Mentality

February 17, 2016 / erin / 3 Comments

There are a lot of pros and cons to living small… and that probably goes without saying.

I’m finding that when some people hear about tiny living, or that I am living tiny currently, they oftentimes laugh, scoffs and give me all of the reasons why I will hate it. Some will just let me know how they could never do it themselves but have the “more power to you” attitude, some are SO excited and want to hear everything (I love them) and some go as far to let me know that it will most likely ruin my relationship within a year. *I know*

The bottom line is, if you don’t have the mentality set for it, it won’t work for you. If you live tiny and expect to have space to move around, or space from others who share it with you, your expectations may be let down. If you like space to yourself to be able to have time alone, then it might not be the best for you.

But it perplexes me how some think because they cannot do it, you couldn’t either.

Some people prefer peanut butter, some people do not.

Just got to keep smiling and let the negative Nellie’s have their say. 🙂

If you want to go tiny, expect to minimize. But it’s not just minimization, it’s letting go of the emotional attachments we oftentimes put on material things. It is all mentality. So much in life and society these days revolves around consummation of goods; more, newer, shiny, latest model… It’s a game we get caught up in and don’t even realize that we are a part of it. Sometimes we do realize and slow down if we want to, sometimes it’s nice and more power to ya! There is also the sentimental attachments to material things, hand me downs, family heirlooms etc. That is harder to let go of, but usually its the people we attach to the items and the memories they may have then the item itself… and those attachments never leave because they always stay with us. Once you can accept that (if you want to) its easier to let go and downsize.

Humans are pretty basic with pretty basic needs, but we make it so complicated by letting so many other factors dictate and run our lives. We mistake wants for needs, and sometimes needs for wants. The mentality of living small (for me so far) is about letting all of that go, and realize what my priorities actually are. Remember being young and playing outside without all of the latest technology at your fingertips? It was so fun, so many dreams and inventions came up while playing out whatever the imagination had come up with.

I’m finding that again. It almost feels like being a kid and starting over from fresh. As I am living small, without all of my material goods at my fingertips, it’s left me to really think about my dreams, ideas, and inventions my imagination always comes up with, but are ignored or pushed aside by the pressures of keeping up with the game.

I am also finding that I really DO like living tiny. Not 64 square feet tiny forever, but for now it works for us. Down the road, I have a better idea of where I would like to be, and 64 square feet gives me the ability to work towards making that happen and making my dreams come true! 🙂

Also, I made some spinach and artichoke dip from scratch for Super Bowl Sunday and it was AMAZING. Recipe here 🙂

Material things.

January 19, 2016 / erin / 2 Comments

We’ve been plugging along these winter days 🙂 Some of us have gotten sick, and SOME of us (me) are hoping that we don’t catch the bug. Here’s hoping! And hoping you and yours don’t get sick either!

Recently, we attended a Tiny Home meet up here locally and had the opportunity to listen to the President of Tumbleweed Tiny House Company talk all about the tininess. 🙂 They also brought along a house on wheels that showed the different stages of building one. It was really cool to get together with a bunch of like minded enthusiasts and see how else others are doing it.

Overall, the meeting really just gave me some more inspiration and energy to keep this momentum going, and let it evolve into whatever it may. Once this “micro home” is done, it’ll be the perfect getaway trailer for camping or guests even, and hopefully we will be able to move one to something just a bit bigger. All the same, I’m fired up to finish this one!

I went to Ikea the other day (for the very first time) with my cousin to just look at different set up options for cabinetry, storage, and shelving to get a better idea how I would like the inside designed for our micro kitchen! Way to many cool ideas — and I had taken pictures of what I liked …. then my phone was ran over by a car… soooo… not anymore 😉 That’s just an excuse to go back and get more Swedish meatballs!

— oh, and the phone I’m using as a back up doesn’t have a fully working camera (only front facing) so we may lack pictures until that gets fixed. And geeze I didn’t realize how much I took pictures until I can’t.

Something I am learning….

To let go of the material things.

