Tiny House Build on Tiny Podcast

I have been a tiny house enthusiast for some time. We considered building one in our backyard as a mother in law's cottage, but decided it was not the best plan for our particular situation. Plus it would basically add space to our already larger than necessary house which would add to the electricity and water bill. Really, what we would love to do is build one that is mobile, and be able to take vacations in it for now, and possibly retire off grid in it some day. Or as we like to playfully say, if the zombies ever strike, we'll have a mobile tiny home to live in.

Due to my interest in tiny homes, I have found some great websites but for today I'm going to focus in on one specifically, and that is Tiny r(E)volution. The man behind Tiny r(E)volution, Andrew Odom, has been pretty good about setting up an easy to use internet presence. He runs a blog/website, a community to chat about tiny houses on Facebook under the same name, and a 30 minute podcast which is like a perfect snack of goodness. I also really love their website which shows the process and budget the Odoms are using to build their own tiny home. You can find them at:
http://www.tinyrevolution.us
http://www.twitter.com/andrewodom
http://www.facebook.com/tinyrev

Today's Tiny r(E)v podcast can be found at  http://www.blogtalkradio.com/the-tiny-revolution/2012/06/28/tiny-revolution-and-the-tiny-house-world-episode-4  where he talked with the Schwarz brothers about their tiny house building project. They will be building a tiny off grid house and then taking it to Burning Man for the thousands of people there to look at and fall in love with. Their goal it seems, is not only to live off grid, but also to show other people how easy it is to build your own tiny home. You can check out their Kickstarter for the project at  http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1291194015/schwarz-tiny-house-and-our-journey-to-burning-man and remember you can contribute anything from $1 on up. I went for the $7 pledge for now and in thanks they will send me a bumper sticker which I will put on my recumbent trike since I don't drive. I promise to post a photo of that when the sticker arrives.

One of the reasons I was excited to hear about this, is that I have been considering starting a kickstarter project for a tiny home and garden. Actually, I have been bouncing this idea around with a local non profit for some time as an idea for their backyard. That may still happen at some point in the future, but then yesterday I ran across an ad on Craigslist of all places for a tiny plot of land right up the street from me in Laveen, AZ. It is 25 x 60 feet, and would be perfect to build a vertical aquaponics system for growing food to help cut down on the cosst of living, or perhaps set up as a community garden with a caretaker's cottage/tiny home on it. I will be taking a look at the property tomorrow to see if it would work for such a project. It sounds to me like it would be perfect for a Bare Simplicity test site on which I could work with neighbors and a local school to learn about aquaponics and vertical gardening, and living off grid. I will let you know if one of these tiny house projects gets off the ground and keep you updated here.

In the mean time, I wish the Schwarz brothers all the best on their project and thank you Andrew for introducing me to it! What I really love is their reasoning behind the project, which is the love of getting back to simplicity. I am looking forward to seeing how their Kickstarter project comes out! Because as they say at Tiny r(E)v, one can not only survive, but truly thrive in a tiny house.  And if you haven't checked them out yet, enjoy the podcast archives!  http://www.blogtalkradio.com/the-tiny-revolution

Where I Come From

I know that I share political thoughts which may not be supported by all. Let me just say, I understand that you may not like the way I word things occasionally and I hope you will read my thoughts with an open mind. I am not setting out to offend, I am simply sharing my truth.

I am the grandchild of immigrants. My great grandparents moved here hoping for a better opportunity for their children just in time to put their kids through the great depression. They built their own home on a small island near San Fransisco, and my uncle lives in it today. Some of the people I am descended from may have moved here to escape famine. And recently I learned that some faced persecution because apparently they were not supposed to marry their spouse based on where they came from.  Irish people are after all dangerous, hot headed, criminals. (or such was the "common knowledge" of the day)

According to my parents I'm American, and some of my relatives are Italian, some are Welsh, some British, and some are German. I was told I did not have any Irish or Indigenous blood, but I was pretty sure we did. In the fourth grade I investigated on my own for a "Family Tree" school project, and my Father's Grandmother told me more than we'd ever known before. My family tree diagram is incomplete, but what I learned by speaking to my elders was life changing. Their knowledge and history shaped who I am.  Apparently my father's grandmother's family was indigenous to central California. I eventually met them at a family reunion, but my dad's mom denied we were all related because she could not bear the idea hat she had married someone who was not 100% white. (prejudice fries my brain)
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My mother's family watched both their sons go off to war.  The irony of my grandfather and his brother being in the American army as German Americans is not lost to them, as during another particularly dark time, my mom's family had to take care of her neighbors' house while they were put in an internment camp for being Japanese. I was raised knowing that we must treat humans as humans no matter their differences because to not do so, can lead to horrific loss and cruelty. How, in just a few generations, have people seemed to forget so much!

