upworthy

tiny home

Photo by Leo_Visions on Unsplash

A van in the desert.

Sometimes, when life gets too complicated, we need to slow down and get smaller. This was the case for Lori Losch, who woke up one day, post-50-years-old, and decided it was time for a change.

As she explains in a video posted to the Tiny Homes YouTube channel, "I decided to do 'van life' for a couple of reasons. One was to heal from some pretty traumatic life events. And the other was to find a smaller town to move to, to be able to interview small towns as I traveled."

Losch reveals on her website that she battled addiction for a quarter of a century. "I’m a soul who finally broke free from the addiction cycle after a 25-year battle. I used the pain of powerlessness, acute anxiety, and bouts of deep depression to point me towards truth and freedom." After leaning into 12-step programs, psychedelic plant healing, faith, and relying on her community, she shares she has truly learned what it is to be alive.

Part of that is traveling, and this is something she likes to do on her own terms. So, she custom-designed a van to feel like a "tiny home" where she lives, works, travels, and heals. She even bought a custom curtain to separate the front area (where the driving happens) from the back so that it feels less like an RV and more like a home.

- YouTube www.youtube.com

On her tour, she first shows the viewers a swivel desk. "It's been an amazing feature, this lagoon table." It serves as her office when she's talking to clients, but also as a hub if she just wants to sip a latte or watch a movie on her laptop with her dog by her side.

She designed her kitchen so that her sink would have a big window view, which changes daily. "I wanted to have a lot of counter space and also the butcher block creates just warmth in the van." Of the large sink, she loves that she can wash her 11-pound dog Tessa in it. Her tiny fridge/freezer is "low volt," above which she has organized food storage. "You learn how to live just much more minimally, but I cook great food in this little kitchen. You know how they say three-point kitchen? Well, this is a one-point kitchen and it's perfection."

Losch also notes that when you scale down to just the essentials, you might find greater value in those things. She alludes to having had large homes in the past, one with "1500 books." Now, she simply has the books she's reading or plans to read. "When I'm done with them, they move on to other people." (The books incidentally hide the interior antenna for her "weBoost system," which helps boost cell service "when you're in a dodgy spot.")

books, cozy corner, design, van life, travel An open book sitting on top of a table next to a candle. Photo by anotherxlife on Unsplash

The bathroom is incredibly innovative, but, ironically, she found she didn't need much of what was built. She points out that while she has an exterior shower, she thought she wanted an interior shower, as well. And although she has a super cool setup wherein she flips a little table over and puts up a shower curtain, she prefers showering outside. As for the toilet, "I got a Cassette Toilet. It's like the best thing you can buy and I've never put my butt on it." She continues, "I climb a lot of mountains. I'm mainly out in nature, and nature is fine." Instead, she uses the area for laundry and storage and claims, "I roll with it cuz it's here. I use it for something different than I anticipated."

Her bedroom is cozy and, though she designed it like a little cave, it has a small window too. She got a ten-inch foam mattress set up at the back of the van, and the doors hinge out. She shares, "When I'm backed onto a lake or a river, I open up both doors and they hinge 270 degrees. That was super important to me. So I'm just up here, room with a view—it's awesome."

lake view, van life, outdoor living, mental health, travel A lake surrounded by mountains. Photo by clement fusil on Unsplash

Every design decision came with a lot of research and intentionality. She has an AC and diesel heating system, which she explains, "...Uses your fuel. It pipes out from under the passenger seat into the van and takes about two minutes, literally, to heat this place up." She also meticulously built a garage that houses the electrical features. "I went with 300 solar watt panels on the roof and they charge 400 amp hours of lithium battery. And I've got a DC to DC inverter, so when you're driving the van, it's also charging."

She explains, "A question I get asked often is 'Why? Why the van? Why tiny living?' And I think for me, my life was always fairly contained. I liked to live below my means. I didn't like a whole lot of extravagance and waste. Then I got married and I found myself with someone who was extravagant in a lot of things, with multiple homes. When I came out of it, it's like the pendulum had to go way back this way for my soul to heal."

Losch shares her end game is to "find a piece of land" to build on and be self-contained. And though people tell her that her van is small, she says it's not about the size of the van, "It's about where the van takes you."

The comments, and there are over a thousand, buzz with support. One person writes, "I don't know which is more beautiful—this lovely woman, or the peaceful home she has created. Wonderful video, and I wish her healing and happiness in her travels."

So many seem to relate to her need for repair after addiction and are inspired by the idea that one can change their life at any age. "What a gorgeous woman! She is over 50—let that sink in... Oh, and the van is lovely—kudos to her!"


When you think about climate change, what comes to mind?

I immediately imagine smokestacks billowing black soot, congested highways with idling cars, and millions of unassuming, gassy cows hanging out on the prairie. I don't, however, think about the house I live in — but I should, if you ask a climate scientist.

The housing sector is responsible for over one-third of global greenhouse gas emissions, according to the United Nations.

And that's what makes this amazing tiny house all the more spectacular.


Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images.

