John Greenwood Gregory Johnson of Iowa City is founder of the Small House Society, dedicated to the promotion of tiny houses and small housing solutions that are affordable and ecologically responsible. More photos from this shoot

This area serves many functions in Gregory Johnson’s small house.

Submitted Gregory Johnson in the sleeping loft of his small house.

For several years, Johnson has called home a 140-square-foot structure. It features cedar siding, metal roof, double-pane windows and a small deck. The walls, flooring and cabinets are made of thick pine. “Having small size allows you to then spend the money on the quality materials you want to buy,” he says. “If you’re looking at 20 windows, you might have to do with the cheap ones. But if you’re looking at four windows, you can go with the nicer quality products.” The main floor is his office, living room and kitchen, depending on what activity he is engaged in at the time. The upstairs, accessed by climbing a folding ladder, is the sleeping loft. The house was built on a trailer because city building codes prohibit construction of such a small structure on a foundation. Since Johnson’s home is not a permanent structure, he doesn’t pay property taxes. Instead he pays about $40 a year to renew the trailer license.

The house doesn’t have electricity or running water. There is a small propane heater; the water for the sink is gravity fed, and rechargeable batteries provide power for his lights, computer and iPod. In fact, Johnson says technology makes living simple easier. Favorite books and music, for example, are downloaded onto his computer. There are no utility or cable TV bills, and since the house cost only $15,000 he has decided to forgo insurance.

Johnson’s introduction to small living came when he read a newspaper article about Jay Shafer, an artist who has been living in a 100-square-foot house he built for himself in 1997. Johnson received permission to post the article on his Web site, and soon readers began asking Johnson how they could get in touch with Shafer for more information. The two men eventually met and conceived the idea of The Small House Society, which today has several hundred members. “I think of it as a collective group of people that have an interest in simple and sustainable housing who want to influence in a positive way how our society defines living space and development,” says Johnson. “So it’s not so much that somebody joins and gets a tote bag. They join and add their voice to this larger group that is having an influence in that way.” Johnson became Shafer’s first customer when he built Johnson’s home. Today, Shafer builds four to five small homes a year ranging in size from 40 square feet to 500 square feet.

Johnson works as a computer consultant at the University of Iowa. His wide variety of interests — such as bicycles, off-the-grid living and healthy eating — led to the establishment 10 years ago of Resources for Life, a Web site that focuses on living simply. At one time Johnson lived in a 2,000-square-foot house. But when the relationship he was involved in ended, so did the need for so large a home.

He first moved into an efficiency apartment, and eventually into a 10-by-12 room with a shared bath. In downsizing, Johnson describes what he calls outsourcing. “In the process of re-evaluating my own needs as a single person, I thought, ‘What would I really want for myself? What can I do without?’ I don’t really need a laundry room. I’m not washing my clothes every day. Once a week I can go to the laundromat. Similarly, I don’t need my own exercise room. I can outsource and go to the gym.”

Johnson’s home shares the large lot where his father and stepmother’s older, 3,000-square-foot home is located. Asked if using the bathroom facilities in the larger home is “cheating,” Johnson says, “I consider it another example of outsourcing.” He also keeps a few boxes of family keepsakes and other items in a friend’s storage unit, and he has three office spaces: two on campus and one off campus for his outside consulting work.

Johnson has lost about 50 pounds since moving into his small house. Initially he thought he would lose a few pounds just to make sure he could fit through the crawl space that leads to the sleeping loft. Then on Earth Day of 2005 he got rid of his car and started bicycling around town instead of driving. If he needs a car for an out-of-town trip, he either borrows one, rents one or finds someone to ride with. He also switched to a diet of primarily raw foods. On the downside, Johnson says, “It’s impossible to have 20 people over for a party.” (I can personally attest that at one point, when Johnson, myself and another person were all in the house at the same time, three was most certainly a crowd.)

The concept of a small house is not new. Thoreau lived in 150 square feet on Walden Pond. After World War II, 1,000-square-foot homes were the norm for returning GIs and their growing families. As the economy grew, so did the size of the average American home, which today measures 2,439 square feet.

As a visionary, Johnson foresees communities consisting of small houses whose occupants share the kitchen, laundry and bathroom facilities of a central home. He says a small house is perfect for the idealist who would rather spend time pursuing his passions than maintaining a house. He does admit it wouldn’t be reasonable for a family with several kids and a couple of dogs to live in as small a house as his, but even they can do things to simplify their environment.

The Small House Society serves as a reminder that less can be more. As Johnson sums it up, “You pay money to go on vacation and stay in a little cottage. Why not live that way year round?”

• A video tour of Gregory Johnson’s house, originally aired on WQPT's “Quad City Life & Times,” can be viewed online at WQPT’s Web site, www.wqpt.org.
• To learn more about The Small House Society, visit www.resourcesforlife.com and click on “Small House Society.”