All My Possessions at my Off the Grid Tiny House

I’ve been downsizing my life for more than 5 years and it’s been a very transitional process. For awhile, I went back and forth between getting rid of stuff and accumulating more stuff, but for at least the last 4 years I’ve been pretty much on the path of decreasing the amount of stuff that I have. Many times I would go through everything in my house and get rid of all the stuff I wasn’t using. My criteria would typically be if I hadn’t used something in 6 months or a year then I’d find a better home for it. A lot of the time that would result in me getting rid of as much as half of my stuff!

One of the biggest steps to downsizing for me was getting rid of my car. I found it extremely freeing to go pedal powered and it saved me a ton of money and also meant I spent a lot less time working to make making money. While living in San Diego, a big step was when I went from the biggest room in the house to sleeping in the 6×6 closet. By then almost all my personal possessions fit in there with me. Then, in January of 2015, I moved into this little tiny house that I bought used on Craigslist for $950. The idea was to live off the grid without a bill or debt to my name and that’s exactly what I did.

I wanted to know how many possessions I had at the house and it took me about an afternoon to list them all out and count them up to somewhere between 400 and 500 depending on how you count it. If I have 400 to 500 possessions today, I must have had 4,000 or 5,000 at my peak of ownership. And I can only imagine how many possessions many of my fellow US Americans accumulate who live in houses. I would guess that many people have over 10,000 possessions without realizing it. I know when I was a kid we had over 1,000 VHS tapes alone in our house so we must have had 10’s of thousands of total possessions in the house between my mom and us four kids.

Anyway, I’m making this detailed list for a few reasons. First, I think it’s a great tool for someone who wants to really simplify their life and live in a tiny house. My list of possessions, of course, won’t reflect anyone else’s exactly but I imagine it would be really helpful for some. Second, because as a minimalist and advocate of simple living people ask me all the time about things that I own and this should be a great resource for people. I get a lot of questions about the house, my bike, the water filter etc. and I’ve documented all that here. Third, many of these items I have are to help me live an environmentally friendly life so this could serve anyone who is walking down a similar path. Fourth, as an exercise for myself as I was quite interested in knowing what I actually owned. And lastly, for anyone who is just simply interested.

I decided also to look into how much stuff that I have was purchased used or new as well as that I managed to get that would have otherwise ended up in a landfill.  A * represents something that I purchased used such as at a thrift store, from Craigslist or eBay. A ** represents something that was going to waste and that I managed to put to good use. Examples of this would be from dumpster diving and finding stuff on the street.

I’ve linked to quite a few websites in here. The links will take you to more information about the possession. If I’ve linked to it then there’s a good chance that it’s a product that I support and would recommend. Some of the links also will take you to more information about the item or a tutorial.

For photos and visuals of the possessions, I’ve also included this video playlist that will cover the really important possessions. In this playlist, I gave a few tours of my off the grid tiny house that cover quite a few of the possessions that I listed. You can also check out all my blogs of The Teeny Greeny.

I moved on from The Teeny Greeny in January 2016, auctioned it off to make more tiny houses for people on the streets and now own just 111 possessions which are documented in detail here.

The House
50 square foot tiny house on trailer (built by Chris Scott of I-Wood International)*

“Living Room”
3 straw bails used as seats
3 burlap coffee sacks for seat covers
2 pillows with pillow cases
Fire pit (a cut barrel that I found in the dumpster with rocks from the beach)
“Birds nest” seat (bucket seat, pallet, bricks)

Outdoor Kitchen
Camp table and sink*
Propane stove and five-gallon propane tank*
Berkey filter (Travel Berkey with standard black filters plus fluoride filters)
2- five-gallon jugs for water**
Five-gallon bucket to catch grey water from sink**
Five-gallon bucket for food scraps to compost**
Soap bottle** with Dr. Bronner’s organic soap for dishes and hands
Spray bottle* with organic multipurpose cleaner (refill from bulk store)
Pot*, pan*, kettle**
Hempy scrubby (hemp dish scrubber)
Steel wool
Stand for Berkey filter (made of scrap wood** and metal stand**)
Rubbermaid storage locker used as my kitchen cabinet/ fridge*
The following is inside the storage locker:
Food storage- 18 mason jars (some found, some purchased 4 years ago), 3 old Kombucha jars**, 6 spice jars,
Baskets for produce**
2 plates, 2 bowls, 2 forks, 2 spoons, 1 spreading knife, 1 wooden spatula (*all)
Wood cutting board*
Good cutting knife
Multi-tool*
Nut milk bag
A few sprouting lids to sprout seeds
Neat-os reusable bags**
Orange juice press*
2 reusable grocery shopping bags
A few dishcloths and rags
Plastic ziplock bags** (only use these because I found a few unopened packs dumpster diving. I would not buy or accept these for free as I don’t support disposable items)
Lighter** (found on street)
Supplies to brew my own Kombucha– 1 gallon pickle jar**, 6 GT’s Kombucha bottles**, funnel

Bathroom
Bamboo reed fencing for walls*, metal poles** and bamboo poles** for support
Compost toilet (made of scrap wood**, screws, hinges*, 2 five-gallon buckets**, and a toilet seat)
Cabinet* with a bowl*, pitcher*, and cup* as a sink
Metal turtle decoration**
Mirror

Compost Bin
(made of 3 pallets**, scrap wood**, some nails, screws and metal wire, plastic tarp to cover it, 4 bricks to hold tarp down**,)

