1. Americans make appliances too big... buy European or Asian appliances.
2. When the temperature drops below 10 degrees F... even the pump will freeze. Always keep a 5 gallon bucket of water available for making coffee and brushing teeth.
3. Replace a divided sink with a farm sink.
4. Hay attracts mice; putting it anywhere near your residence is just a bad idea.
5. If you make mistake #4.... support the local feral cat coalition & adopt a barn kitty. Cats are preferable to any mouse trap. They only need a shed, a small amount of food, and regular water.
6. Hair really doesn't need to be washed every day. Nor do towels. Nor pants. Socks do.
7. Don't wear shoes inside. The smaller the living space, the more critical this rule.
8. Save energy; go to bed early & wake up with a rooster. It's a soothing alarm... really.
9. Wood chips are an excellent solution for dust & mud. Mud can destroy your mood all day.
10. Remove carpeting whenever possible.
11. Remove seasonal clothes from the closet. Keep a bin for off-season clothes and store it. It makes dressing easier and keeps a small closet neater.
12. Cable is expendable; Netflix isn't.
13. You can cook so much on a grill. Eat outside whenever possible; the kitchen stays cleaner.
14. Hand washing dishes sucks. Whenever available... love your dishwasher.
15. Remember that running water is a luxury and much of the world lives without it. Try transporting all of the water you use for a day -or a week.
16. Sewage doesn't just disappear by flushing a toilet. Someone, somewhere, is dealing with your sewage.... that includes anything you put down a drain.
17. There is nothing that can replace feeling connected to the land... Nothing. For every invention and modern improvement, we lose some level of connection to life around us. If you don't care... it is simple evidence of how far we are lost from the very skills that have helped us evolve to our modern abilities.
18. Keep an outdoor thermometer near the bed and you will always know how to dress.
19. It's always something... dust, mud, heat, cold, or wind.... mice, hair, owls, hawks, coyotes... but nothing is nastier than nasty humans, especially nasty neighbors.
20. No matter how far out of civilization you move, it never feels far enough.
1 comment:
Fabulous post! I loved the photos, and though I don't live in a small trailer, many of your ideas are easily adapted to larger homes.
I keep an indoor/outdoor thermometer right by the bed!
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