell me a little bit about it?

I write everyday. I either start my work day by journaling or writing in 750words. Journaling helps me focus on larger projects because I allow myself to write really badly.

Your first draft will always be a shitty draft. So ignore your inner perfectionist and just write. You can edit later.

7. How can I become a better writer?

Peter Roy Clark encourages writers to “read for both form and content.” He goes on to say, “The writer must answer this question: what am I trying to build? And then this one: what tools do I need to build it?”

Keep writing and reading. If you don’t write, you won’t be able to improve. Second, I’ve found that reading a wide range of material has not only improved my writing, it informs what I write about on the blog, in my weekly letters, and in larger writing projects.

To improve your writing I suggest reading: “Bird by Bird: Some Instruction on Writing and Life” by Anne Lamott and “Writing Tools: 50 Essential Strategies for Every Writer” by Roy Peter Clark.

8. On Twitter, you mentioned that you’ll be unplugging during the month of July. Will you still be blogging?

Yes, I will be unplugging during the month of July. I won’t be blogging, tweeting or facebooking. But I will check my email a few times a week to stay in touch with business contacts as well as friends and family. So what will I be doing? I’ll be working on my print book. Stay tuned for an in-depth post about my sabbatical next week.

Other questions? Leave a comment or ask via Twitter.

Editor’s Note: Every Friday, I post a Simple Living News Update that includes links to some of my favorite articles of the week. In addition to the update, I answer a reader question via video.

Today, I decided not to post a video because I want you to listen to an interview we did with Brock Dittus, from The Sprocket Podcast. During the interview, Logan and I talked with Brock about small homes, downsizing, and selling our cars. Plus, Logan filled in as a co-host and did a fantastic job!

Be sure to tune in!

If you haven’t been keeping up with my weekly videos, check out my YouTube channel.

Now onto the news

Happiness Advocacy, Or, How Positive Psychology Will Save Us From Zombies

“Happiness. That feeling you get from StuffOnMyCat.com or Skyping with a far away friend. Side effects include: joy, contentment, glee, elation, and surges of confidence, hope, and gratitude. That happiness. If you’re ready to throw in the towel (or this in the garbage), kindly allow me to clarify something. This ain’t yo’ momma’s (or for that matter my momma’s*) self-help book so don’t get all judgmental. If MacGyver can stop a bomb with a toothpick, we can save the world with happiness. ‘Fiction!’ you say? It’s even been scientifically proven. You see, it’s all in the technique, my friends.”

The last post

“It turns out that no one can imagine what’s really coming in our lives. We can plan, and do what we enjoy, but we can’t expect our plans to work out. Some of them might, while most probably won’t. Inventions and ideas will appear, and events will occur, that we could never foresee. That’s neither bad nor good, but it is real.”

Forty-seventh face

“You know what? I’m tired. I’m tired of the fact that people cannot see their own worth.”

How to Practice Mindfulness

“You don’t need a guidebook to examine your life. You simply need the time and space to be you.”

Cool Stuff

• Undefinable You

• Reverb May Prompt + Creative Tools

Over the last year, I’ve been interviewing amazing writers about simple living, location independence, financial freedom, and more. Today the feature interview is with Angela and Dorea of Car-free with Kids.

Enjoy the interview peeps!

***

Tammy: Angela and Dorea, going car-free was a big decision. What inspired you to take the leap and go for it?

Angela and Dorea: Way back in 2004, before we had a kid, when we were free and easy grad students, we house sat for a professor in the suburbs for a summer. That summer our little pick-up truck died. It was an adorable 1987 Mazda and had taken us on many wonderful adventures. When the truck stopped working we felt a little sad, but mostly we felt relief.

We already used our bikes and public transit when we were living closer into the city. That was trickier in the suburbs, but we did it. We were each riding about 50 minutes each way to work, and groceries were a bit of a trick, but we did it, and we figured if we could do it in Newton, it would be a piece of cake once we moved back into town. We never looked back.

It’s not all that strange here to live without a car when you don’t have kids, but once we were expecting our daughter, the questions started. “When are you going to get a car?” Our answer was “We aren’t.” We saw the doubting looks and heard the knowing assurances we’d change our minds, but we stuck it out, and now can’t imagine living any other way.

Tammy: What type of bike do you ride? Do you have special seats for the little ones?

Angela and Dorea: We ride several bikes. Dorea has an old beater road bike for commuting and Angela has a similar quality mountain bike for commuting. Angela’s bike is also set up both with a single rear mounted child seat (a bobike maxi), a trailer hitch for a trailer (an older Chariot model) that we share with a neighbor, and that got us started hauling our own groceries by bike. But for riding with kids, we have an Xtracycle with a custom two-kid seat on the back.

We can’t imagine life without it. To be honest, it gets more use for hauling (mostly groceries) than for kids (everywhere we really need to go with them is walkable). But it’s great for the kids, and a lifesaver for one parent to be able to ride with both of them.

You can find more details on our set-up here and here.

Tammy: Do you have any advice for parents who want to use a bicycle instead of a car?

Angela and Dorea: It can be easy to get sidetracked by all the fancy bikes out there, but consider starting with what you have, and seeing how far that can take you. Common gear for biking with children, like trailers, trailer bikes and bike mounted rear child seats, are easy to get for cheap or free in the secondhand market.

You might even have them in your basement already for recreational riding (or your neighbor might). As you bike more you’ll see what your needs really are, and can reassess at the next stage. Also, if biking with your kids seems daunting, we find good cargo capacity is actually more important, and that same second hand trailer can work great to haul groceries.

