Mat and Danielle

To help you avoid some of the mistakes we made, like packing way too much stuff or having a passport stolen or damaged, we’re sharing our 10 best travel packing tips and hacks that will help you travel light, save money, and have an easier and more comfortable trip To downsize the book weight, we now try to bring smaller travel journals, we don’t bring guidebooks (we use our iPod and free maps from airports and train stations to get around), and we’re starting to try eBooks (free from our library) and audio books from Audible (our video sponsor! ). They’re offering a free 30-day trial to our followers if you want to try one of their audio books: http://www.audible.com/exploringalternatives When travelling, there are many times (for us at least) when we don’t shower as often as we’d like, maybe due to a 48 hour travel leg, a nasty hostel shower that we don’t want to use, or because we’re too busy/lazy (it happens more often than you want to know). Travel has a pretty big environmental footprint and while we haven’t quite gotten to the point where we’re willing to stop just for environmental reasons (I am thinking about it! ), we do try to minimize flying and we also travel with reusable containers to limit the amount of garbage waste we’re producing.

Kathleen and Greg from Tiny House, Tiny Footprint decided to downsize their lives from a downtown apartment in Denver, Colorado to a 140 square foot camper trailer/mobile home. The couple’s inspiration to adopt a minimalist lifestyle and move into a small space was multifaceted: they wanted to have a smaller environmental footprint, spend less money, have more time for outdoor adventures, and be location independent. In addition to their trailer, Kathleen and Greg are also converting a 1987 Toyota van into a camper van for budget-friendly road tripping which will allow them to experience working on the road as digital nomads. To learn more about their lifestyle, and to get a peek inside their trailer, check out the latest video we posted on our channel: They have an inspiring Instagram feed and blog where they share stories about people living in small spaces that are worth checking out.

He wanted to put into practice the idea that living in a smaller space requires fewer resources to build and maintain, so in 2014 he built himself a beautiful tiny house. One of our favourite things about his tiny house is that he installed a ton of solar power (750 Watts) on the roof to power his electronics and appliances, including a full-sized fridge. He also installed a solar air heating panel on the outside of his house, which is his primary source of heat during the day. *We filmed a video about the new model of this solar air heating panel with EcoSolaris which we’ll be posting soon.

This summer, Mat and I spent two days camping at the Terra Perma eco community in Harrington, Quebec, and checking out the miniature green building models they’ve built for visitors. In addition to starting an eco community, Terra Perma wants to spread the green word by offering off-grid experiences in their tiny sustainable cabins. To do this, they created a kind of alternative living campground with yurts from Yurta and Groovy Yurts, a straw bale and cob cabin (video coming soon! ), an airstream trailer, and a tiny earthship-style cabin, to name a few. We just posted a video tour of their mini earthship to give you a peek at the gorgeous natural interior design features like the glass bottle and sculpted cob walls; and to share the off-grid features of the cabin, like the 1000 Watt solar power system and the angled metal roof that’s designed for rainwater collection and passive solar heating & cooling.