The grandfather of simple living

  Dick Proenneke is arguably the fore father of simple living.Dick at the tender age of 51 had saved up a modest sum of money as a mechanic and decided to retire …to the Alaska bush where he built his own 11×15 log cabin with simple hand tools, human power and lived for the next 30 years!

 Dick lived a simple minimal life ,a no frills lifestyle where he relied mostly on his own human power everyday.Dick was never sick in the 30 years he lived in the bush! He ate a simple diet a lot of beans,sourdough biscuits and pancakes,oatmeal,trout fished from the lake out his front door and a fall ram taken every year.

Dick was very active, on a daily basis he hiked,paddled the lake and had chores like cutting the fire wood he used to heat and cook with.He was the self-appointed steward of the area surrounding where he lived cleaning up after hunters that came thru the area leaving there messes behind. 

  Dick wanted for very little he made all his own furniture, his home and many of his tools and utincels.He didn’t own a car had very few possessions and lived a fulfilled life with a small footprint enjoying the solitude of the area into his eightys. Dick leaves a legacy for us all as an example of  how we can live a low impact minimal but full life of purpose staying active healthy

video on my project

Hello! and welcome to this blog.

 Kevin here I thank you for taking a peek .I want to explore possibilities of living in small/tiny/micro spaces.I think it all started when I crawled inside my first major appliance box,you know the one we cut doors and windows in and decorated with crayons.Well I guess it never stopped for me although I am not to sure I’d fit in one anymore?;) I like small compact highly organized living spaces.They just make sence to me no wasted space cozy easy to heat and cool built-in furniture and smart storage you just have every thing you need and nuthing more.

Why do we like crawling into tents when we are camping?  Or set up in the living room (not that I do that or any thing)it’s like a cocoon where you are safe warm, just the right amount on space and you sleep like a baby.Theres nothing like camping. We all love to getaway in the woods sit by a fire relax and just bring the minimum needed to stay a few days why don’t we do more of that? My kids and I share some of our best memories camping in an old 1960 something 13 ft camp trailer in the fall ,if it was cold and raining Great we stayed inside and drank hot coco made on the tiny stove. Crammed into the little table and booth to play cards or board games all afternoon.

 Do you have any stories like this? I would like you to share them here.:) I have several ongoing projects dedicated to living in small spaces i’ll share here with you along with pictures and videos  showing whats possible and the tools and toys to make it fun and comfortable to do check back often and share you experience/obsessions with us. See you soon Kevin