I hear you thinking: what on earth is there to declutter in that itsy bitsy house of yours? And no, I haven’t got a storage box full of junk hidden somewhere. Everything I own – except for 3 boxes – is in or around my house. But you’ll be surprised at how much stuff fits […]
Hurray, a successful Jamboree!
It took six months of preparation. Dozens of volunteers were involved. No less than 15 Tiny Houses were there for people to see. And there were thousands of visitors. The first Tiny House Nederland Jamboree has taken place! And it was an overwhelming success! As the project leader for Tiny House Nederland and fire starter […]
Wet wet wet
All the water we’ve missed this spring seems to have saved itself for September. What a bucketload of water! It’s a real swamp around my house, but thankfully I’m high and dry. It’s nice that my water tank is loaded, but that’s only helpful with a working water pump… Unfortunately, it broke down. I have […]
The Young Climate Movement
Yesterday I attended the climate dialogue of the Young Climate Movement (Jonge Klimaatbeweging) where I was asked to speak as an expert on the subject of residential living. This was a great honor for me. I really think the youth has the future, but only when we give it all we’ve got to build a […]
Setting boundaries
Ever since I’ve been living in my Tiny House in Alkmaar, my house has received a lot of attention. That means unexpected visitors at unexpected times. At first I had strangers at my door on a daily basis. They had read about me in the paper or had heard me on a talk show. In […]
Off-grid solar in a Tiny House
Now that I’ve been living in my Tiny House for over a year, it might be interesting to see how I’ve managed with my energy consumption, and if my solar-powered system has enough capacity for me (like we calculated). Sit back and enjoy! In my blogpost ‘Tiny House techniek: zonne-energie installatie’ I’ve written down the choices […]
A pocket neighbourhood? Yes please!
A few months ago I ordered the book ‘pocket neighborhoods’ written by Ross Chapin, an American architect. I had already come across his ideas numerous times online and each time I got excited. In his view a lot of things come together that have long been brooding in my own mind and heart. It expresses a […]
Is there any hope for us?
This week I saw a few messages on my Facebook timeline that left me angry, down, and made me feel like there is only a small group of people calling for help while the big masses keep on living like there’s no tomorrow. All the while, the people who can actually make a difference in […]
Wanted: Tiny House residents!
Because of the enormous number of applications it’s no longer possible to apply for this project. If there are any more opportunities like this, I will put them on my website! My ultimate dream is to live in the forest. Well, in an open area in the forest; otherwise my solar panels would be useless […]
Heavenly water from the Berkey
Until now, I’ve been using my collected rainwater for pretty much everything, except for consumption. For showering, washing, doing the dishes and washing my hands. The filter in my water tank works well enough for removing the worst contamination from the roof, but at that point it’s not yet pure enough to drink. For drinking […]