Earthbag Desert Shelter

Low cost, do-it-yourself, 81 square foot interior desert shelter made with sand-filled earthbags (click to enlarge)
Low cost, do-it-yourself, 81 square foot interior desert shelter made with sand-filled earthbags (click to enlarge)

This is the third installment of my low cost desert shelters that have been designed with economic refugees in mind. These desert shelters were inspired by Phillip Garlington’s website at Rancho Costa Nada. http://www.ranchocostanada.itgo.com/ His book Rancho Costa Nada: The Dirt Cheap Desert Homestead is available through Amazon and Smashwords.

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More Uses for Pallets

We’ve already covered a wide range of things that can be made with salvaged shipping pallets. Use the built-in search engine (now much improved!) to get ideas for pallet furniture, wood cladding, ceilings and other items. This blog post lists some additional uses for pallets. Craft projects such as children’s toys, mirrors, coat racks, magazine … Read more

We The Tiny House People (Documentary)

TV producer and Internet-video personality Kirsten Dirksen invites us on her journey into the tiny homes of people searching for simplicity, self-sufficiency, minimalism and happiness by creating shelter in caves, converted garages, trailers, tool sheds, river boats and former pigeon coops.

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Cable Spool Furniture

Cable spool bookcase and table
Cable spool bookcase and table

I thought I had pretty well exhausted the options for extremely low or free furniture until I saw the Facebook page Recycled, UpCycled, Freecycled Garden Projects. On a whim I entered ‘cable spool furniture’ into a search engine and was a little surprised to see the range of quality furniture that people have made with free cable spools. I’ve seen plenty of crude tables, but some of these designs are quite nice.

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