I think that people forget that this country has in the past put people into camps merely based on their heritage, enslaved people, legislated some people are less human than others, and killed so many indigenous people. Some people seem to think we have overcome those things and can never backslide. Some seem to think no one has to fight for their rights anymore, because we should all be treated equally under the law. Some people are wrong.

Many of us are descended from immigrants who were not wanted here, and without whose immigration we would not have the lives we have today. Some of them did not follow the letter of the law when entering the country. Some of us are descended from slave owners and their slaves. Others of us are descended from indigenous people who were raped and taken away from their families and forced into marriage. Some people lost their entire families to atrocities committed right here in the US. These are the truths of our history. These truths leave scars that run deep. Generations of hurt need more than words to heal. How will we ever move forward if we do not pay attention to the past and learn from it.

In my life, it is time to simplify. The simple truth is that we are all human. No matter our differences, we are all human.

Home Made Shampoo/Body Wash Review

The shampoo and body wash I made lasted about 2 weeks. The one made of aloe, tea tree oil, xantham gum and olive oil did not make my hair oily as some expected. It acted much like a volumizer shampoo and I will be making some again. In the two weeks of use, I found the dry flaky patches of skin disappearing, and surprisingly, the red splotchy areas of my face seemed to be disappearing as well!

To test if the results were as wonderful as they seemed, I used up the rest of my store bought shampoo afterwards and compared results. It was a 90% natural store bought shampoo, but apparently the 10% non natural bit is really not something my body likes, because the dry flaky patches are returning, and so are the red splotches on my face.  I have to admit, I am very surprised. I remember saying to Patch. I may as well use this other stuff up before recycling the bottle. I didn't want to waste something we had already paid for in an effort to reduce, reuse, recycle. Because when you think about it, waste is not green. Besides, I told myself it was a pretty well made shampoo, it probably wouldn't be any different. But it was.

The xantham gum was completely unnecessary if you are OK with washing with a liquid and not a gel. However I set out to make a combination shampoo and body washing gel, because I wanted something which was similar to what I have been using for years, just healthier, less taxing on the environment, and lower cost. If you do not happen to have any on hand, make the aloe shampoo without it and I am sure you will find it just as wonderful since the only thing the xantham gum was used for was a natural thickening agent.

The body wash I made with the flax seeds in it was a bit of a disappointment. I didn't like the smell or the texture. A friend liked the smell, so perhaps I should have offered it to her. On an up note, it did seem to be helping my skin problems. I just didn't like the smell of rosemary when mixed with tea tree oil.

I will however be making the original recipe again and using it as a shampoo/body wash instead, which was really my goal anyway. I still have aloe left, and the other ingredients are all in the pantry, so I am looking forward to using it again. I will wash the old shampoo bottle and reuse it to hold my home made shampoo/body wash, as it came in a nice dark green bottle which will help protect the aloe shampoo/body wash from light.

Cleaning House - A Change of Mindset

Every weekend Carlie seems to pick a project or two to do around the house. Sometimes I requests things of her, sometimes she comes up with them on her own. Recently, at my request, she moved something out of my room because it was not being used, and just took up space. But there were things that were propped against, on and under that thing which were suddenly exposed. The kittens decided it was a wonderful play ground, and mess escaped it's little nook and took over 3/4 of my bedroom. Every time I walked around my bedroom I thought, I should ask Carlie to help me organize that stuff. Some of it could be put away, other stuff was trash or could be donated. This past weekend, she took it on without being asked. I appreciate that about her. Sometimes she knows just what I'm needing help with before I even think to talk to her about it. Picking things up from the floor is difficult for me because it triggers my vertigo and I sometimes end up on the floor with whatever I was trying to pick up, but I would LIKE to be able to pick things up by myself, so i kept putting off asking for the help. I'm grateful my room is clean.

When I noticed it and thanked her, it also reminded me of some other things we'd been needing to discuss. We talked about how we really need to change our mindset about finances. Living more from the perspective Patch lives from, less from the one we tend to have, which is money in, money out. Instead, we plan to live on more of a budget. (and move towards living on a tighter budget) We also talked a bit about consumerism and changing our mindset to more of a what can we do/make ourselves, and do we really NEED that? We will see how it goes. Step by step!

By the way, I finally took the Pinterest plunge. Here's my Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/baresimplicity/

DIY Almond Extract

Apparently it is really easy to make your own Almond Extract. Or vanilla, orange, lemon, etc. For today I started with Almond because I had everything to make it. I may try orange as well, and promise to share the process if I do. This can be a money saver over time, because it's much cheaper to make your own than buy the good stuff, and actually also comes out cheaper than the dollar store variety. (not to mention it is supposed to be much more delicious) If this turns out the way I hope, I might put some in recycled extract bottles to trade with neighbors for fresh fruits and veggies from their gardens.