For us, transit is at least as important as biking, especially with the kids, and especially in winter. If you’ve heard the buses or trains are awful where you live, check out what’s really offered. Even in areas with minimal transit, what’s there is usually tailored to support commuters. Such a route, especially in combination with a bicycle commute can help a two-car family cut down to one. Even a slow or infrequent bus can be great back up for days you can’t ride.

For more advice, You can find a two part series here, as well as an article we wrote at Shareable.

Tammy: What are the 5 things you love about being car-free with kids?

Angela and Dorea:

1. Knowing all of our neighbors.
2. Never having to shovel out a car
3. Riding to a park on a nice summer day with the kids, everyone singing “Yellow Submarine.”
4. Financial freedom
5. Getting plenty of exercise without even trying

Tammy: What’s one thing you wish people understood better about the way you live?

Angela and Dorea: Occasionally, we worry that people get the wrong idea about us. Some folks think we are environmental extremists, going to absurd lengths for our car-free cause. But as working parents of a four-year-old and one-year-old, we don’t tend to take on a lot of extra tasks. It’s really all we can really do to keep our laundry moving along, the dishes washed, and food in the pantry.

We don’t do stuff that’s hard. But for us, being carfree is actually much easier than having a car. We see our lives as easy, and the lives of car-owners as impossibly difficult. We love the environmental benefits and certainly wish more people made the same choice. But if that was our primary motivation, we would have given up long ago.

Tammy: Thanks Angela and Dorea!

***

For more resources on biking with kids, check out Clever Cycles.

Note: Photo via Clever Chimp

An Interview with Becky Lerner

Over the last few months, I’ve been interviewing amazing writers about simple living, location independence, financial freedom, and more. Today the feature interview is with Becky Lerner. We talked about her blog First Ways, the benefits of urban foraging, and more!

Enjoy the interview peeps!

***

Tammy: Can you tell us about your blog, First Ways?

Becky: First Ways is my urban foraging blog, where I write about adventures like eating, healing, smoking, brewing and otherwise having fun with the wild plants of the city. Sometimes I share my own stories or those of my friends, and other times I like to highlight really interesting videos floating around or profile fascinating people who are into foraging. Above all my goal is to inspire, empower and entertain.

Tammy: What is urban foraging? And what are some advantages of foraging?

Becky: Rarely do we think about the weeds growing in sidewalk cracks, but in fact they are very valuable — and everyone can have them — and they’re free. Every plant on Earth has a use for human beings, because we co-evolved together over hundreds of thousands of years. Everything we need to live is growing out of the ground.

Urban foraging is about recognizing that, getting back in touch with those plants for fun or for food and folk medicine — if you’re lucky enough to find an abundance, it can add free, healthy food to your diet.

Tammy: How did you get into foraging?

Becky: I first heard about foraging when I was learning wilderness survival from some rural homesteaders in Ithaca, NY, three years ago. It transformed my world to find out that plants have direct relevance to my life, that they aren’t just random abstract living things that happen to be here too, so I took that knowledge with me when I moved to the city of Portland, Oregon, later on.

Foraging is a great way to experience yourself as part of the landscape. It’s also a way to build self-sufficiency skills, something that’s very appealing in times of uncertainty. Plants are everywhere, so you can do it in the city or the country.

Tammy: How is foraging related to simple living?

Becky: What can be simpler than picking your own food or making your own medicine? Foraging is as simple as living gets. It’s even easier than gardening.

Tammy: Do you have a favorite edible that you routinely forage for?

Becky: My favorite edible all-around is the dandelion. I love roasting the roots and making a caffeine-free coffee, stir-frying the leaves in curry, and making wine out of the blossoms.

But I get excited about so many wild plants. I love purple dead nettle because it’s full of antioxidants. I love sorel because the leaves are heart-shaped. And then there’s chestnut flour, which has an unbeatable sweet, nutty flavor. Oh, and fruits and berries are great too — I love picking blackberries in late summer and the fruits of the strawberry tree (Madrone) in fall. There’s so much out there!

Tammy: Your blog is very thoughtful and I think everyone should head over and take a look at your content. Which of your posts should my readers check out first?

Becky: First Ways has something for everyone: If you’re a foodie, check out the posts up right now about chantrelles, Madrone fruit, or my review of the new wild food cookbook by Steve Brill. If you’re intrigued by hallucinogenic wild plants, check out this piece on the dark Datura. Or for something a bit tamer, here’s one on smoking lemon balm, a kind of mint, to relax. And if you’re into survival, don’t miss my posts about living off urban weeds for two weeks.

Tammy: Do you have any upcoming projects you want to share with us?

Becky: I’m excited about a top-secret writing project I’m working on. It’s in the developmental stages.

***

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Over the last few months, I’ve been interviewing amazing writers about simple living, location independence, financial freedom, and more. Today the feature interview is with Deek Diedricksen. We talked about designing little abodes, Deek’s new book, and more.

Deek is not only a talented tiny house designer and builder, but a musician, various reader and one funny dude!

Enjoy the interview peeps!

***

Tammy: What inspired you to start designing and building tiny homes? And why do you think they’re so popular?

Deek: As a kid I was always, and I mean ALWAYS building forts. As I got older, I worked into the real-deal and built larger shed-forts which were furnished. I guess my hyperactive love for tiny houses arose from fort building and continued out of that. Also I grew up in a small home, in a rather wealthy, and beautiful, town (Madison, CT), and never could understand why other schoolmate’s families NEEDED to live in gigantic homes when our own smallish abode of 1200 or so square feet (which fit four people, a dog, three cats, and nameless other pets) felt more than adequate. I even shared a bedroom with my brother, and had no problems with it. I know that small-room sharing is no comparative “biggie” for some, but in my old town, that’s on par with martyrdom! Kidding….

