Why?

[eDJ_]

One other thing that was a life changer for me started as a kid.  It was my Mom's copy of
"The Last Whole Earth Catalog".  It was like a look at the internet to come years later.  There
were all of these little mini articles in boxes about various "things" in the World.  Like mini websites
today.  On the edges of the catalog was a novel titled "D R's Trip" about a young Kentucky guy
traveling across the USA in his VW Van.  What he sees, people he meets, things he learns while on the
road, and growing his awareness of living better with less and finding ways to correct problems
created by technology.  He names his VW Van "Urge" and says he goes where ever the Urge takes
him.

If one gets the opportunity (and this is also online as a .pdf) to browse this catalog you can see how forward thinking this was in the early 70's and how some of us living in our Vans in Stealth/off grid was advocated
in this publication.

One of the things I found most amazing back then was homes to be built from worn out tires rammed full of soil and set up semi underground.  "Earth Ship's" as they were called by their innovator Michael Reynolds.

There were stories about converting carbureted engines to run on methane gas using livestock droppings
placed in a generator/digester which would produce a flow of methane gas which could be compressed
and bottled for use as high quality motor fuel. (as was done in WW2 London England by Taxi Drivers)

Information about passive and active Solar was also contained in the catalog.  Wind energy as well.

I always wondered if one could build a smaller Earth Ship to pull a Van into for the winter and live in it.
The temps stay at about 58 degrees year around without any connection to the grid.  There is space
for growing one's own vegetables inside the green house.  A Cistern catches the water and the Earth Ship
is like a more stationary Van that can be self sustaining.

Video of Michael Reynolds explaining this type of home:

Earth Ship 101 part 1 or 3

[video=dailymotion]

The Earth Ship is built largely out of recycled materials.  It has been adapted to about every climate
on earth now.  They have been built around the world as proof of concept.

 

[Canine]

I'm not going into the entire reason I'm here as that is not an appropriate subject matter for this forum, but after much expense and time invested into other parts of my life, it became clear the life I was attempting to make wasn't going to happen. I also got tired of never having quite enough money; that's when I really started looking at my expenses. Not that I ever spent tons of money on stuff, but more than I should have. My health may not allow me to live to retirement age and if I do, the quality of life will likely be terrible. I'm tired of working my tail off only to try to rest enough so that I can stay awake and alert enough so I don't run my truck into an innocent family traveling through Glacier National Park (that's part of my route). Now that I'm in my 40's I've seen one co-worker die a few months after his retirement. He drove terrible hours all of his life and his 40 year investment to retire was a near total loss. Another co-worker retired, but his age severely limited his activity. Turns out a 62-year-old can't just go out and ride a brand new bicycle all day without passing out and wrecking. Then another friend got into a drunken wreck which ruined his health. He sat on his butt feeling sorry for himself most of the time while watching reality TV with his many stray cats before he died of a heart attack at age 42.

My last landlord wouldn't spray for the Black Widows in my apartment despite me capturing one in a jar and showing it to her. She also said after this dog I own now, there would be no more dogs. I lost my family, friends and damn near everything, and wasn't going to allow her to prevent me from having any sort of family. I got really tired of allowing my landlords/ladies and employees controlling me. Most of the time they did things not for the better, but seemingly for arbitrary reasons. Many times I was jerked around simply because they could. That's what people often do with power over others.

Yes, that is some negative stuff, but it opened my eyes. I began to realize what really matters. I also began to realize how wasteful I was for no reason. When things started getting better and I started having more money in my pocket, I became happier. When I became happier, my dog became happier, which made me happier which became a vicious circle. Viciously happy!

I'm not all the way there, yet; I still need to pay for college and the rest of a medical bill, but that is very little compared to most. Am concentrating on my custom build. That's all coming together. It's amazing how much less anger/frustration I have now. I'm amazed at how much stuff just doesn't matter. I am in a drama drought and lovin' it!

 

[mockturtle]

Two years after losing my husband of 40 years to Lewy Body Dementia, I decided to sell the house, get rid of all the furniture and most of my stuff and hit the road.  My husband's ashes travel with me, as does my faithful dog, Bucky.  So far, I can't imagine living any other way as long as I am able.  Currently, I'm enjoyed my travels in Alaska & Canada.  