Here are some helpful links I found:
http://diybylorie.wordpress.com/2012/01/23/homemade-vanilla-extracts-orange-extract-and-almond-extract/
http://almondextract.net/how-to-make-almond-extract/

I happened to have vodka left over from a party we made jello shots for, so I used that, but apparently you can use rum or brandy for Almond or Vanilla extracts. I guess you could use them for orange and lemon as well, but they are not recommended for orange. Probably because it is a light flavor and might be overwhelmed by the rum or brandy. Vodka is a cleaner flavor, and by far the cheapest, so that's what I went with for now. I will probably try a bit of brandy and rum based extracts in the future. This is my first time doing this, I will post in a couple months or so with information about how it went.

Supplies/Ingredients:
1 cup Vodka
8 raw, peeled, chopped or roughly ground almonds
1 bottle (preferably with dark brown glass, but any bottle will do)
1 paper bag (if you can't find a dark brown glass bottle, this keeps the light out)

Directions:
Roughly chop or grind 8 raw almonds
Place in bottle or jar (I used an old peanut butter jar we had cleaned)
Poor 1 cup (8 oz) Vodka into jar over almonds
Tightly seal jar
Shake and place in a cool dark place (paper bag in the pantry)

Tips:
Mark the date and type of extract on the paper bag or jar, this will help you remember when it will be ready
Almonds can apparently be whole if they are peeled
Make sure whatever alcohol you use covers whatever ingredient you are extracting flavor from to prevent mold
You can filter the extract through a coffee filter when it is done to remove the bits of almond, vanilla, orange peel, etc. But some directions did not include this step
I am told this stuff will last forever. If you're a Prepper, this might be a good skill to have for later trade

Simplifying My Life

Some people have asked me why the blog "Bare Simplicity" and my introductory post to this blog may answer your questions, http://baresimplicity.blogspot.com/2012/06/introduction-simpler-life.html but in case it does not, let me try to sum it up briefly. I feel that I have bought into a lifestyle over the years which has not always brought me the joy and peace that I want in my life.

Don't get me wrong, I am generally happy. I have a loving family, pets we enjoy, and a neighborhood that is working to build community, unlike many these days which are just groupings of people who don't even wave as they pass on the street. But I find that many parts of the American Dream we have clung to do not fit me and my family as well as we expected. Our eyes were too big for our tummy.

I'm not complaining oh woe is me, I have too much. I have simply realized that some things are not a necessary part of having a happy life. And sometimes trying to keep those things means we spend money on things we don't need just to fill our too big "McMansion" as some have come to call the suburban cookie cutter homes we've been sold. Sometimes we find ourselves lacking the funds to pay our bills. We are living outside our means, which is truly not sustainable.

Rather than dreaming of some day when are no longer running like rats in a maze to reach some dream other people say we should have, we have decided to start paring down NOW. To simplify our lives. I highly recommend the above link, it was what inspired me to realize that although in some ways we had already started doing so, there is so much more that we can do right now in this moment to simplify our lives, and so I started this blog to keep track of the steps we are taking along the way.

Recently I came across a link which also sums it up pretty well for those who don't want to read through The Simpler Way Report: http://simplicityinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/The-Simpler-Way-Report-12a.pdf The shorter read would be 21 Easy Hacks to Simplify Your Life:  http://zenhabits.net/21-easy-hacks-to-simplify-your-life/

Big House, Big Solar

The landlord has decided to splurge for solar from http://www.solarcity.com/. I'm all for it, but a bit concerned by how long it's been taking to work through the process. There has been form after form, and then just as it was "all set" and they had come over to confirm the set up we'd planned online, the state changed the process and we feel like we're starting all over again. They sent us this peppy "Go Solar" bumper sticker as if to keep our interest despite Arizona government doing it's best to discourage us.

One thing I've noticed is that it takes a TON of solar panels to run our home. In fact, even with a huge space on the roof, there is no way our landlord could fill it with enough panels to offset things. Well, she's certainly going to try, they'll be putting up a huge amount of panels. This is another time I wish we'd opted for buying the perfect property with trees, weather to grow our own food, a creek and a tiny home or two on the property instead of renting a gigantic home in a suburban setting. Yes, I dream of living a hobbit's life.

But part of my current attempt to simplify my life is about living in the moment. And dreaming of what may be is not doing that. The reality of the situation is that in this moment, we are living in the suburbs, in south west phoenix on the edge of Laveen, AZ surrounded by farms and ranches. It's beautiful here, and I have some wonderful neighbors. And the landlord supports our goal to live in a way that is less taxing on the world we live in, so that's a good start. Once these solar panels are installed, our electric bill will go down a bit, and we can put that little bit into savings towards our own little someday home. Plus, it's less taxing on the environment. So I guess we should chear, "Go, Solar!"

Edit: Added a graphic about solar funding in the US 6/11 that Nancy LaPlaca posted to her FB.