"I was paying $2,400 a month for an apartment I barely used. Most of my life fit in my laptop bag. The rest — the furniture, the spare room, the second bathroom — was just guilt I was renting by the month. I built Cedar on a plot my parents had outside Bend. Took eleven weeks. Now my mortgage is $310."

"People thought we were insane. Two kids, a dog, and a plan to live on 400 square feet of solar and rainwater. Our daughters are seven and nine. They've learned more about where water comes from, how heat works, and what they actually need in a week than any classroom could teach. We don't go back inside until after dark."