Small Living Journal launches

The Small Living Journal is a marvellous new online resource for people who are interested in small living written by nine writers who write regularly about the small home movement (you'll recognise all their names - if you don't there are links to their own blogs and sites which are well worth nipping across to). It comes out fortnightly with a different theme each issue. Here's what they collectively say:

"The Small Living Journal provides us the opportunity to interact with others who are passionate about the same subjects we are: sustainable architecture, responsible stewardship, simpler living, and time to focus on the things that are truly important to us. Even more importantly, the Small Living Journal allows us to provide a centralized resource and forums for people who are just starting to explore the concept of smaller living. Our goal is to be a launching point for many who are embarking on their own personal journeys."

The first issue is out now and it promises to be a really great ongoing read.
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Monday's posts are sponsored by garden2office, the Swedish garden office specialists.Click here for more details.

Enterprise Nation - working away from the garden office

This week Emma Jones from Enterprise Nation takes a look at how to work away from your shed.

New technology means it’s possible to work wherever you want. You’ve already decided you want to work for yourself and away from the traditional office, but now – with a few simple tips and tricks – you can enjoy unprecedented flexibility, and work almost anywhere, from your local coffee shop to the public park.

With your computer
If you already have a fairly up-to-date laptop computer, you have all you really need to work away from home. Most can pick up wireless Internet access from receivers already built-in. But if you have a slightly older laptop, buy a small adaptor which you plug into a spare USB port. Affordable options are available from a company called Belkin who provide pretty clear instructions to help you get started.

If WiFi hotspots are few and far between, you can now get on the Internet practically anywhere, with a USB dongle. It looks like a flash thumbdrive and allows your laptop to connect to broadband speed-Internet from a mobile phone provider. Wi-Fi hotspots are usually free of charge in places like public libraries and independent coffee shops, where owners encourage you to use their hotspots to boost sales. If you’re looking fro out of home working locations in your area, check out myHotspots myhotspots.co.uk

With your mobile or smart phone
A Blackberry is a smart phone and one of the most popular devices for working away from the home office. It allows you to surf the web, check your e-mail and edit office documents.

Most mobile phones allow you to check email on the move, but it's best to check with your service provider before giving it a go. Unless included in your contract, checking email or surfing the web on your mobile phone can be quite expensive. If you use web mail, from Google for example, or Yahoo!, it's easy to check your email as there are mobile ready versions of their websites, which you can view on your mobile phone's web browser.

Mobile broadband is great if you're often on the move or use your laptop in a variety of locations, but it can be pricey. Look around for unlimited packages and those that provide the hardware for free.

A forwarding number
Skype offers a call forwarding feature, which allows you to direct incoming calls to your Skype account or Skype phone number to your mobile phone. Depending on your package you can forward calls at no extra cost and it's easy to set up.

Taking these steps will free you up to work from anywhere and, with the sun starting to shine, why not head into the garden to take on the inbox!

Emma Jones is the founder of online home business company Enterprise Nation and author of Spare Room Start Up – how to start a business from home

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Monday's posts are sponsored by garden2office, the Swedish garden office specialists.Click here for more details.

Peter Smith: shedworker

According to the Aberdeen Press & Journal, Peter Smith runs the only media law practice in the world operating out of a garden office. His Scandinavian-style wooden shed is in his garden in Strathpeffer, Scotland. Here's what he says:

"I don’t think it would be possible to set up a specialist media law practice from the Highlands, but it is very easy to run one from here. Advances in modern technology, broadband and so on make it possible for me to work here. It allows me to start every morning by reading through copies of various newspapers and magazines sent to me online, along with subbed and proofed pages of magazines."

Via Shedblog

Classy beach cabins on Europe's coasts

From eco-luxe chalets to family-friendly huts, here are 20 of Europe's best seaside stays - all for less than £50 a night and just a lazy stroll from the beach

The Guardian

Kevin Crossley-Holland: shedworker

Poet and author Kevin Crossley-Holland is featured in The Guardian's Writers' Rooms series. Crossley-Holland is technically more of a barnworker and this office is in a spur of the barn. In an interesting twist on the normal goal of making your garden office warm and snug, he says: "True, the room's often chilly, but warmth addles my brains." Sadly, what we can't see is that the other side of the crossbeams are painted different colours, "marsh-green, sea-lavender, duck-egg, woad ... colours of contemplation. So the roof's as merry as a rustic medieval church, dressed in the colours of north Norfolk." Well worth a browse.

Name That Shed

Something iconic was invented/made in this shed (actually this is a replica in a museum, the original sadly no longer being with us). Can you 'name that shed'? Answers by email to me please or cryptically in the comments below...

The Shedworker's Bookshelf - The Small House Book by Jay Shafer

An absolute must-buy for all shedworkers, Jay Shafer's new book - The Small House Book - promises to be a cracking read. It's not actually out until April but you can get your hands on an early copy before it hits the shops by popping across to the Tiny House Blog (it's not even available at Jay's own Tumbleweed Tiny House site).