Ariel has been living off-grid in her 170-sq.-ft. tiny house for over six years. She grows and preserves much of her own food right on the land, which is over 6000 feet above sea level.
She generates her own solar power, carries her own water, cuts her own firewood, observes wildlife, and works part-time on the ranch in exchange for her tiny house parking spot on the land.
Ever wonder what it would be like living tiny and off-the-grid? Take a dive into her life below to learn more thanks to Ariel (Fy Nyth) and Mat & Danielle of Exploring Alternatives. Would you ever consider building a lifestyle like this? Why or why not?
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Ariel’s Off-Grid Tiny House Lifestyle
Images via Exploring Alternatives/YouTube
She’s not connected to any utilities, so she uses solar panels to generate power.
Images via Exploring Alternatives/YouTube
Inside, the tiny house is beautiful as well as functional.
Images via Exploring Alternatives/YouTube
Ariel loves cooking so she uses the kitchen quite a lot.
Images via Exploring Alternatives/YouTube
The living area and entry.
Images via Exploring Alternatives/YouTube
This is her tiny house table.
Images via Exploring Alternatives/YouTube
It folds up and down and has some built-in storage, too.
Images via Exploring Alternatives/YouTube
Ariel does wildlife photography.
Images via Exploring Alternatives/YouTube
Some extra storage up here over the entry of the tiny house.
Images via Exploring Alternatives/YouTube
Going up into her bedroom loft.
Images via Exploring Alternatives/YouTube
Looks pretty cozy, doesn’t it?
Images via Exploring Alternatives/YouTube
Growing her own food.
Images via Exploring Alternatives/YouTube
Isn’t this incredible?
Images via Exploring Alternatives/YouTube
Can you imagine growing your own food like this?
Images via Exploring Alternatives/YouTube
Well, she really does it!
Images via Exploring Alternatives/YouTube
Look at all of this wonderful produce.
Images via Exploring Alternatives/YouTube
This lifestyle is not always easy, especially when one is still learning, but it certainly is rewarding.
Images via Exploring Alternatives/YouTube
When the snow is gone, her tiny house on wheels is surrounded by herbs so you can’t see the trailer-wheels, hehe. 🙂
Images via Exploring Alternatives/YouTube
A peek into her tiny house kitchen storage pantry… Not bad, right?
Images via Exploring Alternatives/YouTube
Her composting toilet.
Images via Exploring Alternatives/YouTube
She uses propane for cooking.
Images via Exploring Alternatives/YouTube
And yes, she carries her own water to the tiny house.
Images via Exploring Alternatives/YouTube
An evening doing one of her favorite things, cooking… 🙂
Images via Exploring Alternatives/YouTube
An evening at Fy Nyth… 🙂
Images via Exploring Alternatives/YouTube
VIDEO: Living Off-Grid on a Tiny House Homestead for 6 Years
Learn more
Related stories
- Lived-In Tiny House Tour: Fy Nyth
- Woman’s Triple Axle Tumbleweed Tiny House
- Life in a Tiny House: Cleaning Day at Fy Nyth
Our big thanks to Fy Nyth and Exploring Alternatives for sharing!🙏
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I’ve followed her for a long time. Her place looks amazing.
Aww thank you!
Yes–same! Ariel’s YT channel has so much helpful info for aspiring and current off-gridders. And I totally agree her place looks amazing–so cozy yet with everything you need to live fully. Cheers to Ariel, Fy Nyth, and their fans 🙂
This is so inspiring. Seems so peaceful.
Thank you! I have very much enjoyed all the years I have lived here.
Ok first, I have questions. In the video I saw a dog but I am pretty sure I also saw a puppy? And where does she live?
Now. I love her home. I love her lifestyle. In my next life I want to be her 😉. Thank you for finding and sharing this.
She did have a dog previously that she had to give up but her present dog has been with her since it was a puppy… She lives in the mountains of Wyoming… She has a website blog if you want to follow her. She doesn’t post as often on youtube since they passed that law that can get content creators fined heavily if their content appeals to kids but they didn’t designated it for children… Very vague, so risky as up to interpretation of content…
That’s bizarre!!! Everybody and anybody could get caught by that. Should be rescinded or clarified. But then the rest of the world knows how bizarre laws are in the States.
