I was deeply inspired by Shay Salomon and her book, Little House on a Small Planet. It opened my eyes to a new (and infinitely more manageable way of life.) I hope that it will do the same for you. Perhaps, like me, you should start to think big and live small. I believe it will change your life for the better.

Here is Shay Salomon with her inspiring story on living small!

What is the Small House Movement?

The Small House Society (SHS) is the movement of people who want to simplify their lives by living in less space. So it's really a wide range of people, in the United States and all over the world, from young families who have exchanged their large suburban homes in favor of small downtown apartments, to folks who have retired into RV's and the open road, to movie stars who have downsized to small mansions.

There are dozens of variations on this theme, more than you can imagine: people on boats, in attics, in treehouses. In our book, Little House on a Small Planet, we give about a hundred examples because we felt that was a minimum number to begin to describe the scope of the trend. What all small housers have in common is a belief that by giving up personal space, and the stuff that fills it, they are getting a better life.

The Small House Movement has historical roots going back as far as the first Americans who lived in tents and small stone apartments, and Puritans and Quakers who embraced simplicity as a religious practice -- or, internationally, back centuries to the Japanese wabi sabi movement, and certain monastic practices in Europe and Asia. The arts and crafts movement of the early twentieth century was seen as a response to the architectural excesses of the Victorian era, and books such as A Simple Home were published during that period.

Many people are familiar with Henry David Thoraeu's life at Walden. What they may not know is he wasn't the only one retreating to a small cabin throughout history. Whenever theres been a surge in the economy, a surge in consumerism, there's also been a pushing back, a counter movement. When economic times are lean, that countermovement tends to take center stage for a while.

Why did you found (along with Nigel Valdez, Jay Shafer, and Gregory Paul Johnson) the Small House Society?

We thought about it for years before it happened. We were traveling all over, talking to people in remote areas, and found that many people felt isolated, so they appreciated our slide shows as a chance to find out about other people like themselves, a confirmation that yes, this is a good choice, and no, I'm not a freak to want to live small. We met Jay in Iowa City and he told us how he kept his small house obsession a secret from his family and friends at first because he knew they'd find it too strange. We commented we needed a group like the "Dead Poets Society," to support people like us and with the energetic help of Greg Johnson the Small House Society was born.

The SHS mostly is a kind of mutual aid society for small housers to share information and support. There are policy issues -- like building, zoning and banking regulations that effectively ban small houses in some areas that we are beginning to address. The recent mortgage crisis has brought into full focus how much the 'big house movement" has damaged our nation, ecologically, economically and spiritually.

What type of person wants a small house?

In the 90's and in the first years of this century we noticed people usually making the choice for ecological, or spiritual or even artistic reasons, as a reaction to what they saw as a tasteless excess of consumerism, an excess of MacMansions. So the choice was a kind of counterpunch to the world around them. Now, with the economic shift, many more people are seeing the benefits of less space for economic reasons. Some people we could even say have been forced into the Small House Movement, through a natural disaster, a divorce, a foreclosure, or an inability to qualify for a house, but once they got there, they report, "Downsizing into X00 square feet is the best thing that ever happened to me." These recent converts can be among the most vocal advocates.

Is there one place in the that has embraced the Small House Movement more than any other?

We get a disproportionate amount of fan mail from rural areas. That surprised me. The State of California, in its quest to lower green house gasses has passed legislation to encourage "Accessory Dwelling Units" -- which means backyard granny flats, over-the-garage units, and apartments cut out of a larger house. They understand the ecological benefits of tiny houses, and higher density and have taken the lead, along with some municipalities in Washington state, Virginia, and Florida , and a few other places. And then there is Manhattan, which per capita uses less energy than any other American city, in part because almost everyone lives in small apartments. The average Manhattanite isn't aware of it, but they could be considered honorary members of the Small House Movement.

How many people are living in small houses today in the ?

There's such a wide range of "small." The average new home today is about 2500 square ft. Millions of families prefer to live in homes less than half that size. A few developers have dedicated themselves to this trend, providing modest-sized homes for specific types of people such as seniors, single mothers, urban couples, etc. A few million North Americans spend at least part of the year living in an RV or Park Model home. In fact the manufactured home market is huge and growing and maybe the largest source of small house living. Meanwhile, there's what we could call the truly dedicated, who live in tiny, hand-built houses made of earth or local lumber, or recycled materials. I'd guess that number is a few thousand.

Do families live in small houses? Or is it usually single people and couples?

The media loves to report on bachelors like Jay or Greg, or single women like Dee Williams who live in 100-square-foot "bathroom-sized houses," and for good reason. The scale of their houses really inspires the mind to dream.

Most of our book is about families and couples. They report that by growing literally closer to each other they also grow emotionally closer, and that living small benefits the family. Nigel and I, now that we have a child, agree. We've spent our adult lives always living small, but now we're even more sure of the benefits. It's a trade off -- do you want a big house with a huge playroom, or do you want a smaller mortgage, and more time to spend with your family? Small housers tend to covet their free time.

What are the first steps to becoming a small house owner?

Often the first step is to really start hating the cleaning, maintenance and big mortgage that a large house requires!

But really there are so many different paths to this lifestyle that it takes a whole book to begin to explain them. Often it comes with a life change, and a move to a new location, but other people simply move into a cabin in their own backyard and rent out the main house. Many people start by having a yard sale, and getting rid of their extra possessions. Others go on a long trip in a small van or with just a back pack and come back to find their entire house unnecessary. Like with any first step, the stepper starts by looking inside, choosing a direction, and then just stepping.

Shay Salomon is a small-house builder and co-founder of the Small House Society, and author of Little House on A Small Planet. Contact her via her website, www. littlehouseonasmallplanet.com.