I go on and on

I go on and on about living on a small boat. It's useful as it's a self contained little world that has to provide all your basic needs. If you didn't bring it you don't have it.

Almost everything could apply to living in a cabin in the woods. You need to produce your power. Cook food. Have a water supply and provide for sanitation.

My house while on a paved road and semi-grid connected, takes advantage of much of the same thinking. It has significant solar electric power, a well, woodstove, and it's own septic system.

Living in small spaces like a sailboat or a remote cabin provide very useful lessons in low impact living. You learn that a little solar power goes a long way. Being able to charge a phone, power a LED light, or use a tablet makes life a lot more comfortable. When you get back to a regular house you realize that it's not necessary to keep every light in the house on or blare the TV 24/7.

You also learn that you can get by with a whole lot less -everything from less electricity to less water to less electronic stimulation. There are times when I think we only keep a house to have space to store our books and our boats.

Most people take a lot of the basic stuff of living for granted. One simple example: water. You turn the tap on and it flows. Flush the toilet and the waste goes away. Take a day and haul all the water you use in jugs. The first thing you discover is that water is very heavy. Even a low flow toilet is going to use around 1.6 gallons of water. The further you have to carry water, the better water conservation sounds.

A lot of people find themselves having to downsize. Infinite economic growth on a finite planet is hitting real physical limits. Many in the first world are suddenly finding their living arrangements approaching the third world. It's quite a shock, especially while trying to maintain a wasteful lifestyle. Something has to give.

Think about living in places that won't break the budget. It doesn't mean you have to be sad about. Believe me, most of the folks I meet on small boats think they are living large. There plenty of happily house-less people living converted vans.

It all starts with thinking about what you really need to live. Once you've established what you need it's easy to satisfy some wants.

-Sixbears