Category: low-footprint living

Communal housing seems to be on the rise again. Mainly this trend seems to be prompted by economic hardship. But also I think a lot of people are finally starting to see the importance of community, and the hazards of social isolation.

One popular form of housing right now is the shared house. It’s become more of a thing among us seniors, whereas in recent past decades the apartment-share or house-share was mainly a thing that young single people did before they got married.

If you’re offering a place, it can be helpful to write down the major criteria that might be potential deal-breakers for a lot of the population. This saves everyone’s time and energy.

In that spirit, I’m going to write down what I see is the biggest “sort filters” here at the house I share.

No dogs or other pets. (BTW if you like cats, there are plenty here! The feral cat population in our neighborhood is quite overwhelming, and we are actively engaged in trap neuter release.)

No clothes-washer or dryer on premises. Laundry options include: laundry service; laundromats a bus ride away; or you can try out hand-laundering using my extreme conservation / micro-batch methods. And, we actually do have a dryer on the premises: It’s a solar dryer, otherwise known as a clothesline.

We are a car-free household. Bus line is located nearby, and we have one shared bicycle (aiming for two shared bicycles in the near future). There are also taxis and various rideshare services.

We do not use air conditioning.

We do not use central heating. Small space heaters are used very rarely, but the emphasis is on heating ourselves rather than the air in the house.

We minimize use of artificial lighting. Preference is given to structuring our days and routines around sunlight. And also, savoring the beauty of natural dark time. We do enjoy candlelight though!

No one gets their own private bathroom. Over time, we have devised various ways to make it not difficult to share the one bathroom we have.

No hot showers available on premises. Options for hot showers include gym membership. There are also solar-heated shower bags; I’ve used them in the past at eco school, but we don’t own any right now. They are easy to obtain though.

No high-speed Internet. We access the Internet via our phones. There’s also a public library over the bridge, about five minutes by bus or 20 minutes on foot.

I’m hesitant to post this because it might sound unwelcoming, all these No’s! But as I said, it saves everyone’s time and energy.

I’ve written longer posts about why we do what we do here. Why the extreme conservation measures and so on. Here I’ll just write a short recap of our “why”:

1) To minimize our eco-footprint.

2) To de-program ourselves from USA middle-class norms of consumption and standard of living, which not only are trashing the planet but also are keeping our own selves vulnerable and fragile.

3) To minimize our financial overhead, all the better to free up resources for our creative projects and micro business endeavors.

If our rather unconventional conditions (by modern USA standards) don’t work for you, never fear! There are various groups online where you can find potential housemates.

A couple of the most active ones I know are “Senior Women Cohousing” (15.5k members as of this writing); and “homesteads looking for helpers, helpers looking for homesteads” (128k members as of this writing). Both of these are private groups on Facebook. A staggeringly enormous variety of housing situations are offered, and you’re sure to find something that suits you.

Even if our place doesn’t sound like a long-term fit for you, you might enjoy coming for a short visit, in the spirit of a mini glamping vacay by the sea. You can even use this as a base for exploring to seek your longterm housing situation. This is my personal home, not a rental property or commercial property. There is no rent per se; just a fractional contribution to property taxes, our modest utility bills, and other household expenses.

And for those of you who might be thinking, “Hmmm, this way of life sounds like it might be interesting and have merit, but it feels too hard for me to handle” … Consider that with all the weather disasters and other crises happening, a lot of people have already had such “austerity” conditions thrust upon them without notice, and for indefinite durations. There are advantages to getting a bit of practice voluntarily. And you get to control the duration!

Below, I’ve started a list of Facebook groups you might want to check out if you’re looking for a housing situation and/or a housemate. You can find these by typing the name into the Facebook search field. There are lots and lots of groups; these are just the two I happen to belong to. They do offer a huge variety I must say. You’re sure to find a situation and/or home-sharing companions who are a fit for you.

homesteaders looking for help, helpers looking for homesteads (129k members as of 1/7/2026); Senior Women Cohousing (women only — 17k members)

(Posted early this morning on Facebook.)

Good Saturday morning everyone! The full Moon is descending in the west-northwestern sky, and that ball of brightness just above and to the left of her is planet Jupiter.

Sunrise will be at 7:17, and moonset will be at 7:43 this morning. (USA EST)

Apps: The Moon; StarTracker Lite; Sunrise & Sunset

Go here to see post, with pics of app screenshots.

natural light & dark; skies; appropriate technology; fostering awareness of sun & moon rhythms; getting people interested in the natural world via their phones

We have been having some chilly weather, and it reminded me that a lot of people really get to “feeling low / feeling blue” during the dark winter season. It can be quite intense, even incapacitating.

