Welcome to Small Scale Life!
Hello! I am Tom Domres, the creator of Small Scale Life. I am a husband, a father of two great young men, and a professional civil engineer. Throughout my life, I have worked hard to deliver services to my clients, coworkers and stakeholders. In my life, I have worn many different hats including:
- A regional manager for a Federal agency
- A manager for the Southwest Light Rail Project, which is the largest infrastructure project in the State of Minnesota
- A self-described “logistics coordinator” for Julia’s Blooms
- A content creator of my blog Small Scale Gardening
- A Branch Office Leader
- A Group Leader leading teams across the country
- A consultant to railroads and communities
- An apartment manager
From the kitchen table office to remote railroad tracks to the cube farm to public meetings to the board room, I have been a lot of places, done a lot of things, and met some incredible people. It really always comes back to those experiences and the people that share them with you that help forge your character.
Our family has been through a lot in 2015, but we are coming out of this year stronger and more compassionate. There are a lot of lessons that Julie and I have learned, and we are going to start putting them into practice. We are going to do life better and be better examples for our young men. There are brighter days ahead.
What is Small Scale Life?
Learn. Do. Lead.
Small Scale Life is dedicated to developing a sustainable small scale life through healthy living, gardening, and having adventures along the way. Our motto is “Learn. Do. Grow.” Our core principles and themes are the following:
1) Learn skills
2) Lower the cost of one’s lifestyle (minimize your footprint)
3) Eliminate debt and stay debt free
4) Conserve and control resources (particularly water, energy, transportation)
5) Gather and maintain your tribe
6) Establish roots in the community and be useful to others
7) Take control of your health as much as possible through exercise and diet
8) Lead by example
For years I did not follow these principles. Work consumed me, and I was a people-pleasing workaholic on the “fast track to nowhere.”
Just because you failed doesn’t mean that the game is over. You can change, and I have learned time and time again that a simple life, one that is smaller scale and focused on intentionally doing the small things right, will lead to a more fulfilling and more healthy life. This blog will be documenting my journey towards a Small Scale Life, which is a life that focuses on improving areas of life I neglected including my family, diet, fitness, personal finances, and adventure.