Anyway, it’s for those reasons that small housing (beyond its lighter impact on the environment) made so much sense to me. I think that the more recent popularity in small housing is due in part to the rough economy, and in retaliation to the banking and mortgage systems that have left so many families broke.

More and more people are sick of being “house poor” and no longer want to spend a sizable chunk of their lives paying for a home, when they could build their own. Or at least acquire some control by keeping the budget and size more modest.

Tammy: What are some of your all time favorite tiny house designs?

Deek: The book that hooked me was “Tiny, Tiny Houses” by Lester Walker, which I was gifted from my parents, twenty-three years ago, for my 10th birthday.

It’s loaded with some great designs. I love Walker’s 182 square-foot “Summer House” and his 132 square-footer, “The Architect’s Studio.”

Tammy: Tell us about your book, Humble Homes, Simple Shacks, Cozy Cottages, Ramshackle Retreats, Funky Forts (And Whatever The Heck Else We Could Squeeze In Here).

Deek: “Humble Homes, Simple Shacks…“ is a cumulation of a year and a half of dime-store pen sketches, HEAVY on the ink, all dealing with tiny homes, cabins, forts, houseboats, and general shelter ideas and designs, with the hopes of inspiring others to go out and build them.

I grew up on a steady diet of punk rock and hardcore underground zines, Mad Magazine, Rube Goldberg books, and comic books, and I certainly think the influence of those shines through. As for its handmade layout, I’m a little bit of a caveman with computers, so early on I decided to go the almost fully-organic route with the book, by setting out and drawing almost everything by hand.

I’m glad I did, as the response has been better than I ever would have hoped, from magazine coverage, to NPR interviews, and so on. In fact just yesterday WBZ News from Boston came to my house to shoot an upcoming segment on small houses and the impetus behind the movement – all because someone over there had stumbled upon my little independent, basement pressed, book and my blog. Its weird, I failed miserably trying to get a children’s book I wrote published in ’07-’08- “Williker Wumbly” (which I sell on my site now). But after not even trying ONCE to get a deal on “Humble Homes, Simple Shacks…”, I had three different offers come my way from out of the blue. Its flattering, but all just too funny and bizarre for me.

In 2011, I will create a new and VERY(!) expanded version of the book, with many new features, chapters, designs, and even a color insert photo section. And it will showcase the work of almost forty cabin and small home builders.

Tammy: Who is your tiny house hero?

Deek: Yeeesh, that’s a tough one. Lester Walker’s book introduced me to the fact that it wasn’t uncool for adults to still dabble and daydream on what more or less amounts to “forts” for “big kids”, or micro-homes and vacations cabins, but Lloyd Kahn’s work and books have been consistently good and more inspiring overall.

Lloyd was actually THE FIRST person to randomly email me asking how he could order my book, when I first released it. Naturally, I wouldn’t let him pay for the thing. He wrote me a rather nice review on the book too, and apparently, some of my sketch work and designs MIGHT be featured in his next book, which he’s been slaving away on. The man’s a workhorse. There’s rumors that Lloyd’s even a cyborg, hellbent on downsizing and simplifying Earth’s ways!

Tammy: Reading is an amazing way to discover life changing ideas. What books have made a significant impact on your life and career? And do you have any specific book recommendations relating to tiny homes?

Deek: I’m a total bookworm and any time I’m knee deep in about six or seven books. My favorite book EVER is Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury – I’ve read it MANY times and its just so vivid and ahead of its time, edgy, and perhaps eerily prophetical. Don’t ever rent the Dutch movie adaptation though – its just awful and will ruin the imagery you once held in your head.

Adventure-wise, Robin Lee Graham’s “Dove” (which tiny housers will easily relate to and eat up) about the youngest person to solo-sail around the globe, is another book I’ve read about four times now.

As for more recently, I really dug Colin Beavan’s “No Impact Man“, have bought copies of “In The Heart of The Sea” by Nathaniel Philbrick for friends (its THAT good, and the true-life inspiration behind Melville’s “Moby Dick”). I am now reading and enjoying Peter Jenkins’ “A Walk Across America” books. I also love anything from Bill Bryson and Edward Abbey- especially Abbey’s “Desert Solitaire“.

In terms of tiny housing books, I can’t wait to see Mimi Zeiger’s new small home book “Micro-Green” (My Vermont cabin will be featured in it). And I love all of the Stiles’ books (Cabins, Rustic Retreats, etc). Dan Price’s “Radical Simplicity” is a real great offbeat, off-grid living read that I highly recommend. It’s loaded with fun and quirky art too!

Lastly I’d have to plug the Michael Tougias book “There’s A Porcupine In My Outhouse“. Its comical, all about a “city-slicker” cuttin’ his teeth in cabin building up in the woods, and in some ways parallels a lot of the experiences I had in Vermont with my own tiny cabin that my brother, Dustin, and I built. I better stop before I yack about too many other books….

Tammy: Everyone has unique skills; skills that I call superpowers. What is your superpower?

Deek: I’m usually the guy who doesn’t like to unmodestly talk about these things, or even know how to answer that, but a lot of people have told me that I’m a “bad-ass drummer”. Whether or not that’s true, I guess I am pretty involved with it. I play in a few bands, I’ve written music with guitarist Bill Bracken and my other band “Age Against The Machine” for TV, the WWE, ECW, Video Games, Columbia Records, CBS Radio, Movies and more. I recently co-wrote a tune with Bracken that caught the eye of Gary Cherone, singer of “Extreme”.