Then I remembered that I used to be one of those people. And I wondered what had changed. To convert me to one who deeply cherishes the dark of winter-time.

When I look back, I notice it seemed to get easier when I became self-employed 30 years ago, and thus gained a bit of flexibility to set my work hours. So basically, I could sleep in on dark mornings. And also, didn’t have to commute.

Following this trail, I begin to wonder if what I noticed in myself regarding SAD might also be true on a societal level — that a lot of what depresses us about darkness and winter is the fact that we still need to get up and go to work at the same time. Which is not natural, which is a historic anomaly by the way. An anglo/western industrial capitalist thing.

By the way, I still get a form of SAD, but instead of being brought on by dark and cold, it is brought on by extremely long runs of bright sunny weather! When I look into myself, I noticed that this type of bright sunny weather induces in me a sense of obligation to be massively productive in a capitalist sense during all those extra daylight sunny hours. Whereas in many traditional cultures, it’s customary to rest when the sun is super high and broiling.

If more of us could instead reconnect our work and wakefulness to the seasonal rhythms, I wonder if the incidence of SAD would go down. What if winter meant more snuggling under blankets, doing indoor quiet handicrafts with friends and family, etc. (Or alone! I enjoy the seasonal rhythms by myself as well as with loved ones.)

Even the hard work is nourishing, when it’s in community. We’ve created a very lonely culture around work as well as everything else

Then on January 1, first day of 2026 — the day after I had these thoughts — I opened my email box to find that Desireé B Stephens was sharing a beautiful post about time. Talking about “Supremacy Culture, Urgency, and the Theft of Rhythm.”

Read Desireé’s post: https://desireebstephens.substack.com/p/claiming-a-monopoly-on-timeupdated

If you enjoy that, you will certainly enjoy her other posts as well. And she’s on Facebook too.

And if you’re serious about decolonizing your mind, follow Desireé steadily. BTW paid subscriptions come with goodies, such as expanded writings, and a weekly interactive Live.

Speaking of dark, here at Starshine House I ask people to keep “dark & quiet” hours from about midnight to six. That’s in an experimental phase. I tried 11 to 7 but that felt too strict.

The fact that we tend to be an early to bed early to rise household does tend to make it easier to follow the rhythms of sunup and sundown.

PART II. (added later the same day)

So, I mentioned that I truly cherish and enjoy the deep dark slow season, which i sometimes refer to as “the back of the year.”

But, I have often felt guilty about enjoying same. Like, I really enjoy it but then I judge myself for being a slacker.

It helped me somewhat to learn the Permaculture design principles of imitating nature; taking a page from nature’s book. Shifting one’s cadence with seasonal rhythms is a great example of working with nature instead of fighting nature.

But still, I couldn’t entirely shake the guilt.

Recently, though, I’ve gotten a whole new level of freedom from guilt. This freedom has come to me courtesy of decolonization work.

Which brings me to get another gem of a piece by Desireé B Stephens. This one landed in my inbox this morning. I’m going to share with you a lovely quote from it, but you absolutely must go read the whole piece. (Oops, I don’t think there’s actually an online piece; I think this was just part of her email newsletter.)

“Thank you for sitting with this.
Not skimming it. Not reacting to it. But allowing it to land.
This work asks something of you … not agreement, but presence. A willingness to stay with discomfort long enough for clarity to emerge. That is no small thing in a culture trained to rush past what feels heavy.

“We are in the Season of Self right now. This is not the season for performance. It is not the season for fixing.
It is the season for going deeper.
For becoming more introspective.For noticing what you’ve inherited, what you’ve absorbed, and what you’re finally ready to release. For slowing your nervous system enough to hear what’s underneath the noise.
I’ll be returning to live conversations on January 19th. Until then, you’re welcome to explore the Liberation Education Academy — it’s self-paced right now, designed for reflection rather than urgency. Live courses will begin in the spring, when we move into the Season of Renewal and begin turning insight into action.
For now, take your cues from the original mother to us all.
The Earth is not rushing. She is resting. She is dormant. She is preparing.”

Visit the link below to read more deep wisdom from Desireé, and explore the Liberation Education Academy, and sign up to get notifications of her upcoming courses.

Here’s where to go for the Liberation Education academy: https://substack.com/redirect/1ab5caeb-6f64-41aa-9c62-77563ba4aa3c?j=eyJ1IjoiMWJiejZxIn0.FvO-tT60k7dZqsJa3lo7_xniWVVbOJPCJ1s-sIZge9o

Some lovely people I follow on Facebook made a post:

“People call it ‘living off-grid.’ I call it ‘living like humans did for thousands of years without asking permission.’