Yeah, an example of the progressive movement in the States, but so far they don’t seem to be abusing it, they just can if they wanted to, and she has started posting again, just not as often as she did before.
Unfortunately, people tend to ignore the problems of such laws until it directly effects them as most either don’t think it will or they aren’t aware that such laws are in place. While the media and politicians keep assuring people there’s nothing to worry about and any claims to the contrary is an unfounded conspiracy theory… Until it isn’t…
Wow! That’s crazy controlling. Like Eric says, needs to be defined and refined better than that, right?
It would definitely be preferable but doesn’t look like they’re going to do that and we’ll have to rely on them not abusing that power…
Youtube also has some other issues, like how they will demonitize videos if you so much as say a key word they don’t approve of, like the Pro Tool Review channel got a video demonetized for just discussing how the pandemic has been effecting the tool industry. So they had to repost with the word “Covid” censored… Homesteader’s like Justin Rhodes, have taken to posting videos on their own service as Youtube won’t let them show even the birth of a calf without demonetizing them… and that’s just the tip of the proverbial iceberg of issues developing…
It may sound extremely over the top but we’re seriously edging closer and closer to becoming a fascist state where the government has complete control over our lives, with the willing help of the media and big tech companies, and we have no say in the matter, with most of us still completely unaware it’s even happening… People really need to get informed and get involved…
Yep, James, I was going to say that it sounds a lot like what Hitla did in Germany when he first became chancelor. Of course, our news media was reigned in many decades ago. You have to go to Canada to get the real news about the USA now. Lol! Oh wait, is this going to be demonitized?
Small sites like this one still fall under their radar, but larger sites have been hit and even taken off line… While Canada has its own share of problems… Some like Curtis Stone, Urban Farmer have talked about what they’re dealing with, making it harder to own land, be able to farm, and censorship, even some religious persecution… Dark times in many countries…
Yep, Burley was a puppy and and is now two years old. Exploring alternatives included footage over the time he was growing up. 🙂 And thanks for your kind words!
Real enjoyed watching this. I saw you a few years ago a lot of fun. If you can look at Doug and Stacy. They have 11 acres and grow everything.
Thanks! Doug and Stacy are great friends. I’ve enjoyed a visit to their place and hope they can take time off sometime to visit WY.
Honey I am thinking maybe you are getting water or creek? There might be a away you can run a hose and a water, battery, or handle pump to get the water from one spit to another. You might be measuring your water storage by how many gallons you are pouring. I have seen videos on YouTube that can show you all the different ways to make life a little easier. Have you read “The Forgotten Arts and Crafts” by John Seymour cost 25 or 35 bucks. Great reference for life on grid. Not sure where you live, but here are some other titles about your way of living. 1.Subscribe to Doug and Stacy YouTube, love these guys Doug says Dont need a mailbox got no bills. Or read the complete Tightwad Gazette great book, or I might have seen this one on your shelf. The Encyclopedia of Country Living my bible. I think young lady you should be very Proud of yourself. You have done a great job and made a good life for yourself. Are you taking class at a College? If not you could teach some people a thing or two. Love what you did with the drawers in your folding table haven’t seen that before. I have enjoyed your Video and god bless the independent Woman 😀😀😀😀😀😀😀
Thanks! If you check out the 550+ videos on my channel – http://youtube.com/fynyth or the 300+ posts on the blog – https://fynyth.blogspot.com/ you will find all the details on my water system and everything else around here. 🙂 I have been enjoying life with this setup now for quite a while. Doug and Stacy are great friends. I’ve enjoyed a visit to their place, speaking at one of their conferences, and hope they can take time off to visit WY sometime. Thank you for your kind thoughts.
Julie, that folding table with drawers is an Ikea craft table, still available for $100 or so (I imagine the price has gone up some)
My dream is to own my own tiny house. I have been thru rental after rental after Sandy took my home. It would be a dream come true
Best wishes as you work on making your dreams happen!
Love how she’s done things. Self reliant!
I am working in that direction too!
