Oil Lamps and Candlelight

Last night, it was already dark when I got home from work. The waxing gibbous moon lit the path to my tent pretty well, but I opened my cell phone anyway to help light the way. The day had been an exceptional one for late October in Virginia, around 80 degrees, sunny and warm. And the early evening was still warm. There would be no need to light the heater. Maybe just put on a sweatshirt.

I entered my home and, as usual, sat my cell phone on the kitchen buffet next to the kerosene lamp, leaving it open so that I could find the matches. I have three lamp. The one in the kitchen, another one on the end table near my bed, and a third hanging overhead at the back of the tent. I always light the kitchen lamp first since it's right by the door. With that first lamp burning, I can see well enough to go around the tent and light the others.

Kitchen lamp

Bedroom lamps

This night, I would be practising music and reading, so I pulled out all the stops and lit up everything I have. Although oil lamps put out a lot of light and are very economical, I find the light to be a little harsh compared to candlelight. I've really gotten used to soft lighting at my place. I have five big candles sitting here and there around the tent. One on the end table near the door, three in the bathroom, and another that I keep on a stool that doubles as a table. I lit them all. And I turned the oil lamps as bright as they would go. I don't usually do that, but this night I needed to read.

Bedroom workspace lit up for reading

Have you ever lost power and had to revert to candles and oil lamps for awhile? When I lived in a house, those were some of my most memorable moments. There's a sense of peace that enters the room when you turn off those bright electric bulbs and light candles. People often ask me about electricity. Do I miss it? Will I get it someday? No, I don't think so.

Financial Freedom

Here are some interesting financial statistics about people in the U.S.:

• Our average household income is around $4500 per month (after taxes)
• Our average housing costs are around $1400 per month (including rent, mortgage, taxes, insurance, utilities, maintenance, and so on)
• Other household expenses (like transportation, food, entertainment, and so on) are around $2700 per month
• Around 70% of us don't like our jobs

U.S Department of Labor statistics

That's how it is for the average American. Chances are that if you're reading this post, then you can relate to it. You can see yourself in those statistics. We're living one month at a time. Money comes in, and money goes right back out. What's left each month (around $400 on average) hopefully makes its way into savings or investments to help us secure our financial freedom at some point in the future.

But what is "financial freedom"? If you Google it, you'll see things like:

"Financial freedom happens when your wants and your needs are exceeded by your passive income".

You'll also get lots of advice about cutting expenses, increasing income, eliminating debt, increasing savings and investments, and so on. And like the old saying goes, "Freedom ain't free!", right? So the common wisdom is to work hard and sacrifice now so that you may someday attain financial freedom.

Work hard, at a job you don't like. And cut back so that you can save and invest more. That's right, cut back on those very "wants and needs" that you're trying to attain. Sacrifice now so that you can be free...later.

Later. When you retire. At age 65 if you're lucky, but more like 67 these days. That gives you about 10 or 12 years of "freedom" at the end of your life. Stay health, so that you can enjoy those final days of freedom. And pray that your investments in stocks and bonds and real estate weather the ups and downs of our volatile economy. That the politicians and financiers of the world that you've entrusted with your investments are indeed worthy of that trust.

So, how's that plan make you feel? Secure? Not me. It makes me nauseous. It's a bullshit plan.

For example, look at the whole "wants and needs" part of that plan. Most of the financial advice out there focuses on cutting back on your current expenses, and moving that money into savings and investments. Why? So that you can spend later. Spend now, and you can't spend later. Don't spend now, and you can spend later. Spend spend spend!

Enough!

There are "wants", and there are "needs". And you can't cut back on needs. Period. Otherwise, they were never really needs to begin with. I'm talking about enough food and water to keep you health, and adequate shelter and clothing to protect your body. Those are truly needs, and there are few. Everything else that we spend our money on are "wants".

Want true financial freedom? Start by thinking about your wants. Think hard. And stop wanting so damn much! The goal is to want exactly what you already have. To be satisfied. Maybe that's the true price of freedom: to work hard at not wanting so much. Or at least not wanting things that cost so much money.

But changing your "wants" is hard. And there's a reason for that. It's called society.

We see the material possessions that our peers have and we want those things, too. We see advertisements for products and we're compelled to buy. And if we can't have the things that we want, the things that others seem to have, we feel bad. We even feel like failures sometimes. Our society has even gone so far as to weave this message into our definition of "success". It's insidious, and it's hard to stand up against.

