For Robin Greenfield, living simply means living with far less than most people would consider possible.
The off-grid minimalist, who lives in a tiny home without running water, insulation or traditional plumbing, says he has spent more than a decade living on less than $11,000 a year by reducing his dependence on money and modern consumption. But as Greenfield shared with People, it is often the smallest details of his daily routine — particularly his unconventional bathroom setup — that spark the most curiosity from viewers following his lifestyle online.
Rather than relying on traditional plumbing, Greenfield uses a compost toilet system built from simple materials.
“It’s basically a wooden box with a toilet lid on top and then a five-gallon bucket underneath,” he told People.
After each use, he adds sawdust before eventually transferring the waste into a compost pile, where it naturally breaks down over time.
For Greenfield, the process is less about sacrifice and more about intention. What many people consider waste, he sees as something that can return to the earth and nourish the land again.
That philosophy extends far beyond his bathroom setup. Greenfield, who has lived on less than $11,000 a year for more than a decade, has intentionally shaped his life around reducing his dependence on money altogether. He told People he no longer has rent or many of the monthly expenses most Americans consider unavoidable.
“I don’t have bills anymore because I just don’t need nearly as much stuff,” Greenfield told People, explaining that much of his daily life is sustained through “skills, relationships and resourcefulness.”
Even during the coldest months, his routines remain largely unchanged. There are moments of discomfort, of course.
“It is chilly on the bare cheeks,” Greenfield admitted to People while describing winter mornings using the outdoor compost toilet.
Still, he framed it as a manageable trade-off for a lifestyle he deeply believes in.
Much of Greenfield’s current experiment centers on living as lightly as possible. He does not pay for housing, and during this phase of his journey, he forages all of his food and medicine himself. Without expenses such as rent, groceries or car ownership, he estimates he avoids spending tens of thousands of dollars each year.
At the same time, Greenfield is careful not to present his lifestyle as entirely disconnected from modern life. While his tiny home itself does not have electricity, he occasionally uses power from a nearby house on the property when needed.
“I have a computer … that’s what I use for email and meetings,” he told People.
Appliances such as a freezer and dehydrator also remain important tools, particularly as he stores and preserves food gathered through foraging.
For Greenfield, those tools are part of making his lifestyle sustainable long term. He told People that living without any modern conveniences at all would require spending far more time simply meeting basic daily needs.
“If I was to live a life where I used no modern conveniences … that would mean dedicating far more of my time to just meeting my daily basic needs,” he said.
Even with his deep commitment to simple living, Greenfield acknowledged there are moments when he misses the ease and efficiency that come with a more conventional lifestyle. More than possessions, he said, he sometimes misses time itself.
“When life is just so busy … I could use that extra time,” he told People, though he added that returning to a more consumer-driven way of living would not provide the same sense of fulfillment he has found through simplicity.
For now, Greenfield said he remains committed to continuing down this path, even as the specifics of his lifestyle evolve over time.
“I’ve made an absolute lifetime commitment to living simply,” he told People, adding that he hopes to go “deeper and deeper down this path” in the years ahead.
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