It has been along time coming, but it seems like we might be making headway with out tiny house project. I have been slowly procuring a list of items and saving money for the trailer and framing materials. I took a job 3rd shift, night work, to save money for the tiny house, but the stresses of life after dark and multiple weeks of 12 hour shifts six days a week, have taken their toll. I decided to leave the employment to much relief from my husband. I now have time to look for weekly daytime employment and actually see my husband when he is not asleep.
I have extra time now to do lots of things. One of which is guest writing for tinyhomes.com website. All the writers are at different places in their tiny house journeys. There is a fresh blog to enjoy everyday and there is even a tiny homes app for smart phones.
As for us, we have found a lot of items to fill our garage to the brim. Our current house is slowly getting cleared out. I am trying to decide to either post furniture on craigslist or have a large garage sale. Newly added to filled garage is cedar wall panels, 5 wood windows, a large butcher block countertop, some Ikea hardware, and some copper sheeting. Since not everything fits, currently there is a sink in my living room.
Craigslist has been wonderful for finding items for cheap, however I check the prices to local stores to make sure I'm getting the best deal. I have also been reminding myself not to spend money on home decor before I have a tiny home to decorate. It's better to have walls than a picture to put on them.
Wednesday, March 12, 2014
Monday, January 13, 2014
2014 The year of the House!
Goodbye 2013 Hello the year of the Build.
In the Chinese calendar 2014 is the Year of the Horse, for us it is The Year of the House.
I have been saturating myself with what is next, designing, planning, and envisioning of what I must have in a tiny space. I am not alone in this endeavor. After obtaining some items,we have made some changes to our plans. For instance I was searching pinterest for new tiny houses images and found a B&B in England that had a beautiful set up with the most wonderful farm sink. I showed it to my husband and he was smitten. He speaks up very little in the designing aspects of the inside of the house. I will add here, we currently in possession of a perfectly good tiny house sink tucked away in the garage. However when, he showed such a fondness for this sink, I added it to the list of things to research for. I looked online and found that this new style of sink (a white farm sink/ basin sink) was out of our price range. We are planning on paying cash on the barrel for this tiny house and it would be hard to justify a sink if we couldn't afford a roof to put it under. With the knowledge of what a new sink would cost, I began to comb through Craigslist and one day BINGO! There it was the sink, and in the right proportions to fit a tiny house. To sum it all up I drove out and picked up not only the sink but also the faucet, another item that we can mark off the list.
By now you may be wondering if there are tips for Craigslist searching. Here is what I have found to be helpful.
1.) Make a list! (Just like going to the grocery store) I have a running list of things I keyword search everyday.
2.) Free is not always free when you add in the cost of renting a van to pick up items or gas to get you there. I draw the line when the cost of the item is less than the cost it would be for me to go pick it up.
3.) Time vs money: Is it worth the time and effort to pick up painted wood that needs a lot of work? Perhaps? DIY should be code for the time you spend on an item is really your Free time.
DIY: Do It Yourself or DIY: Day In Your life? For us it is worth it, because we are trying to keep the cost down and reusing beautiful resources that would be sent to a landfill would benefit our budget and our planet. For us that is a win win!
4.) Be patient: If you see something that was not exactly perfect, wait, especially if you have the time to do so.
5.) Be courteous and tell your story: I have found that sending a friendly email telling your story will usually get a response. Even if the response is that the item is already been picked up, still return a kind, "Thank you for letting me know", because you never know who your neighbor might be some day someday.
In the Chinese calendar 2014 is the Year of the Horse, for us it is The Year of the House.
I have been saturating myself with what is next, designing, planning, and envisioning of what I must have in a tiny space. I am not alone in this endeavor. After obtaining some items,we have made some changes to our plans. For instance I was searching pinterest for new tiny houses images and found a B&B in England that had a beautiful set up with the most wonderful farm sink. I showed it to my husband and he was smitten. He speaks up very little in the designing aspects of the inside of the house. I will add here, we currently in possession of a perfectly good tiny house sink tucked away in the garage. However when, he showed such a fondness for this sink, I added it to the list of things to research for. I looked online and found that this new style of sink (a white farm sink/ basin sink) was out of our price range. We are planning on paying cash on the barrel for this tiny house and it would be hard to justify a sink if we couldn't afford a roof to put it under. With the knowledge of what a new sink would cost, I began to comb through Craigslist and one day BINGO! There it was the sink, and in the right proportions to fit a tiny house. To sum it all up I drove out and picked up not only the sink but also the faucet, another item that we can mark off the list.
By now you may be wondering if there are tips for Craigslist searching. Here is what I have found to be helpful.
1.) Make a list! (Just like going to the grocery store) I have a running list of things I keyword search everyday.
2.) Free is not always free when you add in the cost of renting a van to pick up items or gas to get you there. I draw the line when the cost of the item is less than the cost it would be for me to go pick it up.
3.) Time vs money: Is it worth the time and effort to pick up painted wood that needs a lot of work? Perhaps? DIY should be code for the time you spend on an item is really your Free time.
DIY: Do It Yourself or DIY: Day In Your life? For us it is worth it, because we are trying to keep the cost down and reusing beautiful resources that would be sent to a landfill would benefit our budget and our planet. For us that is a win win!
4.) Be patient: If you see something that was not exactly perfect, wait, especially if you have the time to do so.
5.) Be courteous and tell your story: I have found that sending a friendly email telling your story will usually get a response. Even if the response is that the item is already been picked up, still return a kind, "Thank you for letting me know", because you never know who your neighbor might be some day someday.
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