Small House Society – News 201012 | 22 December 2010 | Wednesday
Dear Friend of Small, Simple, and Sustainable Living,
Greetings from India. I hope your holidays are going well. I’m here in India again for a short while studying small and sustainable living. I know that time is precious for everyone, so I’ll try to keep this update short. The approximate reading time is about 5 minutes.
Small House Movement Growing. The movement toward simpler and smaller living continues to expand. Last month alone, news coverage by Associated Press was distributed through over 60,000 news agencies including ABC, CBS, MSN, NPR – National Public Radio, Yahoo, and more. The website had over 20,000 visitors in just two days, and we’ve seen over a millions visitors over the past two years. Smaller, simpler, and more sustainable living is increasingly becoming mainstream.
Annual Membership Dues. As we head into the new year, many of you have already renewed your membership for 2011 at the $5 level. If you’ve not done so already, please consider visiting our Membership Page and contributing to our work for the coming year. For new and existing members, all donations received in December count toward membership in the coming year. It seems like a small amount to give, but your collective contributions are immense, and combined with highly efficient activism, we’re accomplishing much. Thanks for your support!
Plans for 2011. At the start this year, our goal was for the Small House Society to become leaner and more focused. At that time, I described four categories of people who are central to the Small House Movement. Our focus in the year ahead continues to be the support these four groups:
- Journalists and Media. Journalists and members of the media have greatly helped us spread the word about smaller and simpler living. We continue to provide prompt responses, usually by the end of the same business day or sooner, to all requests for information and interviews. This helps keep our minimalism agenda in the public eye.
- Designers and Builders. Visionary designers and builders of small homes create enjoyable small spaces as habitats for joyfully and abundantly living small. This past year we’ve supported them and helped to promote their work. While some websites charge $400 or more for advertising space, we offer qualified designers and builders premium listings on our site for free. The $5 annual membership fee is optional. Yet many designers and builders choose to pay for expanded advertising and promotion initiatives we offer.
- Bloggers and Writers. Bloggers and writers help create local and personalized stories of smaller and simpler living. Through promoting blogs and providing technical assistance, we continue to help people launch their own websites, sharing stories of successfully living small. We also help promote books about smaller and simpler living. Publishers regularly send us review copies of books and we write reviews and promote the books free of charge. While some websites charge $400 or more for advertising space, we offer bloggers and writers premium listings on our site for free. The $5 annual membership fee is optional. Yet many bloggers and writers choose to pay for expanded advertising and promotion initiatives we offer.
- Small Housers. The people who are actually living in small homes are at the center of what the movement is about. Through one-on-one consultations and online resources, we’re continually looking for ways to help and support people who are making the change to small living. We hope the resources on our site will continue to inspire and equip people for smaller living.
If you belong in any of the above mentioned groups, we’re here to serve you. Or, even if you don’t, we’re glad you’re here!
Newsletter Subscription System. In 2011, we’ll begin shifting to MailChimp.com to announce these newsletters. If you’ve not done so already, please use our new signup form to subscribe.
Enhanced Designer/Builder Directory. This past month we updated our directory of small home designers and builders to include location information (city and state) as well as some photos of homes. Please let us know of any additions or corrections you’d like to see.
Thanks. I want to thank the global team of volunteers and contributors “behind the scenes” who help make all this possible. I’m very grateful to the many people who continue to uphold and advance the mission of the Small House Society. Thanks again for your support. Please let me know if there is any way that the Small House Society can serve you better.
Regards,
Gregory Johnson, Facilitator
Small House Society
Internet: http://www.smallhousesociety.org
E-Mail: shs @ resourcesforlife.com (without spaces)
Postal: c/o Resources for Life, PO Box 2717, Iowa City, IA 52244-2717
Phone: (319) 621-4911
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