We Love Jay Shafer

Jay Shafer is a Live-Small visionary and founder of the Tumbleweed Tiny House Company (check out their blog also). Since 1997 he has been living in houses that measure under 100 square feet.

Mr. Shafer is exactly the type of person we need leading the Live Small movement. He even took his tiny home on a cross-country tour this past summer (pictured above).

Please watch the video below to see him giving a tour of his 89 sq. ft. home.

Vern Troyer: Model Citizen

Vern Troyer's ex-wife Genevieve Gallen recently spilled the beans about her brief marriage to the former Austin Powers star.

Though Ms. Gallen alleges that her 2ft 8in ex has a sex addiction and a drinking problem, but--a 36-year-old former Playboy model who seems to have had few qualms about role-playing and having sex up to ten times per day--also claims that Mr. Troyer was only the second man she had ever slept with. Nevertheless, that is hardly the most intriguing part of the article. It turns out that Mr. Troyer not only is small, but he lives small too.

The first time Mr. Troyer brought his future wife back to his place, she was surprised to learn that his house was actually a shed in the back of his manager's garden. Inside, everything was miniature. "There was a miniature futon and a miniature refrigerator and bed," Ms. Gallen recalled. "The light switches were all down at the level of my knee, and the toilet was no bigger than a child’s potty."

We would love to know where Mr. Troyer purchased his home furnishings and appliances. He was truly prepared for the future.


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Karl Lagerfeld Living Small(er)

Fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld has recently taken several steps toward living small. He told German weekly Die Zeit, "I have moved to a smaller house in Paris, and I don't fancy having as much staff now."

The 75-year-old has even purchased a quaint historic home in Lake Champlain, Vermont, where he plans to shoot the next Chanel campaign. Mr. Lagerfeld called the home "not giant," and commented, "I love it. It's very Emily Dickinson...In fact it's almost Puritanical. For me it's a new form of modesty."

Clearly Mr. Lagerfeld understands that one needn't be small in order to live small.


Spiegel Online, via Fashionologie.

Young Man Living in Little Tikes Playhouse

In an implicit endorsement of Project Live Small, twenty-year-old Aaron McLeod spent thirty days and nights living in a Little Tikes playhouse this past summer.

Though the playhouse was equipped with two computers, two webcams, and a microwave, among other things, McLeod issued several complaints during his stay: that he began to smell after a few days; that rain managed to permeate the playhouse; that he didn't sleep very well; and that he suffered occasional leg and stomach cramps. It is also worth mentioning that McLeod relieved himself in a bucket, which his mother had to clean everyday.

These complaints might seem to demonstrate flaws in the Live-Small lifestyle, but we can assure you that McLeod would have had far fewer complaints if he had asked Project Live Small to provide more suitable--but still plenty small--living accommodations. In fact, if McLeod were less than four feet tall and his tiny living space were equipped with a small shower and sink/toilet, he might have decided to extend his stay indefinitely!

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The World's Narrowest Home

In a house that measures only one meter wide at its narrowest point, Helenita Queiroz Grave Minho of Madre de Deus, Brazil, lives comfortably with her husband, their three children, their dog, and her husband's sister and mother.

Living narrow is an important part of living small, and we at CSL commend Mrs. Minho for her ingenuity and her initiative. Now just imagine how much narrower and smaller our homes could be if we were all two feet smaller.

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Honey, I Shrunk the Kids (1989): A Live-Small Manifesto

The 80s were good to Rick Moranis. He was happily married, and had hits with such films as Ghost Busters (1984), Little Shop of Horrors (1986), Space Balls (1987), Ghost Busters 2 (1989), and Honey, I Shrunk the Kids (1989). The 1990s, however, were a different story. In 1991 Moranis' wife succumbed to liver cancer, and in 1992 he decided to reprise his role as Wayne Szalinski in the box-office flop Honey, I Blew Up the Kid. From there things didn't get any better. In 1997 Moranis again reprised his role as Wayne Szalinski--this time in the straight-to-video Honey, We Shrunk Ourselves. The final nail in the coffin? Perhaps.

Although the second and third installments of the Honey trilogy certainly mark the violent downward trajectory of Moranis' film career, the first deserves more careful attention. If there's a lesson to be learned from such a delightful family film as Honey, I Shrunk the Kids--and we at CSL believe there is--it's that living small, though sometimes alienating, is the most economically responsible way of life. For proof, one must look no further than the scene in which the kids stumble upon a cookie in the yard, or the scene in which Nick Szalinski finds himself floating in his father's bowl of Cheerios. Their reduced height makes the food appear immense, more than a single tiny person could eat in a lifetime.

To be sure, the height reduction featured in the film is extreme and entirely unrealistic, but the central message is clear: reduced height means less food, which in turn means less money and less waste.

NBC's Brian Williams and Chris Jansen on Living Small

Downsizing: 154 Square Feet of Bliss

At last, the mentality of "bigger is better" is losing its momentum, especially in the struggling real estate market.

Bill and Sharon Kastrinos of Calistoga, California, have readjusted their lifestyle as the economy has headed downhill. After living in an 1,800-square-foot house, the Kastrinos spent $15,000 on a 154-sqaure-foot home. This new, very simple lifestyle has helped them cut living costs and minimize their living. These extreme actions might just be the solution we need during an economic recession. Smaller is indeed better.

The Kastrinos 154-square-foot home.

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