I have downsized what I own enormously… but I still have some sentimental items I like to keep. Not too long ago we were moving the trailer over a few feet from where it was located at… We have our things on shelves / cabinets that aren’t nailed down. — I underestimated the amount the trailer would shift during movement and I didn’t brace the shelves .. and everything crashed down. If it was breakable.. it broke. Everything.

I didn’t care about most of it breaking.. its just things. But I did have a few pieces I really wished didn’t. But that’ll just remind you that nothing is permanent.

Nothing lasts. BUT while it did… they were beautiful pieces to have!

shout out!

January 5, 2016 / erin / 3 Comments

EVERY time I go to the grocery store as of late, I am complimented on my basket that I tote around with me.

It was a gift for our wedding from Ben’s sister and I am in LOVE with it 🙂

You can reshape the basket by soaking it in warm water, then you are set to mold it whichever way you want! It was handmade, and I know I have the tag around somewhere that says where it is from… and I can let you know!

In other news, we installed a handle and deadbolt to our door so we are now able to lock it up tight from the inside. We are in a secure location so our bungee chord method was doing okay… but with the cold weather, it was nice to be able to get it to close tight and keep the chilly air out!

I will have a better picture of it, it’s still pretty ugly to look at currently because we will need to put a fresh “face” on the inside of the door.

Snow Days *

December 23, 2015 / erin / 1 Comment

We’ve had a very nice string of snow days and cold weather here, which has been the perfect excuse to work away on the trailer! FINALLY! I am so excited to show the progress we have made, and it totaled 4 days of work! (More like 3 1/2)

First thing we had to do was finish up the drywall and muding process. If I never see drywall again I will be a happy camper!

While we waited for the mud to dry and Ben ran off on errands, I got to work with sanding the floors down once and for all.

There was this patch in the floor that was coming up and could cause some major splinters, so we tore it up and patched it with the original trim we ripped out of the trailer.

Seemed to do the job just fine, and it was seriously the perfect fit! So far, we’ve gotten away with working with a lot of recycled materials and its been able to keep the costs low.

One thing we may have an issue with, and this has just come to mind recently, is that the drywall may have a hard time staying put if the trailer is going to be mobile often. Once we have more structures built into it, such as the kitchen etc, it may not be an issue. I guess time will tell and much like most I do in life, this too is just going to be trial and error . 🙂

Okay, so drywall and floors completed! Next thing I went to work on was priming and painting! Even tho my arms usually want to fall off by the time I am through, I kind of enjoy painting. Its relaxing. And no, this does NOT mean I will help paint your house for you 😉 okay I might.

All of these small details started to come into play, and they needed to be dealt with. SO. If you look back up to the first picture, you can see in the corner is a big silver piece of foam board. — We cut it to sizes, skinny long strips, and used it to insulate the gap where the wall and ceiling meet. That area will be covered by some ceiling trim and may also put up LED lighting there too… Time will tell.

I then went thru and spray painted the area black… The small spot at the top where the yellow foam is showing is kind of an eye sore, so I made it match the black metal for now, until we decide how that will be covered.

Next order of business was staining the floors! YAY! And cleaning up some more areas. Behind the pulley bar for the back door, is a lot of messy over spray, and it’ll be built in (one day) but we took the time to clean it up, and I also spray painted it black to make a cleaner look for now.

All of that took 3 days.

All was fine and dandy, until about 2 days ago I mentioned to Ben while trying to get to world 7 on Super Mario, that it would be nice if this bed had a frame, even if temporarily built on some 2×2’s, but it would be better than mattress on the ground.

Being the doer he is, he ran off to get the lumber needed and we spent the afternoon making the bed frame, sizing the storage that will go underneath, and even made cubby holes to access by lifting the mattress.

Oh, another cool feature is he made it to fit a queen bed, but also made it easily adjustable to fit a double, in case we decided to downsize on mattress size. (Its a tight squeeze with a queen)

Finished (?) product 🙂

I lifted the lace I have to show you how its lifted, it raised the mattress 14 inches off the ground and it makes a WORLD of a difference. The other half is still a cluster of stuff, but its looking better now that I can store under the bed! And it is all VERY organized and neat! 🙂

It is difficult to get used to the new temperatures at our new elevation 😉 but in all seriousness, it makes a world of a difference and we are struggling to find a new happy medium on the radiator!