“Some say off-grid living is extreme. ‘Why give up modern comforts? Why isolate yourself?” they ask. But when you think about it … what’s truly extreme — collecting your own rainwater, growing your own food, building a small shelter — or needing a monthly subscription just to exist comfortably?”

For starters, I’m not crazy about the term “off-grid” because it has contributed to a lot of rugged-individualist romanticization and other misunderstandings. But, it’s a handy term because everyone can sort of visualize what people mean even though the details are different.

What’s “extreme” is what we are doing to the planet and to traditional / indigenous cultures.

The main thing I see as “extreme” about this lower-footprint life — less reliant on centralized systems that feed fascism and are destroying the planet — is that so many people who I see attempting it are trying to do it without community.

By community I don’t mean that people have to share a house or live on the same piece of land, but I just see a lot of people trying to live a hardscrabble life on raw land surrounded by neighbors they’ve never met or who they actually feel animosity toward.

I also see a huge brain drain, cognitive drain, as people get really super focused on trying to grow all their own food. Instead of plugging into their local social ecosystem. Plugging in includes both supporting existing people and businesses; and bringing ones own various talents and skills and passions to the table.

But yes absolutely let’s collect rainwater off of all the buildings everywhere including in the cities. And let’s reduce our reliance on systems that make us vulnerable and poor.

Yes, it’s a good idea for us to become more involved in our food supply. But that doesn’t mean everybody has to go out to the country and buy raw land and grow potatoes by themselves. (Not a reference to the OP; this is a reference to a big trend that I see in white permie/prepper circles.)

Becoming involved in our food supply can happen anywhere, in the environment of our choice be it a big city, a small town, or yes, a rural area.

BTW becoming involved in our food supply doesn’t mean just growing food (good thing for people like myself, who are actually really bad at growing food). There are many aspects of food preparation and distribution beyond just the growing. Drying and other preserving; fermenting; distributing; making hot meals and prepared foods from those fresh local crops.

But community is the foundation wherever we go. And yes it’s OK to be an introvert who doesn’t want to interact with people all that much.

Yet still, participating in community — plugging into and supporting our local social ecosystem — is fundamental to human survival and thrival. THAT Is a thing that indigenous/non-colonizer peoples have known since the dawn of time and never forgotten.

See their post in its entirety here on my DEEP GREEN Facebook page, And from there you can follow their page (The Wildlanders). They post a lot of very inspiring and interesting content.

I have found it liberating to take a “portable and modular” approach to our household cooking facilities.

Pictured: microwave oven; deluxe toaster-oven; electric kettle; rice cooker; crock pot; single electric burner.

Not pictured (and rarely used): mini wafflemaker; old-school toaster.

Outdoors we have a couple of mini twig-fired stoves, small charcoal grill, single-burner propane camp-stove, and now (gift from friends) a cute little sterno-fueled “portable campfire” for making s’mores.

Oh, and of course the solar oven!

Pix here.

One hears so many people saying they want a village, they wish they had a village, etc. But our mainstream society has not conditioned us to really know what the “village” really means! I would even go so far as to say that our society has actually conditioned us to forget what the village means. Let alone do most of us have any idea how to create it.

And yet, the village is the cornerstone of sustainable society.

Yesterday on my Facebook feed, I came across an Instagram reel so good that it actually motivated me to reactivate my Instagram account! Pretty drastic ha ha. (Thanks to Shanti from my antiracism community!)

It’s amazing how a really skillful communicator can say so much in just a little one- or two-minute reel.

May I present a new favorite person of mine on Instagram, Robina Khalid ( @smallthingsgrowing ).

In her first video that grabbed my attention, she says “having a village is not the same as having servants” — although in our dysfunctional capitalist culture many people equate it that way. “Having a village is not about being served; it’s about mutual service. But if it’s an effort-full way of life, it’s also one where a sense of belonging, security, and purpose mitigates the burden of that effort — and that makes life feel easier.” https://www.instagram.com/smallthingsgrowing/reel/DS2oHJYjR6-/?

In her second video I came across, she points out that “What we are missing without a ‘village’ is much more than just material help. Humans need other humans in order to build secure, resilient perspectives about their own lives! Exposure to each others’ lived realities normalizes and destigmatizes so much of the human experience.” https://www.instagram.com/reel/DSdahTyEloW/

Not on Instagram and don’t feel like making an Instagram account? Never fear, she has a Substack too! I’m going to go find that link for you right now.

OK, here’s her whole Linktree! And here is her Substack https://smallthingsgrowing.substack.com

A community-related article on her Substack that I’m bookmarking for myself to read later, and hope you enjoy also. https://smallthingsgrowing.substack.com/p/so-you-want-to-be-involved-in-radical “So you want to be involved in radical communities but you have young kids — What if you started by being radically in community instead?”