Wicking bed garden
(made of scrap wood**, screws, burlap sacks**, rocks from the beach, pvc pipe, and plastic base layer)

Rainwater Harvesting gutter and downspout I installed on my neighbors roof 
6 55-gallon drums*
Connection kit from Blue Barrel Systems (PVC glue, silicone, PVC joints, spouts, etc.)
PVC piping

Bicycle
Bamboo road bike (from CalfeeDesign.com)
Rear bike rack (Old Man Mountain)
Panniers (Ortlieb Back Roller Classics)
Hub dynamo for generating energy from pedaling
Inner tubes, 2 tire levers, chain lube, patch kit, lock, pump, multi-tool, helmet, bike lights

Electronics and Technology
Goal Zero solar kit (Nomad 20 solar panel and Sherpa 50 Powerpack)
Endless Sun solar kit (Apollo 36 Solar Panel and Titan 86 Powerpack)*
Goal Zero Nomad 7 solar panel
Headlamp and USB charging chord (Black Diamond Revolt)
Luminoodle string light and Lithium 4400 battery (charged by solar panel)
Computer, computer case, charging cord
ipod touch, headphones, charger, plugin (all*)
External hard drive
Go Pro and accessories and usb charger (all*)
Snowball ice sound recorder*
Canon 5D Mark II, 2 lenses card reader, manual, battery charger (all*)
Little electronic scale
2 SD card readers*
Hand crank light
Camera tripod*

Clothing
Almost all of my clothing is Patagonia brand because they are one of the most ethically and environmentally sound clothing companies I know of. I wear their clothes because to me it represents ethical business and using business as a means to effect positive environmental and social change.
4 pairs of pants
4 pairs of shorts
2 pairs of board shorts
3 pairs running shorts
11 t-shirts
6 long sleeve shirts
2 other shirts
5 jackets
1 vest
6 hats (3 ball caps, 1 full brim, 2 winter)
5 pairs of underwear
1 pair of biking underwear
1 belt
1 headband
3 scarfs
2 pairs of shoes (xero shoes and Merrel Barefoot)
6 bracelets
3 necklaces
2 pars of socks (one long and one short)
1 pair of long underwear
2 pairs yoga shorts

Hygiene, Body Care, Pleasantness in House
Toothpaste (Jason Powersmile)
Toothbrush
4 essential oils (tea tree, Texas cedar wood, lemon eucalyptus, lavendar)
Dr. Bronners soap bottle
Soap nuts This is a natural form of laundry soap
Fingernail clippers
Electric hair and beard cutter
Massage oil
Earplugs
Sunscreen
quick-dry towel
dental floss**
Sage, Palo Santo, and incense
Bottle with water and essential oils to use as air spray**
(For more on my personal hygiene read: My Natural Personal Hygiene)

Inside the house- decorations, sentimental items, and random things
Futon*
Bedding- Sheet set*, 2 pillow cases**, blanket*
Curtains, curtain rods** (sticks from the yard)
3 beeswax candles**
Lighter for candles**
Cushion seat
21 books* (see Books that I recommend for a list of some of them)
A handful of my book, Dude Making a Difference, to give to friends
6 baskets**
Wooden box chest**
Incense bowl*
2 shot glasses used as incense burners
21 small keepsakes and decorations from around the world (11 figurines from Mexico, Israel, and Africa, magnet from Turkey, pewter Earth, Africa man, gourd from Africa, 6 batiks from Africa, wooden mask from Indonesia, stone globe sculpture)
10 keepsake cards and photos
6 stones*
Stamp Stampede stamp to get money out of politics
Owl feather**
2 harmonicas*
Baoding Balls (my oldest possession, have had since 3rd grade)
Paper Tibetan box
Key to house
Folder of MSC papers
Checks
Library card
Birth certificate and Social Security card
Passport
Drivers license
Car2go card
Notebook
Cash
Coins and coin bag*
Stickers

Camping Gear (used some of this at home and around town too)
Osprey Kestrel 38 backpack
Tent
2 Sleeping bags
Sleeping bag liner
Sleeping mat
Pillow
Sawyer Mini water filter– I recommend this one for traveling around the world
Paracord
Water bladder
Dry compression sacks
3 straps
Travel plate, bowl, utensils
Travel pot
Bivy sack

Miscellaneous Possessions
Jump rope*
Stretch band*
Gymnastic rings*
Burlap coffee sacks**
Thank you cards, envelopes, and stamps
Scrubba wash bag for doing laundry off the grid
Yoga mat*
Hobo roll
Wet suit
Cardboard sign from Free Ride**
Swimming goggles
Vegetable and flower Seeds
Money suit 
Patagonia Frisbee
Sarong
Small scissors*
Surgical sutures to stitch myself if needed tweezers
Mini sewing kit*
A few pens*
Reusable water bottle
2 storage bins*
More Msc- twist ties**, rubber bands, sand paper, measuring tape*, super glue, work gloves, fishing line
Screws and nails
Paint roller, tray, and paintbrushes**
Hammer*
Paint scrub brush
Hatchet
Metal wire
Bees wax and candlewick to make my own candles
Hinges*
Rattrap
Level**
Saw*
Leftover paint*
Plant buckets*
Plant pots*

Note: I typically borrowed other people’s tools rather than having my own such as an electric screw driver, shovel, and hoe