Our little holiday shrine 🙂

Happy Holidays everyone! Seasons Greetings and a Happy New Year!

Peace and Love ❤

The MoST comforting of FOODS – –

November 9, 2015November 10, 2015 / erin / Leave a comment

PIZZA!

One of my favorite meals to make is homemade pizza with Ben. It’s SO easy, cheap, and usually the pizza is WAY better than take out.

Let me back up a few steps first. My standards for pizza were developed and grew to be the way they are as a result of being raised in close proximity to the great Chicago 😉

– – – I am not trying to be snobby about it, because truly I believe that Little Caesars is underrated, but I also do know there is good pizza, and then there is good pizza.

Anywho, I don’t like spending a lot of time on the crust, so honestly I just buy the Jiffy pizza crust mix, yeah the one that cost a bit under $2.00 and you just add water, that one. It’s rather good, I am able to create a “deep dish” or thin crust if I desired, and it is so quick to make.

The fun part about making the pizza is we just grab whatever toppings we want to put on it that time, and have at it. No two pizzas we make are ever the same, and usually the two staples are mozzarella cheese and jalapenos. Everything else is subject to change. 🙂

I baked this ‘za in a pie pan, which enabled me to make it more of a deep dish, rather reminded me of Uno’s Pizza. mmmmm Uno’s…

I will get better with my images with time, I hope. Sorry for the dark images (if they are, they seem to be to me).

Part of the reason I baked in a pie pan is because the pan I WAS going to use is a bit big for our oven… I grabbed the wrong one from storage. Whoops! But it turned out to be great, in fact, I may prefer it to a sheet or circular pan. It makes the perfect size pizza for the two of us. Sometimes we double the recipe and make two crusts and cook it on a cookie sheet, but that’s out of the question as you’ll see below.

Can you find the elephant in the room? 😉

It’s smaller in size but as you can see it has a lot of different options for cooking and a timer which is great. For comparison sake, it would be big enough for one frozen pizza perfectly!

This was also found at a great deal! I think it was less than $15 bucks and in near perfect condition at Goodwill. I found it about two years ago, but that was also something that I was in the market for, for quite a long time as well before I finally found it.

The key is PATIENCE! If you allow yourself time to browse, sometimes having to go back a few times, eventually what you are looking for will filter thru and that persons junk becomes your treasure! I usually go to the thrift stores about once a week and just walk thru casually with my list in the back of my mind.

For instance… yesterday I found an amazing stool / seat for meditating!

I do NOT have patience for walking around a mall, but thrift stores… I can give the time of day.

Okay so back on track … this is pretty standard for our pizza topping options.

Salt and pepper (if needed, but usually always pepper)

TEXAS PETE hot sauce (personal favorite)

And of course classic parmesan and crushed red pepper.

Comfort foods. All of them.

I am also pleasently suprised over how great cooking is in the trailer. Sure its not AS easy as it could be, but it still is not that tedious, cramped, inconvient, (instert complaint here) as you may think it could be. I just CANNOT wait until we get our cupboards and counter design in place and put in!

Okay. Go forth now, and PIZZA!

Soups (was) ON!

November 8, 2015November 8, 2015 / erin / Leave a comment

I’ve been trying a few new recipes lately, like I said I would.

First up. Broccoli Cheddar Soup in a bread bowl. I got the recipe from Tip Hero on Facebook. It was a very easy recipe and I tweaked it a bit. I definitely let the broccoli cook longer then they suggested, and over all I would FOR sure make it again.

I LOVE broccoli but for some reason when it’s cooked it just smells like bad farts. IM SORRY someone had to say it! But it is OH so good, and well, growing up so close to the land of cheese I really can’t get enough of that.

Perfect combo!