Often times we idealize village as being like-minded people in close proximity. But what I find more often is that the common concerns create the like-mindedness. Working together creates the village.

Also, there are certain things that will probably never go backwards. Many of us will probably always be living very geographically distant from many of our loved ones. There’s also a lot more moving around and there used to be. And so, for many if not most of us, online community and online village will continue to be a necessary part of the mix.

A core feature of life is impermanence, as the Buddhists often remind us. I sometimes feel that most keenly in the impermanence of social community.

Living with impermanence is part of building a personal resilience that in turn creates our village and collective resilience.

The New Year’s Eve Dharma talk today, from Brother Phap Hu of Plum Village, Was very comforting and energizing, and encouraging as in literally increasing my courage, regarding being at peace with impermanence. The two-hour talk and practice was full of gems and is well worth the watch. I will almost certainly rewatch it. You can check it out here https://youtu.be/VLMYfEltQUU?si=S9Z_HuFjb0tQR6nM , and also see lots of other good content on the Plum Village channel.

I have found the Plum Village content very refreshing and practical, extremely helpful to both my activism and my overall enjoyment of life. For those of you not familiar with it, the Plum Village tradition was founded by Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh.

And, to round out the village and community theme, I absolutely must share with you this beautiful piece by Desireé B Stephens, on the Kwanzaa principle known as Ujamaa (cooperative economics). It’s part of her excellent series on the Kwanzaa principles. https://desireebstephens.substack.com/p/day-four-of-kwanzaa-ujamaa-cooperative

In closing, on a personal note, I am very fortunate to know the number of people who actually really do know what village is about, and really create and support the village.

And to all of you reading this, I thank you for being here in my virtual village. Happy New Year’s Eve, and Happy New Year!

A friend shared the following information: “The footwear industry creates nearly 1.5 million tons of manufacturing waste annually, not including discarded shoes. Most shoe components aren’t biodegradable and can sit in landfills for centuries. Every time you choose repair, you’re actively reducing landfill waste.”

Thank you! I’ve gotten really hard-core about shoes. If I can avoid ever buying another new pair of shoes again I will be happy. I doubt I’ll be able to avoid buying new manufactured shoes ever again in my life, but it’s a worthy aim.

If I have to buy new shoes, I would love to be able to buy them from a solo artisan or small workshop or something. But, there are so many existing shoes out there already, I really would rather not buy new.

I’m also not willing to own more than three or four pairs of shoes anymore. It’s just too much to keep organized lol and I prefer to go barefoot when I can.

I’m barefoot as much as possible, as long as I don’t have to go to some indoor event. (And sometimes even then!)

When I’m in my neighborhood at the beach, and don’t have any appointments on the other side of the bridge, I can go days without having to put shoes on.

In addition to avoiding buying shoes, especially new shoes, I have taken to experimentally crafting DIY makeshift footwear from discarded shoe components. Some of the experiments have not been successful, but a couple of the recent ones have been!

For example, I glued Xero soles (after the canvas uppers had been worn to shreds) to the upper part of some backless maryjane crocs (after the soles of those had been worn away) that a friend had handed down to me. Creating a weird-looking but serviceable pair of slip-ons. I probably wouldn’t be able to walk far in them, but have covered 3 to 5 miles of errands in them from time to time.

When I say glue, I’m referring to ShoeGoo (of which I purchased a tube to glue the peeling sole back on one of my two pairs of “Sunday best” maryjanes. (Empress, all the way from Australia, highly recommended.)

Another experiment that has been quite successful was making my super-warm knitted booties outdoor-serviceable by gluing a pair of old flip-flop soles onto them. (I just needed them outdoor-serviceable for short distances, like when I step outside to dump the coffee grounds in the garden or wash a dish. But if I had to I could probably walk down the block to the pub or post office in them. ) Both the flip-flops whose souls — er soles — i harvested, and the knitted booties, were items that had been thrown away on the sidewalk. For a couple of years before gluing the flip-flop soles to the knitted booties, I had already made a bunch of sewing repairs to the booties: seams, canvas sole, and so on.

OK, now that I’ve whetted your appetite with these ever-so-enticing descriptions of my DIY shoe derring-do, it would be churlish of me not to show you photos of my efforts.

PS. If you are lucky enough to have a shoe repair shop near you, treat them with all the love they deserve!! Those places tend to be way backed up, but if you’re lucky, as I have been on many occasions, you might end up getting your shoes repaired to a state better than the original.

Also, especially if you’re young, you might consider embarking on shoemaking/shoe repair as a trade.