How do you keep your head above water in today's economy? Unless you're a self-made millionaire (I'm not!), it's certainly not easy. Years ago my husband and I decided on a pretty significant lifestyle change. If we were really going to change, we had to reassess our needs and wants. We wanted to live more simply and be as self-sustaining as possible. We did not want to get up and head out to corporate America every morning. We did not want a mortgage or car payment. We wanted 40+ acres to call our own. Our basic needs were simple: a roof over our heads, food, water, and transportation.
How would we implement this plan of "simplicity"? First, we needed a plot of land. This "need" caused us to reassess the "want" of 40 or more acres. If we truly wanted no land payments, the want of 40 acres needed to be scaled way down. We found 3.5 acres in the high desert of northeastern Arizona bordering a beautiful canyon, petroglyphs, creek, and all, for $5,000.00.
Second need: the roof over our heads. We researched many alternative building styles and settled on an earthship. Earthships are labor intensive, for sure, but they are incredibly strong and perform wonderfully in our climate. They are built by first digging four feet into the earth (at this level the ambient temperature of the earth is a constant 55º keeping the home cooler in summer and warmer in winter), then tires are rammed with dirt like giant bricks on top of the excavation along the north, east, and west exterior walls. (see interior photo) Each tire, once rammed with earth (using sledge hammer and earth tamper), weighs approximately 350-400 lbs. It took my husband 3 months in the dead of winter to finish the 300 tires that comprise our exterior walls. Dirt from the excavation was backfilled behind the tires creating a bermed affect. The earthship is now nestled within the earth. Our concrete floor is 7 feet below what is now ground level. The initial 4 foot interior excavation of our home was reinforced with ½ inch rebar every 16 inches (vertically and horizontally), then chicken wire was tied to the rebar and this reinforcement was sprayed with concrete similar to swimming pool construction. (This reinforcement is not necessary in all soils, but our soil contained a great deal of gravel.) The tire portion of the walls was finished with adobe mud, and stucco (which we mixed ourselves). The rest of the home was standard stick-built construction. We built a vertical glass earthship and modified the design to suit our needs and budget. You can find more information about earthships by simply googling "earthship" or "earthship building".
Of course, there was a learning curve. No one can be expected to be an expert at anything they've never done before. We bought books by Mike Reynolds... Earthships Vol's I, II, and III. We also had books on construction and code requirements, as well as friends who were contractors who were available for advice and to answer questions. And most importantly, we had the will and drive to keep plugging along. Just like the pros, things did not always go smoothly. (Imagine!) There were times when we needed to take a couple of days off to mentally regroup. (I called them mental health days.) The only things we hired out were the initial backhoe work and the concrete... everything else was done by my husband and me. The main thing was we didn't give up! We now have a home that we built ourselves (albeit, still a work in progress), on our own property, and NO MORTGAGE PAYMENT! How amazing is that?
Anyone can do it! Reassess needs and wants, that is. The process will help you eliminate bills you just don't "need", and you may even wonder why you thought you needed those things in the first place. Times are tough, and may get tougher. Imagine a life with NO mortgage payment, no car payment, no credit card payments, minimal utility bills, untreated, fresh pure water and abundant organic home-grown vegetables! (Each summer we expand our garden) If living off the grid, in a sustainable lifestyle is something that interests you... call or e-mail me! I'd be happy to answer any questions you may have!
Stay tuned for Homesteading Part 2: High Desert Gardening
Comments(7)