Thanks! Best wishes as you work on your plans.
Some comment mention photos taken over time. I saw a photo of carrying water containers to fill the house tanks and another of filling containers to water plants. Then I saw garden hose sprinkler system in action. So has the lady advanced to a pressurized water system now and not need to carry that water to fill the house? Having access to a pressurized well or even rural water does ease some of the burden. This lady has a much greener thumb for growing veggies in the containers. I have not learned how to grow anything that well. It is good she can do so well on her own.
No, she’s still fully off-grid. There is a well on the property but mind she’s living on someone else’s property right now that she has an arrangement with and she’s fine with the arrangement as it is now. Since it is temporary, and she does plan to eventually move to her own property, which she not too long ago purchased and is slowly developing to get it ready for when she will move there but she’s happy where she is now and is in no hurry.
There is a nearby river, though, and she has on occasions used a ram pump to divert some water to her garden. While she is living on a mountain and it tends to snow most of the year there. So off-grid living helps avoid issues like frozen pipes, etc. and she enjoys the activities like shoveling the snow, cutting wood, etc. and she also does a lot of cooking, among other odd jobs she does when not doing her photography of nature and trail hiking, and between her garden and canning, she has enough food in her home to last her months if she had to remain there for a long period of time…
Still one of my favorite tiny homes. Amazing set up and so beautiful to view. It takes a lot of moxie to make it on your own without the grid amenities, and it is twice as hard for a woman. We’ll be seeing documentaries or movies about you soon. God bless and be safe : )
This has always been a favorite tiny house of mine. It is so inviting and cozy and pretty. I love the loft area, and the whole exterior is like a New England cottage. I love it!
I see you have Old Bay in your pantry! A woman after my own heart as I’m from the Eastern Shore of Maryland where it’s a regular staple! I saw some of your winter days with that mountain of snow. You manage very well.
Have been following Ariel for the past few years and find her to be truly inspiring. I am amazed at what she has accomplished, and admire her dedication to living to the fullest! 😊
I will echo a few others by saying that I have seen your beautiful tiny house before in another Tiny House Newsletter when there was snow everywhere. I wondered then if all that snow would burden you so much (or frighten you so much) that you would move. I am happy for you and proud of you that you not only “weathered” the winter, but did remarkably well!! And now seems to be the “summer of your delight” as opposed to that having been “the winter of our discontent”. Grin. What a remarkable and capable woman you are, and I envy you. Best wishes for future successes! [PS – Thank you Alex for revisiting here. I wish we could do more revisiting with such remarkable people.]
Thanks for the recommendation, Kathy! I will try to see about circling back to some of the people we have interviewed in the past!
End of the year may be a good time to circle back to Ariel, she’s moved to her own property with her significant other and they’re working the land to make it their home… It’s actually not far from where she used to live but being on a different side of the mountain the terrain looks very different… Fewer trees but much better soil and more light should help her gardening a bit…
Her website blog has up to date details and she’s been posting a few video updates too…
Well done. A fantastic little place you have made.
I can relate as I am off grid, chop wood and carry water too although I have only been on my land for 2 years.
All the very best
Clare (vancamerawoman)
Wow that is hard work! Way to go, Clare!
Your place is an inspiration. Always happy when you post a new update on YouTube.
No Sabrina. This is no inspiration. This is just plain and simply wrong. She looks like a perfectly fine young woman. She should not be living alone like this. If she had something preventing her to have a relation with somebody, I’d say yes, Bravo! But this is just self-isolation in despise for every and anybody, and it is not a model to follow. Loneliness is not bliss, and ppl are social creatures, we should not be living alone unless impossible to be with somebody.
Sorry Marius but that’s simply wrong in so many ways. You’ve made the mistake of wrongly judging someone assuming that you knew all of the pertinent facts and motives behind that person’s words or actions when you actually knew next to nothing.
It’s equivalent to catching you at work and assuming that tiny snapshot of your life was your entire life but there’s usually a lot more to most people’s lives than you’d ever gleam from any small sampling and the diversity of people means it can take many different forms from just the one you may assume.