Gary also fronted the last Van Halen album too. He came into the studio with us and sang lyrics I wrote – which was a trip, I mean Extreme had THE number one album on the PLANET in the 1990s. He’s a genuinely nice, and humble guy – he’s still got it too – and that song MAY end up the rally tune for a very well known professional sports team in 2011, if all goes well. We’ll see. Its under the band name “Anklelock”. I call it a “big, battle-cry/arena-rock tune- very simple”.

You can check it out here.

Tammy: What’s on the horizon for you?

Deek: In 2011, aside from continually working on another already-in-the-works micro-architecture/small living book, I’d like to write and illustrate another kids book, and I want to host a few backyard workshops on carpentry and salvage construction.

I’ve had so many people ask if I’d ever consider hosting something like this, that I feel there’s no way I shouldn’t do it. My brother Dustin “Dr. Demolition” Diedricksen (6′ 4″, 250 lbs – hence the name) will be involved (also a small housing geek – who lives in one too). And perhaps Paul “Disgruntled Neighbor” LaCivita (from my “Tiny Yellow House” videos #1 and #2) who I may be teaming up with to build a very wild, damn unique, adultified, tree home – with heating, insulation, you name it. I’m sure we’ll film it too.

Tammy, thanks so much for your time and questions, you’re site’s great and very positive/constructive- we need more like it!

***

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Over the last few months, I’ve been interviewing amazing bloggers about simple living, location independence, financial freedom, and more. Today the feature interview is with Francine Jay, from Miss Minimalist. We talked about minimalism, living lightly in small spaces, and her new book, The Joy of Less.

Enjoy!

***

Tammy: Can you tell us about your new book The Joy of Less and why you decided to write it?

Francine: The Joy of Less is a celebration of minimalist living – it’s part philosophy, part pep talk, and an arsenal of practical techniques for purging the clutter from our lives. In it, I outline the STREAMLINE method (ten sure-fire steps to a decluttered home), and guide readers on a room-by-room minimalist makeover. I also talk about how we can trim our to-do lists and reclaim our time. And finally, I discuss the far-reaching benefits of living lightly on the Earth – because I think it’s very cool that saving space in our closets goes hand in hand with saving the planet!

Why did I write it? Well, when I started blogging about minimalist living last year, I expected to have just a handful of followers. The response, however, blew me away – I couldn’t believe how many people were interested in paring down their lives, and were hungry for information on how to do so. I quickly became the “Dear Abby” of decluttering, and realized people wanted (and needed!) a how-to guide on the topic.

I’ve been giving this advice to friends and family for years, and it feels wonderful to share it with a wider audience. The book is very upbeat and supportive; I wanted my readers to have fun with their decluttering, and feel like I’m right beside them, helping and encouraging them, each step of the way.

Tammy: In The Joy of Less, you liken minimalist living to being a butterfly. What’s that about?

Francine: When we overconsume, we’re like bulls running through a china shop – trampling the Earth’s resources, and leaving waste and destruction in our wake. When we live minimally, on the other hand, we’re like butterflies: we flit through life with little baggage, and live lightly and gracefully on the Earth. We preserve our planet’s resources, as if we alighted momentarily and barely touched them. I think it’s a beautiful way to live.

Tammy: How do you define minimalism and/or simple living?

Francine: To me, minimalism means finding the point of “just enough” – where you own the right amount of stuff to meet your needs and make you happy, but nothing extraneous.

It’s also about choosing experiences over stuff. I think that happiness comes from what we do, not what we have – and the less stuff we have cluttering our lives, the more time, space, and energy we have to do things. Therefore, I truly believe that having less stuff can make us happier people.

Tammy: What prompted you to start your downsizing journey?

Francine: I became interested in minimalist living by traveling lightly. I realized how wonderful it was to travel with a small carry-on bag, with only the essentials, instead of lugging around a heavy suitcase. When I was on vacation, I found it absolutely exhilarating that I could get by with so little – I felt like I could go anywhere, and do anything, because I wasn’t loaded down with stuff. And I thought, wow, if it feels this great to travel lightly, how amazing would it be to live this way?

I slowly decluttered for many years, until I was presented with a fabulous opportunity for a clean slate: last year, my husband and I sold our house, and almost all our possessions, and moved to the UK with one duffel bag each. Instead of “setting up home” over here, we’ve acquired things only as we needed them; it’s been a great experiment in discovering what’s necessary, and what we can live without.

Tammy: Can you give our readers three tips to live creatively and lightly in a small space?

Francine: Sure! First, acquire only the furniture that you truly need. Don’t buy a nightstand, a dining table, or a couch just because everyone else has one. Think about which pieces are necessary for your lifestyle, and which ones you could just as well do without.

Second, think versatility. In a small space, items that can do double (or triple) duty are worth their weight in gold. Whether it’s a table, a kitchen gadget, or a handbag, choose multi-functional items over single-task ones – the more needs an object fulfills, the better!

Third, embrace technology. The fact that we can reduce so many things (CDs, DVDs, books, paperwork) to intangible bits and bytes makes it a wonderful time to be a minimalist. Scanning your documents, and purchasing music, movies, and books in digital form, can free up a significant amount of space.

Tammy: Living in a small space can be challenging, especially if you’re into crafts and do-it-yourself projects. How do you address storage needs in your small space?

Francine: I advocate storing like items in “modules” (which I explain in great detail in my book). The idea is to devote a single container to a particular hobby, task, or category – like scrapbooking or office supplies, for example – and limit the contents to what fits. In other words, when a particular module is full, you’ll have to use up (or get rid of) some of your old stuff before purchasing more. It’s a great way to keep craft supplies (and other items) from multiplying and taking over the house.

If you’re short on storage space, look high (like above wardrobes) and low (like under beds) for storage opportunities. One trick I used was to make my storage containers blend in with their surroundings: I have white walls, and a white wardrobe, so the white nylon storage cube on top of my wardrobe seems to “disappear.”