The bread that I got for the bread bowls wasn’t sourdough (which I LOVE) but it was on sale and it was huge enough for Ben and I to split just one loaf, so that basically turned out perfectly, and I ripped out the interior bread for dipping pieces. I would rate it… 8/10. Needed more pepper.

The more I am using my stove the more I am not sure about it. So it is an induction only stove top, so it only works with pots and pans that are magnetic.

HERE is an explanation from the kitchn website of how they work. — taken from there “The key to induction cooktops is that the pots and pans you use must be made from a magnetic material to work with this system. The induction cooktop will induce the electrons in a magnetic material to move, creating an electric current in that magnetic material. That current generates heat in the pot.”

Great news… our pots and pans ARE magnetic and induction ready (bought from Costco) but there is a VERY high-pitched squealing when using said pots on said stove top. It doesn’t happen when I use the teapot, just these pots and pans.

After some research on the internets, it’s not really determined what it’s from but others are experiencing the same thing. So the jury is still out and is also why I use the crock pot more, until I can figure out if its safe or not.

There is about 5 or 6 different heat levels on the stove top, and the higher the setting the higher pitched the sound. It sends shooting tings all over my body that can’t be right. I was able to cook the soup at about the 2nd / 3rd level comfortably, but not much higher than that.

Well – all this talk of food AGAIN — I am going to find some for myself!

p.s.

The mountains look lovely again.

* SnoW *

November 5, 2015November 5, 2015 / erin / Leave a comment

IT SNOWED! Heavens to Betsy its WAY too early for snow, but I LOVE the first snow! LOOVE!

Last night the rain started, and the sounds on the roof were nature’s music. I slept like a baby! I woke up around 5 AM to get some water and I looked out the door, and it was snowing! I couldn’t help it but I woke Ben up with me! Whoops! 😉 But he even got up to take a look – but honestly, I think I squealed so it was my sheer volume that did the trick.

If I didn’t look outside I would’ve had NO idea it was snowing or how cold it was because our new heater is perfect!

Someone gifted us a Lakewood Radiator Oil Heater that runs off of a thermostat as well, its electrical and it maintains such a comfortable temperature I think we may stick with it!

That heater/ fan we were using I don’t think would take the cold like this does at all. It too was run on a thermostat and would shut on and off when it hit its temps, but I almost would feel an electric current/spark when it would turn off / on and I did NOT like it. I am keeping it on hand because it was really good for the fall temps, but with these colder nights coming it wouldn’t have regulated the temp like this radiator.

My two cents on that.

Back to magic —

The first snow always feels so magical to me – but honestly, tell me it’s not magic. Halloween is over and boom, white stuff everywhere – now you have people being nicer to each other for a couple of months and smiling more because they just cannot help but feel the magic too! (Fairies)

Don’t misunderstand me though, I don’t think people are intentionally crabby with everyone but I think fall/winter is a season people take a break from all of that (mostly). I try to stay optimistic about it all anyhow. The world can always use more smiles so I am glad to give!

Happy Halloween!

October 31, 2015October 31, 2015 / erin / Leave a comment

I cannot feel my body.

Strike that. I CAN in fact feel my body. Every single muscle. They’re all yelling at me for not getting off my butt and keeping active on a regular! Three days ago I woke up and decided it’s been awhile since I’ve jogged, so I went. I totaled 2 miles, and this elevation was a big adjustment! Then two days ago I went to work with Ben 🙂

Another free day came up on Thursday, so we decided to use this beautiful weather and put it to use!

Originally, when we foamed the trailer, we only put about 3/4 inch of foam on the roof, and it seemed to do the trick… that is until the cold front started creeping in. It really needed more, so we added another 2 inches or so, coated with silicone and threw some gray granules on top. Again, foam is Ben’s profession, it’s what he wakes up to go do every day, so I was his “helper”. I basically tailed the hose and carried it behind (it’s a rather large hose… you’ll see below), cleaned up the job-site, taped up wind blockers and back spray, blew off the roof etc etc. Like an assistant.