We even define "poverty" in this way, in comparative terms to the rest of society:

"Poverty is the lack of the usual or socially acceptable amount of money or material possessions"

We measure ourselves by what is "usual" and "socially acceptable". We are "poor" only in relationship to the society in which we live. Think about that. Think about it hard. In fact, work as hard on that concept as you do planning your retirement, or budgeting your expenses, or managing your investments, or working that extra job. Because changing your "wants" is just as important as all of these things. Maybe even more important.

And what about your job? Well, the standard advice with regard to financial freedom is to make as much money as you can. But if you're like most people you really don't like your job. At least that fact is recognized by the financial experts, with their focus on investments and passive income. At least they acknowledge that the main goal of financial freedom is...to quit working! Or more accurately, to not have to work, and to therefore have the freedom to do what you want with your life.

Hmmm, to do what you want with your life. So what does that look like to you?

I live in a tent, and I do it by choice. I have all the food I need. I have all the clean water I need. I'm safe and dry and warm. My needs are met. And I have all the extra things that I truly want. I have extra money. I have extra time. I'm able to do the work that I enjoy without having to worry too much about what it pays. I'm free. Join me.

New Kitchen and Bath

If you've ever taken a tour of my home, you've probably noticed that my kitchen and bath were pretty..."campy". My kitchen consisted of a piece of plywood resting between two pine shelves. My bathroom vanity was a piece of plywood on top of two wooden stools. My dump sink was a plastic bucket with a hole cut in the bottom for the drain. And my tent toilet was a plywood box.

Well, not anymore. Last week I put in a new kitchen and bath!

I really love my new stuff! The kitchen is an old wooden baker's table with plenty of storage underneath. I was getting tired of all the clutter on my old kitchen shelves. I still have one of the old shelves for storing food, pots and pans, and glasses and cups, but it's now tucked out of the way behind my closet so it's not such an eyesore.

My new kitchen

My new bathroom is awesome! I picked up an old oak wash table at an antique store. It's five feet tall and fits perfectly on my 5-foot side wall. I replaced the old plastic dump sink with a new porcelain vanity-top sink from Lowes. It's much easier to clean than the plastic bucket that I had.

My new bathroom

I even found an antique earth closet! With arm rests!

My new earth closet

Maintaining the Path to my Tent

My tent site is tucked in the woods about 30 yards from where I park my truck. In April of 2012, when I first moved in and began setting up, I followed a game trail from the parking area down to the tent site. Soon the game trail became a well-worn path. In May, I put down some mulch and pine needles, and over the summer I would occasionally pull weeds and sprinkle more pine needles here and there to cover muddy spots as they appeared. By October, the path was in need of some serious maintenance.

I live among pine trees, so pine needles are easy to come by. Especially in the fall when the trees start shedding.

Pine needles cover my "back yard"

I have around 50 yards of paths that run from my parking area, to my tent, and then down to my living area. The path from the tent to the living area needs less maintenance. It's not used as much as the main path, and it's on a good grade that drains well so there's not much puddling when it rains. But the main path from the parking area to the tent was in sorry shape after summer rains and general neglect.

Gathering pine needles is a bit of a chore. Even though they're plentiful, you still have to rake them up and separate out the sticks and pine cones. I just rake up a pile, then comb through it with my hands and separate out the big stuff.

Raking up sticks, pine cones, and pine needles

Separating the needles

It took a while but the results are worth it. I now have a nice, soft walkway. No more puddles when it rains!

Before

After

Stink bugs!

Holy crap! Stink bugs have invaded my tent! They're *everywhere*!

In my clothes. Crawling around the floor and walls. Up on the ceiling. Especially on the ceiling. They tuck themselves in between the tent frame and canvas. They're inside my kerosene lantern. Inside of it, damnit!

I've almost eaten them on several occasions. Picked them out of my food in the nick of time. Bastards!

I really hate stink bugs. I thought the ticks were bad in the spring, but I would gladly trade. I even prefer mice to these bugs.

I went to the laundromat today and started pulling my clothes out of the basket to load into the washer. I'd see a stink bug here and there and shake my clothes out and when I was done I looked down and there were dozens of them just crawling around at my feet. Embarrassing. People probably thought I lived in a tent or something :)

Rain Fly Support System, Version 3.0

A few months ago I tried a new design for my rain fly support system. It consisted of two vertical 4x4 posts and a horizontal 25-foot cross piece running from post to post. It worked great...for about two days...then it failed miserably.The cross piece was just too flimsy. It twisted and turned and finally cracked.