Of course, as a minimalist, I think the best way to address storage needs is to reduce the amount of stuff you need to store. Purge, purge, and purge some more before you put anything in pretty containers; otherwise, you’re just organizing your clutter!

Tammy: Your blog is very thoughtful and I think everyone should head over and take a look at your content. Which of your posts should folks read first?

Francine: Thanks so much! I’d recommend starting with the following three:

My Minimalist Story, Part 2: The Great Unraveling explains how my husband and I narrowed down our possessions to one bag each before moving overseas.

400 Square Feet is the New Black is a peek at our new tiny apartment, and a good introduction to how we’re living now.

The Minsumer Movement: A Quiet Revolution is one of my all-time favorite posts. It’s a manifesto on how buying less, and living lightly, can make us pioneers of social and economic change.

Tammy: Everyone has unique skills; skills that I call superpowers. What is your superpower?

Francine: Fun question! I think my superpower is adaptability. I love change, and adjusting to new circumstances on the fly. I think that’s why I enjoy travel (and moving) so much! I’ve always wanted to be like a Bond girl – not the ditzy ones, but the nuclear-physicist-by-day, karate-black-belt-by-night ones. They always adapt to any circumstance – outrunning assassins on skis, trekking across a desert, or scuba diving in shark-infested waters – without so much as a hair out of place. I’m not quite there yet, but I’m working on it.

***

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Over the last few months, I’ve been interviewing amazing bloggers about simple living, location independence, financial freedom and more. Every Thursday, a feature interview is posted on RowdyKittens. A few weeks ago, I spoke with Chloe Adeline, of Simple Rabbit Society.

This week the feature interview is with Joshua Becker from Becoming Minimalist. Enjoy the interview and make sure you visit Joshua’s blog!

***

Tammy: Can you tell us about your new book Inside-Out Simplicity and why you decided to write it?

Joshua: I wanted to write “Inside Out Simplicity” because I didn’t know of any other book quite like it available. I wrote the first book, “Simplify” as an easy-to-read manual to help anyone declutter their home and life. And I think it does a good job of accomplishing that goal. But shortly after we chose to declutter our life and embrace simplicity, I began to realize the journey towards simplicity was about far more than just removing possessions. And as we began to ask questions about why we owned so much stuff in the first place, we realized that the process involved our very heart, soul, desires, and motivations.

This new book, “Inside-Out Simplicity” is about that journey inward. Taken from the framework of our most important relationships, it deals with issues such as contentment, generosity, intentionality, and forgiveness. And gets to the very heart of the issue.

Tammy: I love this quote from, Inside-Out Simplicity:

“…many people go through life having no clear sense of their true values. Instead, their desires are molded by the culture and the advertisements that bombard upon them each day. As a result, they find no consistency in life. No unity. Their desires change as fast as the culture and they are quickly swept off their feet by the newest fashion, the most recent technology, or the latest diet fad.”

How can people move past consumerism and find more unity in their lives?

Joshua: First, they’ve got to slow down their lives enough to provide opportunity for some real, transparent self-evaluation. Too many people get so caught in the race to acquire more and more possessions that they never take the time to evaluate if all that “stuff” is really making them happy or meeting their needs.

Second, as is mentioned above, they need to decide for themselves what they most want to accomplish with their lives – what is truly most important to them.

And then thirdly, they need to take the significant steps necessary to align their life with their values. This last step can be difficult for some. But is life-changing and freeing for all.

Tammy: What prompted you to start your downsizing journey?

Joshua: My life changed after a 2-minute conversation with my neighbor who introduced me to the minimalist lifestyle. It was that simple and we’ve never looked back. Of course, the background leading up to that conversation had prepared my heart to abruptly accept the significant life change. I was dissatisfied with the amount of time that I had available to spend with my family. I was upset about constantly living from paycheck to paycheck. And I was becoming increasingly aware that a big house full of nice things was not bringing satisfaction or contentment to my soul.

Tammy: A number of my readers want to start decluttering their homes, but don’t know where to start. How can folks start the decluttering process and avoid feeling so overwhelmed by the challenge?

Joshua: Start small – one drawer, one closet, or one room. Believe it or not, my first decluttering project was my car. It took me about 14 minutes to finish. But the following morning when I got inside the car and felt the freedom, I knew I had to tackle each room in my house, one by one. It’s best to see the decluttering process as a marathon rather than a sprint. You didn’t collect all this stuff in one day, and it’s going to take longer than one day to remove it.

Tammy: Since the NYTs article, But Will It Make You Happy?, was published I’ve received hundreds of emails from mothers and fathers asking how they can live simple, minimalist lives with kids. You’ve been living a simple, minimalist lifestyle with kids for a number of years. Can you tell us about your experience and give our readers a few downsizing tips?

Joshua: First off, I would assure them that it is possible. We stand as living proof. After all, we are just a typical middle-class family of four living in the suburbs who have learned to embrace simplicity and minimalism. Second, I would try to convince them that not only is it possible, it is beneficial for your children and your family. Removing your unnecessary possessions will result in more time together, deeper relationships, and more significance in each others’ lives. Parents with kids should actually have more motivation to simplify their homes and lives.

And here are a few downsizing tips that we’ve learned over the years that we’ve used to help families:

1) Come to the realization that you can give your children far greater gifts that just another toy. They need/want your time, attention, and investment far more than the next video game.

2) Model simplicity for them. You can’t ask them to remove their clothes and toys until you have removed yours.

3) Accept the reality that growing kids need things. They outgrow clothes, toys, and school supplies. As a result, you’ll need to make those purchases.