The rather large snake on the ground is the foam hose and on the end of it obviously is the spray gun. It’s nice to have someone tail the hose and keep it out of the way, especially on a small surface. *Below* Boots are wrapped and taped so I don’t have to buy new ones 😉 and my dusk mask is on to breathe the clean air while sanding the walls inside down.

We really did end up getting a lot done on Thursday. It was a full working day, from about 10 AM or so, until 6:30 PM. We finished the roof which was the most important on the list. We will need to foam the bottom just a little more but that can be saved for another day.

Almost only counts with horseshoes and hand grenades, but we ALMOST finished the drywall. I am getting MUCH better at drywalling 🙂 We still had the front of the trailer, the ‘V’, to mud and tape still, and we had to frame the door and put in the bull nose and trim it up a bit. We were SO close… but we ran out of drywall mud. I HATE having to stop a project due to lack of supplies! But alas, such is life and all things are never ideal. Good news is I have the mud now, and after I finish the drywall up, I already have the painting supplies ready to go next!

At FIRST, I was very nervous on the roof. I didn’t go up last time but this time I wanted to get even more involved. I wouldn’t say have I have a fear of heights, cause I don’t, but I DO have a healthy respect for high surfaces that doesn’t have a railing on it.

The paper you see taped around the perimeter of the trailer in the first of these above three pictures is to help block the foam from spraying over the side etc. Last time I taped the paper around the top perimeter with both feet on the ground. (I’m kinda tall). THIS time I did it with both knees on the roof! Yipee! And THEN — by the end right before we coated the roof with the silicone, I went back up top and I was able to blow it off and walk around with confidence.. The extra foam did help as it made it more of a sturdy surface too 🙂 In between I had to also work around and trim the sides with a knife after the foam set in. No wonder my back hurt.

But seriously. . . I am really REALLY enjoying this process. It’s also nice not being on a timeline and worrying about a budget and a deadline. This way, we are able to work as we can afford it, and still live comfortably in it in the meantime. The work itself is very enjoyable, like I said, I am getting better at drywall! This third time I do it I may be just perfect. HA! It’s not easy, and this really does have a learning curve, but we are winging it and so far its working! I can’t wait to start our next project and we’re not even close to finishing this one!

It’s been a little over a month and I would recommend it over and over again if someone had asked my two cents. After moving twice (one across country) in less than 4/5 months, it’s taking a bit of time to bounce back up on our feet– as you can imagine– but bouncing we are and it’s great! 🙂

On that note, I’m going to get ready to go out and enjoy my Halloween! I love Halloween and all of the scares 🙂

Back in Business.

October 15, 2015October 15, 2015 / erin / Leave a comment

So I’ve been gone for a while.

My family had to say goodbye to my Grandmother so I drove “home” for a little over a week. With all the change going on, I felt the need to have some familiarity back in my life, so it was a very nice trip spent with family and my nieces and nephews I don’t get to see on a regular basis. Prior to heading to Illinois I was with Ben on a job out-of-town for about a week… He was able to fly to Chicago for the service and drive back to Colorado with me. The drive wasn’t all that bad, especially since we have some friends who live exactly halfway so it’s always a good excuse to stop in and stay awhile 🙂 (The drive there all by myself was all that bad. It really was.)

Needless to say not a whole lot of work went into the trailer while we were gone.

HOWEVER.

The best part is that it actually felt like coming home when we got back. That familiar feeling of coziness, and I am so happy. When change is constant it seems easy for me to get down because there is nothing really familiar for me, but having even a tiny space, and my items filling that space, is familiar enough for me. 🙂

Until we get the walls done, we are limited to what we can really do for storage. We have several options we’re looking into that I am very excited about. BUT in the meantime we NEED something that has a little more organization. It KILLS me that we may get something only to not use it after a short time because the permanent structures will be put in and our temporary set ups will no longer be needed. But what we have now (a tall shelf and an end table that holds storage in the inside) was already around us for a few years (and bought second-hand) and anything else we may get will be useful for our storage locker so it’s not all a waste. I don’t like being wasteful so everything we have or will get I try to use and re-use if possible.