 

[USACelt]

Canine,
Thks for the post,
I guess I can relate to your story very well.
What good is it all to work till death then leave the loved ones with a hefty tax burden only to sell off your stuff as it be

 

[Brian_and_Jesse]

Morning!

I didn't consciously 'choose' a minimalist lifestyle, at least not at first - I was born into it.  As an 'Air Force Brat' (Scottish) we traveled constantly, mostly in Europe, and from the age of five 'til ten I spent the summers with my grandmother, her husband (22 years her junior), and their daughter (3.5 years my junior).  They didn't have a house at that time and we lived in tents, mostly homemade, and later in a tiny trailer that sat on a lot in a field by a stream in Wales.  We squatted there, but I don't recall anyone giving us grief.

My mother and her (second) husband moved every five minutes (slight exaggeration ) in an attempt to avoid my biological father finding us, which he eventually did, but that's another story.  

At age eleven, I took to hosteling in the summers, and hiked every inch of the Scottish Highlands (where my family is from) until my mother threw me out at age fifteen because, in her view, I was too much like my biological father.    So, I took my violin, guitar, and backpack, and went to live with my father; that lasted for four whole months.  Apparently, I reminded him too much of my mother.  

Sometimes y'just can't win!

My father lived in Essex, in England, so after he threw me out I worked in London for a couple of years, and then, as fate would have it, I bumped in to John Denver and crossed the pond to sing and play with him in Aspen, in January 1974.

I was eighteen then.

By then, my mother, stepfather, and two brothers had moved to Canada (in 1971), so I dropped in one day and stayed for a few months with them.  I had missed my brothers....

Still at age eighteen, God placed me (in no uncertain terms) on a path I had no prior ambition to follow, and I found myself in the missionary field using music, singing, and writing to reach people wherever I was sent, and as I said  in another post, by the time I was fifty I'd lived in sixty-four places - some for a few months and some for a year or more.

Anyway, I never much cared for 'stuff,' musical instruments and photographs notwithstanding, and I moved around far too much to accumulate things I didn't need.  

Darlin' and I had a passel of kids and we took them around the world with us, homeschooling them along the way.  (They still all choose to live in a minimalist fashion.)

My parents, predictably, didn't like any of my choices (they're both deceased now), but I read in the Bible one day that Jesus said: "Having sustenance and covering, be content with these things."  I never cared about anyone else's opinion after that.

I've always loved the outdoors, and in particular the mountains and the ocean, and I tend to gravitate towards places that offer both - Scotland, Hawai'i  (Maui), and Canada's BC Coastal Mountains.  I'm not a S&B person, and while architecture fascinates me, my interest in owning real estate is limited to its ability to provide adequate shelter from the elements.

I like diamonds and nice clothes and beautiful houses as much as anyone, I suppose, but I do not find it necessary to own them.  I feel that we have such wealth all around us in God's Creation, and in the love in our relationships that we're privileged to share, that, despite a few immortal sorrows (the kind that burying a child brings), I couldn't be richer - minimalist or not.

I'm blessed to be married to my soul mate, we're spectacularly happy, and so the story continues....

Y'can't get better than that!

Have a sweet and peaceful day everyone,


Jesse.

 

[grimmal]

Nine years ago my wife and I bought a 24ft travel trailer and we have worked out west 5 months a year and just traveled around the rest of the year. All the kids were out of the house and we wanted to do a lot of things we felt would be harder if we waited 20 years until we were 65. The camper is more of a home base for working and the van is set up for camping. It was the best thing we could have done. We have been places that would never be possible on a two week vacation each year. When we are done with the camper each year we put it in storage where ever we are at and head out in the van.
Have been to places like Toroweep, that are just amazing and so isolated. Ghost towns in a lot of western states including Swansea and million dollar sites that I probably could not find my way back to. We don't want to ever give it up but for the next 6 months we are back east on our farm for a lot of family things like weddings and get the farm ready to sell next year. This past six months have been so hard being in one place and reading where everyone is at. Cannot wait until January to head back out for good.

 

[SoulRaven]

An early forced retirement was a blessing to me. I quickly learned that I could make much more money, and have a much more enjoyable life without having a permanent job.