4) Stay on top of the things they have outgrown by donating them to others. Find a neighbor, friend, or Goodwill store near you and regularly donate outgrown clothes, toys, books, sporting equipment, or school supplies.

Tammy: Your blog is very thoughtful and I think everyone should head over and take a look at your content. Which of your posts should my readers check out?

Joshua: Thanks Tammy. To read how minimalism has positively changed our life, they could read Benefits of Minimalism. To get a feel for how we have embraced minimalism with children, they should check out How to Become Minimalist with Children. To read our most popular post, I’d direct them to The 10 Most Important Things to Simplify in Your Life. Or to get a flavor for our new book, they could read Stop Chasing Success. Seek Significance.

Tammy: I’ve really appreciated this interview. I feel like we’ve gone beyond the superficial “buy my book” type interview questions and answered some real helpful questions for the readers. Any closing statements of advice that you want to offer?

Joshua: Yeah, real simple. Give simplicity a shot in your life. You’ll find a counter-cultural life that results in less stress, less debt, and less impact on the environment. You’ll discover more freedom, more time, and more meaning. Even if you start small, you’ll be glad you did!

Tammy: Thanks Joshua!

***

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Over the last few months, I’ve been interviewing amazing individuals about simple living, location independence, financial freedom and more. Every Thursday, a feature interview is posted on RowdyKittens. Last week, I chatted with Victoria Vargas of Smaller Living.

This week I spoke with by Chloe Adeline, of Simple Rabbit Society. We talked about her minimalist journey, finding happiness, and starting her own small business.

Enjoy the interview!

***

Tammy: Can you tell us about your blog, Simple Rabbit Society?

Chloe: Hi Tammy! Thank you so much for having me here : )

Well, the Simple Rabbit Society is focused on how we can live more exciting and more joyful lives through minimalism and simple living…but it’s also really damn cute! Free bunny drawings in every article!

I currently write with my rabbit blogging partner Loy. Sometimes she helps me brainstorm, sometimes she writes her own posts. Loy tends to always be just a few steps ahead of me at living a minimalist lifestyle, her glasses are cuter than mine, and she’s a master vegetable thief…

I just try to keep up.

Tammy: What prompted you to start your downsizing journey?

Chloe: A year ago I lived in a 12×12 foot apartment so tiny that my stuff sat in boxes, stacked against the walls to the ceiling like a game of 3d Tetris. It was like I lived in a play fort made out of moving boxes and foot lockers…for an entire year.

Last winter I moved and when I looked at all my moving boxes, it was like waking up from a stupor. I realized that most of the stuff I had just moved hadn’t been opened in over a year…some in three or four. I was just hauling around a bunch of stuff, apartment to apartment. I had even forgotten what was in most of the boxes!

So one day, I promised myself I would get rid of half my stuff, which I did within two weeks. Then, I promised myself I’d do it again, which took a few more weeks. It was an exciting and liberating month for me—the beginning of my minimalist journey!

Tammy: How do you define minimalism?

Chloe: Less.

Okay. In all seriousness, I think that a pretty good way to go about living is to focus on whatever is important to you so ruthlessly, that everything else is neglected, forgotten, and crumbles to pieces in the wake of your awesomeness!

This is easy to say and tough to actually do…so minimalism is a tool we can use to help make this focus happen!

Minimalism is when you intentionally take everything that’s not important to you or essential and remove it from your life.

Minimalism is also when you decide that fewer of your priorities will be priorities to you.

It’s about fewer distractions so you can focus on priorities. It’s about fewer priorities, so the ones you keep truly stand out as priorities and receive their due attention and energy.

Minimalism is also not just about stuff. “Stuff” is the obvious culprit. But minimalist principles apply to every aspect of life…from our calendars, to our emotional universes, to our social social and professional lives, etc.

There are many benefits and opportunities that minimalism can create for us. For some it’s location independence because we can pack our world into a backpack or car trunk. It increases our ability to become self-employed since we need less income to survive. And for some, it just makes life less stressful, more interesting, and more fulfilling.

Tammy: A number of my readers want to start decluttering their homes, but don’t know where to start. How can folks start the decluttering process and avoid feeling so overwhelmed by the challenge?

Chloe: I think that quitting clutter is a little like quitting any addiction. You should deal with the root issue as you start, and you need to replace your clutter with something healthy, or else junk will slowly collect back up in your life.

I think a great first step to start decluttering is to read websites and books on minimalism. Not for the “how-to” aspect so much as the inspiration and absorbing the mindset. If you develop a distaste for clutter, are inspired by other people, and have the benefits of owning and doing fewer things fresh in the front of your mind, you’ll have a much easier time of it. You’ll be itching to toss stuff that’s been holding you back!

Of course, this doesn’t actually ACCOMPLISH any decluttering. It just sets the stage, so make sure you actually do get to it!

Tammy: I loved your recent post “How I Accidentally Doubled My Income And Became Self Employed In Three Days,” which talks about growth, risk taking, and your journey toward self-employment. What inspired you to leave your day job?

Chloe: Aw thank you so much! Well, besides what I wrote in that article, I would say the main inspiration for leaving my j-o-b were others who I saw succeeding without one. People like Everett Bogue, Karol Gajda, Colin Wright, and maybe you’ve heard of Tammy Strobel, etc. But more than any of these…and I’m completely serious…was Loy.

I haven’t told many people this, but she was on my mind as I left my job, and continues to be, so here goes…I don’t know where Loy sleeps. I don’t know where Loy eats. Maybe she squats, maybe she couchsurfs, maybe she sleeps under a porch! But I know she doesn’t own a house, and she doesn’t work a job, yet she’s always taken care of. A couple weeks ago someone asked Loy whether she gardened. Loy asked me why she would when the earth gardens for her.