This is our current storage situation. This shelf was bought from a thrift store for $5 when we first moved to Washington 2 years ago. I’ve tried to get rid of it because it’s not the cutest, but it’s proved to be very practical and has paid for itself over and over again so I don’t even fight it anymore. I then bought the cloth storage boxes from Target on clearance so things have a place, and it doesn’t look put together so haphazardly. (If it doesn’t already)

The two black buckets (if you can see them on the shelf) are my “sinks” for washing dishes. So far it’s proving to be a decent system. Of course it’s more of a chore and not as quick as it normally can be, but we do the best we can with our current set up. I’ve gotten so used to the convenience of having everything right at hand, it has become a challenge to see what other ways I can get things done. 🙂

Where washing dishes are concerned, I just boil some water so its hot, wash in one bucket, and rinse in the other!

This is what we are thinking for a permanent structure for shelving. Something that is customize-able and is forgiving with change. I like the idea of everything having an open shelving concept which is great for when we’re parked, but when it comes to hauling the trailer around I don’t know how but something will have to be tweaked.

The next order of business for better living is something for our clothes. I am officially tired of living out of a suitcase. I’ll keep doing it IF I have to, but this weekend I am headed out to buy some simple stack-able drawers I found at Target on clearance. I’ve searched some thrift stores, but those are always hit or miss, and I’ve been missing lately.

When I got back from my trip I spent the whole next day getting everything in (better) order, and bringing out some of our things that have been packed away. This monkey I got for Ben when he was in the hospital. We don’t have any babies so he gets to come along with us and just hangs around. 🙂

I also love to have paintings or signs up around the house, so I was able to hang this very fitting sign (it was a wedding gift) up in the trailer by some bungee chords, and my dream catcher that I got from a farmers market in central Washington. (Notice my breakfast cooking on my “counter”)

I am looking forward to being back in Colorado and picking up where we left off!

The adventure continues!

Tid bits —

September 28, 2015September 28, 2015 / erin / Leave a comment

SO: Here are some tid bits of how we are operating. EVERYTHING you see is open for interpretation and can be subject to change 🙂 it already has changed a few times… I’m thinking we are very quickly going to realize what we like above the rest, and what we deem a priority, and what we just plain can’t live without.

We purchased our first stove! #yay! LOL I’ve only used it once and that was to boil some water to make coffee in our french press we got from our wedding! BUT it worked like a charm AND it heated the water up faster than any conventional stove I’ve used. I found it at Target on clearance (another win)! The nice thing is, it is small and flat, compact enough to not be in the way.

For an oven we have a convection toaster oven / broiler, and it’s the kind that has the vent on the side. I found that beauty at a Goodwill a few years ago and those things are hard to find at a good deal, (the specific kind that we wanted). Okay the “we” on that one really means Ben — he was the one who had very very specific wants for a convection oven. BUT I found one hardly used at Goodwill for $14.00 and we’ve been winning ever since. That one is too valuable to let go and we now know why 🙂 And really it’s not all that big.

We also have a Black and Decker griddle that is used and abused, also slim enough to store away without being an issue. Once the kitchen is in design and production I’m imagining their own permanent homes, but for now they fit where they must!

My first time with the french press. I did have to YouTube how to make it, and I will get better with time (I hope!)

This shot was taken before we foamed the interior but look how cozy it is! That particular night it was rather windy but the sun was really hot, so we opened the ramp (my future patio deck) and clamped the bed sheet to the wires. I have OH so many ideas for the deck. But it all kind of depends on how we set up the sleeping area to know which direction we will take for the patio.

The bed is a queen and fits in there with about 4 inches on each side. We definitely will be needing to get a better sized bed as ours is not good with conserving space. But that is something we will have to work towards, eventually the bed will most likely be put up on a platform or an adjustable cable system (gotta love them DIYers and their ideas), or we could go with a more modern futon/fold out couch style set up. Multi-purpose… but for now our set up works just fine!

I mean honestly… This is like full time camping with some more style / conveniences … but just not all of the conveniences.

For now. 🙂

dynomadic life

Dynamic Design. Nomadic Nature.

trailer