I posted the failure on Facebook. Some of my friends consoled me. Others offered suggestions. I was already thinking about building a sturdier cross piece, something like a light structural beam, and many of my friends offered similar suggestions. Then my son, Boston, suggested a different approach:

"I think a compression member is asking for trouble. Why not a thick, strong rope under tension instead of a beam? Keep the 4x4 posts at the gable ends for compression, and turnbuckle the beam rope on the ground. Less weight over your head if it fails, too."

As soon as I read his post I knew he was on the right track.

I drilled 1/2" holes at the top of each 4x4 post and ran 50' of 1/2" twisted nylon rope from post to post. The rope has a 600 lbs working load. I intended to put 200 lbs of tension on the rope to keep it flat. That would leave 400 lbs for snow load.

Sighting down the rope from the front post, 14 feet off the ground

I staked the ends of the rope to the ground using two, 2 1/2' x 3/4" pipes at each end, and rigged a sort of block-and-tackle on the rope using four D-rings. I pulled the rope taut.

Block-and-tackle made from D-rings

The block-and-tackle worked well and I was able to get the rope pretty flat, which in turn keeps the rain fly smooth and stationary.

Rope in place, anchored, and pulled taut

I draped the rain fly over the rope and staked it down.

The finished rain fly

Water

Of all the modern convenience that I left behind when I moved into a tent, running water is what I miss the most. No electricity? No problem. Earth closet for my tent toilet? Well...okay. Heat with wood? Cook with gas? Sure. Drink warm beer in the summertime? I suppose I'm even used to that now. But carrying in containers of water is pretty inconvenient.

It turns out that finding a water supply is fairly easy, and we're all very lucky in this country that clean water is so readily available. Most people are happy to let me use their outdoor spigot. I found that out last November when I first started living this way. I was looking for a water supply and I noticed a spigot outside of a country store. I went in and bought a few items and started talking to the store clerk. I explained that I was camping in the area and needed to occasionally fill my water containers. They said, "Sure, help yourself!" From that day on, I made it a point to be a good customer at that place, and gave the clerk a dollar each time I filled a container. I'm sure they referred to me as "the water guy".

At my current location in Brandy Station, my landlord let's me use his hose spigots anytime I want. The closest one is on his guest cottage which is about 150 yards from my tent. It's a nice walk, especially carrying 7 gallons of water.

Filling up at my landlord's place

And that's one of the things that I really appreciate about water: it's *heavy*! One gallon weighs a little over 8 lbs, which means my 7 gallon container is almost 60 lbs when full. That's heavy enough to really knock you off balance when you carry just one container. And while carrying two gives you nice balance, it's over 100 lbs! And for some reason I just can't seem to fill those containers part way. I'm always compelled to fill them to the top. That's because water is so precious to me now.

I use Aqua-Tainers to carry my water. They're tough, and the spigots hold up well. I have two, one in my bathroom and another in my living area.

7-gallon Aqua-Tainer

My average water consumption is about 3 gallons per day. Here's the breakdown:

• Bathing: 1.5 gallons. I take sponge baths.
• Cleaning: 2 quarts. I do dishes every few days, which takes about 1.5 gallons.
• Cooking: 2 quarts. A pot of coffee, and maybe rinsing some veggies.
• Toilet: 1 quart. My tent toilet is an earth closet which consumes no water, but I urinate in a dump sink and flush each time with a cup of water.

In the summer, my water consumption increases a lot. That's because I often take two baths a day, and I typically use more water for each bath since I go outdoors and pour cold water directly over my head. Those are 2-gallon baths, and that gets me to around 5 gallons per day in the summer.

In my tent, each cup of water is precious to me, and I've gotten very good at putting every single drop to work. For example, I rinse my soapy hands with just a 1/2 cup of water. And it takes less than a gallon to rinse a full drainer of dishes. When I shampoo, I use 1 cup to wet my hair, and 2 more to rinse it.

But my extreme sensitivity to water conservation disappears when I'm back in a conventional house. For example, when I'm staying with friends I'll take long, guilt-free hot showers and enjoy each moment. And I'll often leave the water running while I brush my teeth. That's because I don't have to carry the water that I'm using there so there's no real penalty for wasting it. (Hmmm...no penalty for waste. Now that's a topic for another post!)