This is a mindset that I’ve been striving to teach myself and trust in—that I’ll be taken care of and provided for. Minimalism can teach us not to rely on stuff for emotional support. It can also open the door for and teach us not to cling desperately to a 9-to-5 or a part-time retail job for dear, dear survival.

Survival comes naturally to us, it doesn’t need to be something we scramble and fight for.

[I realize that I'm speaking from a privileged place here, but it's a place most people with an internet connection and computer are at.]

Tammy: Books have changed my life for the better and I’m a big book geek. I’m always curious about what other folks are currently reading. What books have you read recently and do you have any recommendations?

Chloe: Oh my. I’m first going to recommend Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk! Heh. Most people think of it as that rebellious, teenage-boy, 90s film, which is true. But besides being fun and hilarious, it’s got a bunch of minimalist, anti-consumerist ideals behind it. And that really excites me!

Something I’m reading now that I highly recommend is the Power of Less by Leo Babauta. I’m beginning to think of it as the minimalist Bible. Everett Bogue’s The Art of Being Minimalist is also fantastic.

Unrelated to minimalism, the most exciting books I’ve read recently are One Fish, Two Fish by Dr. Seuss, Gödel’s Proof [for the math nerds out there], and something I’m perpetually reading through, The Lost Lunar Baedeker by my heavenly goddess of poetry, Mina Loy!

But I have had a bad-book streak recently, and I’m always eager for suggestions from others…

Tammy: Everyone has unique skills; skills that I call superpowers. What is your superpower?

Chloe: It’s certainly not accents or imitating people. I’m terrible at that.

But I have a keen knack for cloud watching. I write in Gregg shorthand. And I recently discovered that I can smile for the sake of smiling, and laugh for the sake of laughing at any time, any place, any where!

Smiling for smiling’s sake and laughing for laughing’s isn’t something I see many people doing, so I assume it must be a superpower…but I suspect it’s teachable and it’s something I write about every couple weeks.

Tammy: What brings you the most happiness in life?

Chloe: I don’t know the answer yet.

I suspect at this point that it has something to do with other peoples’ happiness, chocolate, and holding on to fewer things and emotions so that I can move around on Earth less hindered.

I’ll be exploring each of these three ruthlessly this summer.

Thank you so kindly for having me Tammy! And thanks to all my fellow RowdyReaders for reading to the end : ) you’re adorable!

Tammy: Thank you Chloe!

***

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Note: Images by The Simple Rabbit

Over the last few months, I’ve been interviewing amazing individuals about simple living, location independence, financial freedom and more.

This week the feature interview is with Victoria Vargas of Smaller Living. She is a writer, archaeologist, historic preservationist, and loves small dwellings.

Enjoy the interview!

***

Tammy: Can you tell us about your blog, Smaller Living?

Victoria: My byline is “live small and prosper” (a riff on Spock’s famous line, which always makes me smile) and that’s really at the heart of what my Smaller Living blog is about. By scaling-down and living more simply, we can lead much more prosperous lives – not just in terms of finances, although financial prosperity is a lovely side-effect of smaller living, but also in terms of our relationships, communities, health, careers, creativity, and the environment.

My blog is about creating positive change in our lives by adopting a smaller lifestyle, which gives us the space and freedom to live large. Most of us have had enough of debt, fear, stress, excess, and stuff. There’s never been a better time for reassessing how much is enough, our wants versus our needs, and what makes us happy, healthy, and productive ~ and then right-sizing our lives accordingly.

Tammy: What prompted you to start your downsizing journey?

Victoria: Although I’ve always been drawn to smaller living spaces, my downsizing journey really started in earnest during the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. I’d recently moved back to Phoenix, was living in a luxury apartment, and was considering buying a house. I was following the post-Katrina situation closely – I lived in New Orleans a few years earlier and had several close friends still there. I remember standing on my balcony in Phoenix after watching a heart-wrenching interview with a woman who’d lost everything she’d owned because of Katrina, but was so very grateful she and her family were safe. I stood there thinking about it all – Katrina, New Orleans, the woman on television, my housing angst – and made a decision that I was not going to jump into the real estate market frenzy and, instead, would downsize to a small trailer, save my money, live small, and let real estate bubble ride for a few years while I decided what was important to me and how I wanted to live.

A friend’s father sold me his vacation trailer, which was located in a retirement mobile home community on the reservation – and what a great community! It was the best decision I’ve ever made. Friends and I emptied the trailer of all household items and furniture (it came with all the contents) and donated them to a family in need. I got rid of a bunch of my own stuff too and then my cat and I moved into our 440 square foot home. I was adopted by my elderly neighbors and had a blast living there. I started the first incarnation of the Smaller Living blog within a few months of moving in, to document my exploration of a smaller life.

I sold the trailer after a few years and pulled the blog down to refresh my ideas and expand its content. I re-launched Smaller Living a few months ago and am once again happily writing about my smaller living adventure and connecting with others who are on the same path. There are so many more of us now! It’s fabulous to see the movement gain momentum.

Tammy: How do you define minimalism and/or simple living?

Victoria: Simple living for me is distilling life down to its essential bits to be happy, healthy, and able to creatively contribute to the world, and jettisoning the rest. For me this sparks from the realization, as Duane Elgin in Voluntary Simplicity so eloquently states it, “that the fate of the individual is intimately connected with the fate of the whole.” Simple living (or smaller living as I call it) involves covering all your needs, an occasional want, and a very rare luxury. This approach has an emphasis on life, relationships, and community rather than things. At its heart, simple living is about removing unnecessary complexity and complication so we can focus on what’s really important in our lives and in the world. Being debt-free, down-scaling our dwellings, possessions, and lifestyles, and walking lightly on the earth are all part of simple living.

