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.

Fresh Beginnings :)

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

COLD cold COLD here in Colorado! It doesn’t seem to get warm, and everyone is saying that this weather is unusual for this time of year here.

I really don’t mind at all. I Bitch and complain enough about it probably, but I still don’t mind that much. So many memories of cold winters in Illinois come to the forefront on my mind and attached is just fun in the cold with friends and family. Can’t beat that! 🙂

The Midwest didn’t have a whole lot where winter sports were concerned due to all of the flatness, but there was a little hill in town we would always go sledding at. If you didn’t get there right with the fresh snow, you would be dealing with mud/ice because the ENTIRE town would come out to enjoy the same small man made hill. But it was still just as fun!

I’ve never tried downhill skiing before, and I’ve only dabbed with a snowboard in the flat lands once, so …. doesn’t count for much. Probably would try it one day, but, then again…

I’d rather go camping.

So WEIRD to think it’s New Years eve, but it is. 2016 comes in and its a fresh start, fresh page, whatever corny metaphor you would like to slip in here 😉 This year was a up and down one for me.. I lost 2 of my grandparents, turned 25, had my wedding ceremony, moved twice, and so much in between.

I wouldn’t change a thing!

For myself, I just wish for more/continued peace, love, joy, and happiness in my life in the new year, and for you and yours, too.

OH! and patience. 🙂 Always could use more of that.

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 ❤

Homemade Toothpaste

December 8, 2015 / erin / 1 Comment

I’ve been trying to be less wasteful, more natural, and be more open minded to trying new things, and making my own products at home rather than buying them.

Our friends we stayed with in Iowa for Thanksgiving make a lot of their own products as well, and they have gifted us their homemade soap and I am in LOVE with it. While we were staying with them, I had the opportunity to try out their homemade toothpaste, and I decided I would have a go at making my own.

Now I pulled THIS RECIPE from google and tried it, and I also added Dr. Bronner’s peppermint Magic Soap to the mix. JUST A TINY BIT, like… 1/2 of a teaspoon. The oils I used were peppermint and eucalyptus.

Here is where I went wrong.

And I ALWAYS go wrong.

When I started making it I decided to half the recipe to start, to have a tester bottle. When I half a recipe I forget I am doing so at SOME point in the process of adding ingredients, and I did that this time too.

I halved the portions and then decided to use the same amount of drops of oil as if I didn’t half it. *facepalm*

I noticed when I brushed my teeth to see how it tasted.

SO. I went BACK to the drawing board to finish the full recipe to make up for the STRONG taste.

Its been about 3 days now. I don’t mind it at all. Ben on the other hand….

Well it just doesn’t seem to agree with him, and it just sets his gag reflexes going. He thinks it may be the coconut oil (I used unrefined) but I think it may be the baking soda? It tends to have such a salty strong presence that it can easily overpower the senses.

I may try looking up some other recipes and try them out, and pay attention when I make a small portion this time! 🙂 But it doesn’t seem all that bad to me.

If you have any suggestions or make your own and you like it, let me know your secrets! 🙂

excuses and delays.

December 7, 2015 / erin / Leave a comment

Entirely too long of a break — BUT it’s the hoooolidays!

Is this an excuse?!

Seriously tho, celebrate them or don’t, but this time of year always seems to pick up and get really busy for some reason.

Of course the energy in the air is picked up because of the major few.. The kick off starts with Halloween, then followed by Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, Christmas, New Years… it doesn’t seem to end for a few months. Everyone who partakes in the festivities naturally gives off a buzz and whether I like it or not it seems to affect me.

I just seem to get busy.

Here’s what I’ve been doing! Backing up a bit if I may, jumping around, and coming back to the present.

I mentioned a few posts back that I went to work with Ben! Well, here is that proof. At the end of the day, I stripped off the paper and tape that covered my feet to my knees and I posed for a picture or two!

(Seriously I think I know entirely too much about spray foam.. and I don’t know when why or how!)

Scooting forward a bit closer to present day, Thanksgiving we took a road trip to Council Bluffs Iowa to stay with some friends of ours! It was bad weather in Colorado and a short enough drive to make it happen! The last time I was in Omaha (butts right up with Council Bluffs) was for a volleyball tournament when I was in high school, so it was fun to explore the area some! It was a nice time of R&R and a lot of Super Mario Bros on the old Nintendo game counsel!

Lost time was made up, and I’ve improved my skill!

I don’t want to overload in one post so I am going to break this down into a couple I think.

The trailer is still amazing. More on that in the next post.

And I will leave you with this.

I think I am going to turn into pizza.

Honestly I could eat it daily and not get tired. All kinds of pizza… vegan, supreme, cauliflower crust, just cheese… it doesn’t matter. I am not biased.