Fact is she’s not alone, which invalids everything you just stated, but even if she was living alone. Doing so in one’s home doesn’t mean someone leads a lonely life. There are many ways people interact, like dating, courtship, friends, family, co-workers, etc. without needing to share one’s home, and intimately share their life, with just anyone or need to do so for the wrong reasons.
Especially, given all the relationships that fail or worse, it’s at best reckless to suggest people just need to be with someone without any vetting or process to judge compatibility, etc. Nor that nothing else matters in their life, no life goals, etc. when that would not be fulfilling to many people as well and ignores people do have other needs too…
So there’s many ways people can live their lives and they don’t all need to do all of it in the same order as everyone else or focus on the same things. For everyone, there’s a time and place for certain things and what’s best isn’t going to be the same for everyone or done at the same point in their lives. Nor does a way of life mean it never changes or that they never want it to change…
Thus the hazard of choosing to judge others as more often than not your judgement will be wrong and be more reflective of you than who you think you’re judging…
Brave James bravo. You have responded in excelsis. I just wish I had 10% of your way with words.
No deer , rabbits or other critters in her neighborhood chewing on all those delicious greens?
She did have a issue with some burrowing animals, which is why she started using those cinder blocks, etc to put a barrier around her garden beds… Otherwise, more of a issue with the climate/weather with short growing season, etc.
This needs to be updated. Things for Ariel have changed immensely and this story is way outdated.
Lady you have my admiration for doing what I was dreaming doing long time ago. You are very well organized and imaginative. I wish you a continuous happy life on your life path.
Marius, what/who gives you the right to criticize this person, whom you do not know? It is her life to live as she pleases. Get off your godhead soapbox and go to another format where criticism is welcome. It is definitely NOT welcome here.
I love those people who think living off grid means living like the pioneer days when it simply means not being connect to city/county/state utility grid, that’s LITERALLY why it’s called “off grid”. It doesn’t mean your burning oil lamps, have an outhouse and get water in a pail from the creek. Although some do, most have solar electric, a well and full indoor plumbing with a septic tank. I talk to people all the time that say “OHI could never live like that…it;s so primitive” when actually it’s not and more free then being tied down to bills every month.
Ya there’s definitely misconceptions about the exact definition of “off-grid.” There’s Ma Ingalls off-grid, and then there’s modern off-grid, ha.
Yes exactly, I grew up “Ma Ingall’s Off Grid” until I was 6 years old and my mother swore she would “Never live like that again” until 3 years ago my step-dad and I, who are both BIG supporters of living off modernly, took her to New Mexico and stayed in an off grid cabin and she never knew until we told her half way home. It had Solar electric, a water storage tank from a stream and a composting toilet.
Lovely – inside and out – feels comfortable and homely!
This is so lovely and that garden!!
#LifeGoals
Thank you. This is something I’d like to do in the future.
What a lovely place! Beautiful but more work than I am willing or able to do…not as young as I used to be. 😉 Carrying the water would be the real deal breaker for me as is sleeping in a loft. If I could build one that was a bit longer to accommodate a downstairs bedroom, it would be pretty near perfect. The aesthetics are very comfortable…pleasing to the eye. I think that before I would make many comments about that child content law, I would need to read the actual law instead of depending on just one sentence about it. Perhaps it is unfair but maybe it is more detailed and we just aren’t informed. And please let’s remember that the liberal hippies were some of the first people in America who started thinking about living off-grid and in cooperative communities…though there are samples of that in many countries and people with varying philosophies. Nothing to do with politics but just a desire to live closer to nature. Hippies were known as flower children, after all. Everyone was welcome. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we could all think of the things we have in common? I can only hope that we can see each other through a kinder lens. In trying times such as we live in, pulling together makes more sense. If a neighbor of mine needed help, I wouldn’t ask their politics before lending them a hand. We are humans first and foremost. Back to the topic of this lovely post…this is a very wonderful and romantic place. Calm and in nature. I love the feel of getting my hands dirty in rich soil, too, and watching some spectacular sunsets in a comfy chair, maybe next to a nice little fire, roasting marshmallows. In a world where we can be anything we choose, let’s choose to be kind even as we have our own challenges.