Rye Sustainability is hosting its annual Green Screen event this Thursday on the Rye Country Day School campus starting at 6:00pm. There will be a reception, screening and Q&A on the documentary, “The Box Truck Film” – all about the creation and travel in an ecologically designed and operated tiny home built in a box truck.
MyRye.com caught up with filmmaker and reuse expert Alex Eaves and former HGTV host and tiny house designer Derek “Deek” Diedricksen on living a green life, what it is like in a 98 square foot tiny house and tips we can all put use to live more sustainably.
MyRye.com: How long have you both lived full time in your 17-foot moving truck / 98-square foot tiny house?
Alex: I’m the only one who lives in the truck, as it was built both to be my home and also a mobile reuse education center. I moved into the truck in 2017, but then took some time off in 2021-2022 to clean out a family member’s very “not so tiny” house. Deek lives in a small house with his wife, kids, dogs and guinea pigs.
How is your high speed Internet service?
Alex: Typically, I use the Wi-Fi where I park the truck, whether it’s someone’s house, business, school, etc. In some cases, I can’t reach Wi-Fi, so I just use my cell phone as a hot spot. But we all need a break from the internet sometimes.
What is the environmental impact of your tiny house on wheels compared to an average single family home in an upscale suburban community such as Rye?
Derek: Overall the impact of a tiny house like this is going to be far less than that of a traditional home. The house is built with secondhand, reused, and discarded materials that already existed and didn’t have to be specially produced for this build, for one. A house of a mere 98 square feet is also going to cost and use less by way of needed heat, never mind electricity. You just can’t fit every plug-in gadget and appliance into a space so small. And even if you were to build a tiny house with new materials, these little houses require less to furnish, so again, you’re looking at a smaller consumption of newly produced goods (carbon emission, toxic materials, trees being felled for their manufacturing).
What are the top three (biggest eco impact) tips you have learned living in your tiny house on wheels?
Alex: Fortunately, I knew many tips going into this, which is why we chose to use only repurposed, salvaged, upcycled materials. But here are 3 of the best:
- Almost anything we want and need already exists and we don’t need to just buy new. We might just have to do a little treasure hunting.
- In general, people are happy to get rid of things that are just sitting collecting dust or heading to the landfill. You just have to ask.
- We could all take shorter showers or just turn the water off in between rinsing off soap. I can get a really refreshing shower in the truck with only two gallons of water.
Like I always say, reusing benefits people, our planet and our wallets.
What are the best places to find salvaged and repurposed materials at no or low cost?
Derek: I could teach a whole weekend long workshop on this (in fact I DO each year (“Tiny House Summer Camp” in Vermont through Relaxshacks.com)). For starters, just keep your eyes open anytime you’re on the road. It’s amazing the things people throw out – most of which aren’t even very used, or in some cases are even in new condition. Freecycle.org, Facebook Marketplace, and Craigslist, are other places to look. Restores and secondhand building supply stores are another place to turn. I would also recommend that you simply let people know you have a big building project coming up. Communication and networking are important. You’ll be surprised at how many people have leftover materials eating up space in their shed or garage – items that they want gone. They’ll feel that you are doing them a favor when it’s really a two way street.
Does your tiny house have a name?
Alex: Yep. The REUSE! Box Truck It’s a movie star now too. (boxtruckfilm.com)
Have you ever been pulled over for speeding in your tiny house?
Alex: Nope. I’m almost surprised I haven’t been pulled over so they could check out the truck. Fun Fact: a police officer was the first person to tour the house at the tiny house festival in the town we built it in.
Are you telling the truth?
Alex: As my favorite band 311 says, “I always say what I feel and that is a promise. Nothing in life is above being honest.” Cheers.
Thank you Alex and Derek!
