A BESTSELLING children’s author has moved his two kids into a tiny 8ft-wide home and now spends only £150 on bills a year.
Dad James Campbell chucked out 90 per cent of the family belongings so they could fit into a mini-house with a floor smaller than 37 square metres.
After going through a divorce, James decided he wanted to be more environmentally friendly – he went from owning a five-bedroom house to shedding most of his possessions.
He told The Telegraph: “The move was a lifestyle choice.
“I always loved caravan holidays, it was very freeing being able to carry what you need.
“I thought getting rid of 90 per cent of my stuff would be a good thing.”
Initially, he moved into a luxury caravan with a wood-burning stove and solar panels on a three-acre field that was unused for 40 years.
Despite loving the caravan lifestyle, James said he needed a bit more space to fully commit.
As well as choosing a mini eco-home he had decided to go fully vegan, stop flying, and buy everything second-hand.
In the strive to be more environmentally conscious, he decided to splash out £60,000 on a property on the same plot of land – but faced a few obstacles.
James said it was sold to him by cowboys and struggled with “the rat incident” due to holes in the bottom of the house.
Another time, bees moved into a hole in the wall and made a hive around live wire.
“One day I heard a massive snap – a whipcrack – then smoke started pouring out of the wall and two flaming bees came out and died on the floor.”
“Someone could have been killed.”
Thankfully, James stuck it out and, even though he wished he’d built it himself, he is thrilled to be living in his tiny home.
The 7m by 2.5m construction “can be a squeeze” according to James, but his children, an 18-year-old boy and an 8-year-old girl, don’t seem to have a problem with it.
He said ” “I think my kids love it – my son is autistic, he likes the simplicity of things.
“They like being outside, they haven’t complained.”
It has all the features of a regular house as well as a few planet-saving modifications.
The solar panels allow James to spend an envy-inducing £150 on bills a year.
There are two bedrooms with a gas stove, an oven, a fridge, and a washing machine, an inverter, and storage batteries.
With thick external walls clad with timber, gutters that funnel rainwater into a filtered tank, and triple-glaze windows the mini-home keeps toasty, even in chilly British weather.
The solar panels generate most of the power for the house, which is so well insulated it doesn’t need much.
If there is a distinct lack of sunlight James whips out the gas to keep the family warm.
“Gas is the dirty secret of off-grid living,” James added.
“In winter, it’s impossible to keep warm using the sun – that’s when propane comes out.”
As well as a a blissful energy bill, the dad-of-two lives an idyllic lifestyle planting fruit and vegetables in his “food forest” garden.
He attributes the sudden change in his way of life to a “lockdown-inspired breakdown.”
The one thing the single author says is missing from his environmentally-friendly lifestyle is another grown-up to share it with.