Minimalism is an offshoot of simple living, whose proponents admirably scale down their lives and belongings to an even greater degree. Everett Brogue on Far Beyond the Stars is a good example of a minimalist approach to simple living, as is Leo Babauta on Zen Habits.

Tammy: A number of my readers want to start decluttering their homes, but don’t know where to start. How can folks start the decluttering process and avoid feeling so overwhelmed by the challenge?

Victoria: The first piece of advice I always give is to not consider the whole of the decluttering chore at one time – otherwise, becoming overwhelmed is almost inevitable. Instead, once you’ve committed yourself to decluttering your home (or office), just take baby steps. Post a picture on your refrigerator of a calm, clutterless room or closet that can serve as your inspiration.

Then, pick one area at a time to declutter. If a room seems too intimidating, then focus on one closet or one drawer at a time. Have some extra boxes or bags with you when you are declutter: one for donation, one for trash, and one for things you want to keep. Once you’ve gone through everything in that area, put only those things back that you’ve deemed important enough to share your space with you. If you can’t decide if you should keep an item or not, plop it into a box with others that you aren’t sure about, label it with the date, and put it in your garage or closet shelf. After one year, any items in that box you haven’t used, you can donate them to others without another thought.

Garage sales are a great way to reap some money from the items you are sending out of your life. However, people who tend to accumulate clutter are often busy and, although garage sales sound good to them, it will add one more chore in an already busy schedule. If that sounds like you, do yourself a favor and by-pass the garage sale. The goal is to simplify your life and lighten your load, not add yet another stress-inducing chore to your list. Just donate the items and be sure to keep a list of what you donated. You can take a deduction on your tax return if you donated them to a non-profit organization or charity.

The key to successful decluttering is to ensure there’s a dedicated home for everything in your possession and to put it there. Once you let go of what you don’t need, want, or use, you can then assign homes to what remains. Use the rule “one in, one out.” If anything new comes into your home, something equal in size needs to leave.

Tammy: Earlier this year you made the decision to go car-lite and start biking and walking more. What inspired you to take that leap? And what tips do you have for someone who does not live in a bike-friendly city, but still wants to move toward a car-lite or car-free lifestyle?

Victoria: Your writing on RowdyKittens and your e-book Simply Car-Free were actually the inspiration that got me back on my bike last Spring and doing a bike/Light Rail commute to work 15 miles away. With the brutal summer heat (it was 115F here yesterday), biking and walking in Phoenix has become extremely difficult the past month and I’m struggling with how to pull it off and still be presentable (and functioning) at work. My biking has now become more of an early morning activity on the weekends. I’m looking to try ride sharing with some friends in the upcoming weeks until the weather cools down a bit.

For anyone who lives in an inhospitable environment (either due to weather or because they don’t live in a bike-friendly city), I’d suggest connecting with others who face the same challenges and brainstorm with them and find mentors who have mastered those challenges.

Don’t reinvent the wheel – find your tribe, share your experiences, and suck up the group knowledge. I met with Tony Arranaga, the Light Rail Blogger, a few weeks ago and we chatted about how to manage the heat while bike commuting, as well as some of the logistical challenges of biking around Phoenix, which is anything but bike-friendly. There’s also a group of us on Twitter that live in Phoenix and have car-lite/car-free goals and we’re planning to start a regular meet up in the next few weeks to share ideas and give each other support.

Tammy: I’m always curious about what other folks are currently reading. What books have you read recently and do you have any recommendations?

Victoria: The written word is very central to my life and I’m a voracious reader – I usually have three or four books going at any one time, both fiction and non-fiction. Two books in particular that I read recently really impressed me: Eaarth: Making a Life on a Tough New Planet by Bill McKibben and The New Good Life: Living Better in an Age of Less by John Robbins. These are two books I wish I could make required reading for everyone in the U.S. I can’t recommend them highly enough.

Tammy: Everyone has unique skills; skills that I call superpowers. What is your superpower?

Victoria: I’d have to say in my case it’s an ability to easily see to the heart of things. In my day job as an archaeologist and historic preservationist, I’m barraged with a ton of complex data and input. For whatever reason, I’ve been blessed with an ability to quickly sift through it all, see the patterns, and synthesize it down to a few simple themes or issues that explain the whole – or identify what critical bits are missing. This serves me well in my personal life as well. I can identify the heart of a problem and the needed solution almost intuitively. I’m also a speed-reader, which is a huge gift given how much I read and how much information I digest on a daily basis.

Tammy: What have you gotten out of writing your Smaller Living blog that you didn’t expect?

Victoria: I’ve received three unanticipated gifts from writing Smaller Living: some amazing new friendships (like with you, Tammy!), exposure to an inspiring amount of new information about simple/minimal lifestyles, and a realization that my blog is helping me re-write my story. I realized that with the purchase of my house, with its large yard (and established non-native, water-sucking landscaping my neighbors adore), that I’d actually taken several steps backward on my smaller living journey.

It’s much easier to live small when you’re in a small apartment or tiny trailer with no yard and are living within biking/walking distance from work; at least in terms of keeping your home base simplified and your carbon footprint (and water usage) down. The house I bought is 1,200 square feet, but smaller homes located close to work were ironically out of reach for me financially. So I’m having to “de-engineer” my property to something that is more minimal and simple, which takes more time and more money than I’d anticipated.

I was humbled when I re-launched Smaller Living and took stock of my situation – it’s been like starting all over again in terms of reaching my smaller living goals. My blog has taught me a lot about not settling for less than what we need to support our values and chosen lifestyle.

Tammy: Thank you Victoria!

***

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