I bring this up because Ben and I have been trying out different Pizzerias in the area — because well.. pizza. Every place we have has been really good… so we keep trying more! #foodies

Ben’s tastes in pizza are pretty straightforward … meat, everything, more. I like to switch it up however and try specialty pizzas — I love a good Margherita pizza, and I did a sort of “make your own” at the last joint we went to, and it basically turned into the Margherita pizza :p

The two we have recently tried, Serafini’s Pizzeria and Fuhgidabowdit Pizzeria have been unique in their own way and I would for SURE go back to them. Again… pizza. It’s hard to go wrong.

Cheers!

Okay in my next post I will be letting you know how my homemade toothpaste turned out! We are still in the “testing” phase so I want to gather more data before presenting!

New? Furniture Ü

November 9, 2015 / erin / Leave a comment

I have FINALLY found something to house my food/pantry! #yay!

I have been slowly browsing thrift stores around me looking for just the right piece to function for whatever I need it for. I’ve been looking for something to hold our food that would normally go in a cupboard or pantry, and something to go right next to our door/bed to double as a night stand and hold all of the “extras”.

Mission completed.

The Kirkland beer you see in the picture is leftover from the wedding… We’re working on it! It’s a slow process when you don’t drink beer on the regular

If you can see, the doors slide both ways, it’s very light in weight and I LOVE the pale yellow color! (Yellow is one of my favorite colors, so happy) AND it matches my rug PERFECTLY, so that makes a double win 🙂

The rug its partially sitting on is yellow as a base color, then has many other colors woven in as well. It was made by the Amish of Wisconsin, close to my parents place, and I got it on a visit there years ago. It’s one of those pieces that will probably stick around for a long time.

Here is the other piece I found, with my blue “catch-all” basket sitting on top of it. ( I also have a hook that our coats call home right above the blue basket)

This drawer cracks me up tho! IT IS CARDBOARD! I have NEVER seen the like before, but it’s so awesome! So much so, that I had to make mention of it to the lady behind me in line at the Goodwill, she didn’t seem as pumped as I did, but she at least gave me what I can only call pity excitement.

I don’t care, it’s so awesome! It’s so great because I didn’t want to spend the money on something that I may not have for a long time, well I can recycle cardboard easily in SO many ways! The possibilities!

The other piece isn’t going anywhere tho. I am planning on keeping that one around, I just think it’s pretty unique and I will probably not find one like it again.

I forgot the BEST part! … and I am just going to mention one of my greatest pleasures in life is being able to find a really good deal …

There was a 50% off sale on Saturday (when I went to buy the items) …. The first one was a total of $1.50 and the cardboard drawer was $2.00.

Seriously.

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. 🙂

Working day – 2 & 3

September 21, 2015September 21, 2015 / erin / Leave a comment

We’ve started on the drywall and the floors now. I would love to say the drywall was a beautiful experience but holy crap was I ever frustrated with that drill. No issues now, I’ve moved on, and I don’t expect this is the last project that I will be working on so we will meet again.

Each time we do work on the interior we have to unload the trailer, do the work, then load everything back in… needless to say each time it gets more organized, practical, and it honestly starts to feel bigger. It might be without trim for a while on the inside but painting and staining day is coming! This is the first time either of us have ventured into something like this, so the work is definitely what I would call “homemade”, but I promise my vision is coming to a reality and it’s looking good!

I was trying to decide what to do for the floor. As construction continued I decided that I (which ended up being Ben) was going to just sand off the ick on the floor and ramp door and I will work on staining them so I have a “hard wood floor” look. I saw a fellow “micro-liver” do this on a YouTube video and thought it may work, look good, and save money in the long run. Fingers crossed!

On another note, here is another stunning Colorado sunset…

What I am also in the middle of trying to figure out is how we are going to have the bed set up in trailer. The mattress we have in there currently is your standard queen size, and it takes up way. to. much. space. SO. I’ve been looking into some space saver beds/couches and I’ve had luck, but haven’t quite found the “one” that clicks. I’m mostly doing online searches, and planning on having to possibly save up for a better quality one, but I want to make sure that we like it and its going to work for us! Since both of us are rather tall, the length matters a lot… I think we can get away with the width only being about the size of a double, but we cannot really skimp on the length.

I’ve ALSO been pouring over Pinterest looking for shower/bath/sink/kitchen combos and seeing how others have done it, or even if they have done it. Some trailers just skip the shower/bathroom idea because of the lack of space, however, with enough time to think and plan, I believe we can come up with some clever options. It’s really nice that in the mean time we are parked in an area that gives us a place to take care of all of that, and also work on the construction without worry of any issues arising.

I want everything to look good, put together, and still be homey and stylish, so I am okay with taking as much time as I need to perfect it all. We have the time, so we may as well use it.

Happy Monday! 🙂

dynomadic life

Dynamic Design. Nomadic Nature.

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