This Ecological Living Module — aptly dubbed the "tiny house" — aims to spark fresh ideas rethinking home construction and functionality to fight climate change.

The house, set up in New York City's U.N. Plaza between July 9-18, was built through a collaborative effort between U.N. Environment, U.N. Habitat, and Yale University. And its features are pretty darn remarkable.

Could this tiny house represent the homes of the future?

Many environmentalists certainly hope so.

Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images.

It's a mere 72 square feet (!), give or take, and is truly a work of sustainable art.

Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images.

Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images.

The house was constructed using only locally sourced and bio-based materials. It runs on solar energy, has on-site water collection for in-home use, and uses plants to keep the interior air pure and fresh.

Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images.

Photo by Hind Wildman/U.N. Environment.

The home even has a "micro-farming wall" on its exterior so that potential residents can eat (very) locally.

Photo by Hind Wildman/U.N. Environment.

The tiny home movement has been picking up speed in American culture as more people trade large houses on big properties for a simple, cheap, and sometimes mobile alternative.

But beyond relishing in any short-lived lifestyle trend, the U.N. module home is aimed at helping solve two dire global problems in the long term:

  1. People are in desperate need of more housing, especially in the expanding urban regions of the developing world.
  2. The worsening effects of climate change go hand in hand with a growing world population emitting more carbon into the air.

The tiny home is a two birds, one stone solution.

"We clearly need more housing," explained Erik Solheim, U.N. Environment Head, "but the key thing is that we also need smarter housing."

Homes like this one do the trick.

Photo by Hind Wildman/U.N. Environment.

While this particular tiny house in New York will be moved this month, U.N. Environment plans to build future iterations in different countries to continue pushing for solutions-based design.

"Adequate housing is at the heart of sustainable urbanization," according to Maimunah Mohd Sharif, executive director of U.N. Habitat. "If adopted widely, this practice can create jobs and prosperity with lower greenhouse gas emissions."

Sounds like a win-win for our world to me.

In 2015, nearly 60,000 refugees arrived in the Netherlands needing a place to live.

The Netherlands is a small country, just more than half the size of West Virginia, so housing all of them was going to be a challenge. As the worldwide refugee crisis continues, innovative solutions are needed so that the people fleeing civil war and sectarian violence have a safe place to live.

Refugees arriving in the Netherlands in January 2016. Photo by Arie Kievit/AFP/Getty Images.


In this case, the solution involved, in part, opening up an old abandoned prison as temporary public housing. It was a less-than-ideal situation to say the least.

The country was determined to do better.

In January 2016, the Netherlands launched a design competition called "A Home Away From Home" in which entrants were tasked with designing temporary housing for refugees and disaster victims.

All of the winning designs rethought the idea of public housing, adding amenities and innovations to make the buildings more like fully functioning homes than simply a bed to sleep on.

The winners of the contest recently appeared on display in Amsterdam as part of Dutch Design Week and included things like solar power, water purification systems, and ingenious use of space and material.

Photo courtesy of A Home Away From Home.

This Farmyard shelter is designed to transform vacant farmland into mini villages.

Photo courtesy of A Home Away From Home.

The cube design of the Farmland means dozens can be stacked, placed together, and moved easily. The architects of this design imagined the miniature villages establishing a "DIY economy" with local towns.

Interior of the design. Photo courtesy of A Home Away From Home.

Another designer created these styrofoam towers as perfect low-waste housing for refugees being processed at reception sites.

Photo courtesy of A Home Away From Home.

They're insulated, waterproof, fire resistant, and very cost-efficient. They have all the amenities of an apartment — beds, a sink, a toilet, a shower, and a kitchen table — and can easily be rigged up with electricity.

Comfort City is one designer's solution for cities that don't have enough space to house a large number of refugees.

Photo courtesy of A Home Away From Home.

Every part of the Comfort City design is modular and adaptable, meaning it can be easily constructed in empty industrial buildings — or even abandoned prisons — while providing the homey comfort that abandoned prisons tend to lack.

Then there were designs like this modern Solar Cabin that can actually generate revenue and electricity.

Photo courtesy of A Home Away From Home.

Its solar paneled roof actually generates more energy than is needed to power the home, so the occupants can sell electricity back to the local grid to make a profit.

Interior of the Solar Cabin design. Photo courtesy of A Home Away From Home.

And finally, this sleek cube design actually comes with a built-in water purifier.

Photo courtesy of A Home Away From Home.

The cubes are Finch Evolutionary Wooden Buildings and are portable, easy to construct, and run on solar-powered batteries. They also have a vacuum toilet system that recycles water on site, making the whole thing self-sufficient.

We're going to need more and more of this type of housing and way of thinking about the refugee crisis.

Home is a concept many of us take for granted, but it's not a small thing. It makes us feel safe, comfortable, and human.

The current refugee crisis hasn't showed signs of slowing down, and with climate change creating more and more dangerous weather systems, we're likely to see climate refugee numbers grow sharply. All of those people are going to need places to live. Innovative solutions like these help them to not only live, but live with dignity and opportunity.