1. Demolition permit - in hand.
2. Building permit - applied for.
3. House plans - finalized.
4. Windows & doors - ordered.
5. Trusses - in the queue.
6. Power disconnect - scheduled.
7. Water & sewer in our tiny temporary trailer home - hooked up and working.
We're getting there !
Sunday, May 1, 2016
Saturday, March 26, 2016
Tick Tock
It's getting closer ... and real. Our plans have gone for the last revisions. The demolition permit has been applied for. The enormity of the clearing out task is hitting me ... yikes. We are figuring out what we are keeping, what we will need in the trailer to live with this summer, what we can get rid of at spring clean up, who we will hire for various jobs, what things will cost, what our budget is ... so much to think about. But first we have a few big jobs at each of our businesses, the 2015 books to finish, and a few other odds'n'ends. Then the real work starts !
I am putting April 1st - no joke , lol - as our start date. That's when the checklists, give/keep/sell bags, and packing boxes come out. That's when we start building our storage building and getting ready to move. That's when the trailer gets cleaned out, repaired, and prepped for being our home. The tools will come out, cleaning and sorting will begin, and we will be on our way !
I saw this the other day and figured it pretty much summed up how we roll ...
Here's to greatness !
I am putting April 1st - no joke , lol - as our start date. That's when the checklists, give/keep/sell bags, and packing boxes come out. That's when we start building our storage building and getting ready to move. That's when the trailer gets cleaned out, repaired, and prepped for being our home. The tools will come out, cleaning and sorting will begin, and we will be on our way !
I saw this the other day and figured it pretty much summed up how we roll ...
Tuesday, February 16, 2016
Enough ...
So what did you do this Valentine's/Heritage Day weekend ? Our plan was to finalize the sketch for our house so we could take it to the building supply company and begin the process of our final blueprints. But, no, that's not what we did. Not by a long shot.
Instead we were reminded of why we are doing this. Honestly, we are sure about our decision. The universe can stop driving home the point. WE GET IT !!
* Saturday after work, we installed a propane stove at my place of work because the pellet option was just getting too messy, too difficult, and tying us to work every.single.day. Seemed to work just fine. Happy dance.
* Cue the coldest night of the winter ( thanks for that) and we burned through an entire tank of propane in less than 16 hours. Luckily we got up early to come check it and caught it as it was drawing it's last puffs.
* Mad scramble ... 15 minute drive to buy gas jugs for the back up furnace. 45 minute drive in the other direction to get them filled, then another 20+ minutes back to pour them in the furnace.
* Debate begins ... after much debate ( "that is way too expensive !!" "could it really use that much" "well I guess it was super cold" ) we decided to allow for the extreme cold and give it a week trial. After all, the other stove had been disconnected and this one had been put in. We had purchased the stove and the vent kit. C and his friend had spent the entire afternoon getting it moved in, the other moved out, and then hooking it up. And I had already let myself believe that I wasn't going to be cleaning up greasy black residue off everything every 2 days. We needed to try.
* Now propane ... we need a large tank obviously. I called all over and finally found one in New Minas ... another 35 minute drive. BUT, they can't fill it. They tell me another spot that can. So I call them. Nope, they can't either. The only place that can isn't open weekends. AND the next day is a holiday so it would be Tuesday - and they aren't open in the evenings so we can't do it anyway.
* Start the truck. We are now making the 2 hour drive to Costco for propane and a tank. Luckily their propane is less than half the price. Not so luckily, we can't take the filled tank because we have a cap on the truck. Lies are told, and the tank is placed on a cart and wheeled away to the capped truck.
* We drive 2 more hours home and put the tank in the warehouse for the night so it can re-stabilize from being placed on it's side.and we head home. The oil will last for the night.
* We get home to find our house very cold. Very cold. The water is frozen. The pump is frozen. The furnace is having issues. C works on the furnace and tries to get it going better. I start the pellet stove. We have to close off the upstairs and confine the heat to a few rooms in order to keep the house at all warm.
* We sleep fully clothed with extra layers and comforters in our chairs and on a wee love seat . Very uncomfortable. Very cold. I get up at 4am because my neck cannot take it anymore. (that's it !!) I have just started physio for disc damage in my neck and the loveseat is killing me. I head upstairs for my pillows. It is 23F degrees in our bedroom, the bathroom is 33F degrees. The cats' water bowls upstairs are frozen solid, the water in the toilet is frozen solid, the taps won't even turn. Frozen. FROZEN.
* I check downstairs and the temp is only 49F. I wake poor C who heads out again. The furnace has taken a turn for the worse. He pokes, scoops, finds better wood, I'm not sure what else and gets it going better. We go back to sleep. Or whatever that painful twisted repose should be called.
* We get up early and C goes out to put more wood in the furnace. In the daylight he can now see that a window in the back of the house, in a back hallway that we don't use, has been blown out by the terrific wind. Towels and plywood are used to fill the hole.
* Then we come in to work to check that the oil is still working. It is. (thank god, that might have been the last straw, lol) We use some of the lovely flowing warm water to wash up and we go grab a warm breakfast and then come back to hook up the propane tank. The phone rings. It is my Dad and the neighbours have called him - something bad is happening to the furnace. Smoke is pouring out of it everywhere - except from the chimney. C heads back home.
* The smoke was actually steam and there is a leak somewhere in the fittings. But again, it is a holiday and there is nothing we can do until tomorrow. C patches it the best he can.
* He comes back to hook up the propane tank ... and the regulator won't fit the larger tank. No propane until the holiday is over. So we lower the oil thermostat and limp along until Tuesday.
A friend asked me a few days prior to this if I was excited. I said yes but in my mind I was thinking that actually, we're not excited. We're exhausted and discouraged and the only thing that keeps us hanging on is this plan. It has become our light at the end of the tunnel. Our life line that we cling to. And that only became even more apparent after this weekend.
So ... we didn't get our plans drawn up. But we did survive the Valentine's day massacre.
EDIT : I think I need to tell what happened after the phone call about the furnace. We do not call anyone when we have troubles. We deal with it ourselves and we are a strong team. This has been a 30 year (mis)adventure and we have kept a pretty stiff upper lip about it all. Really what choice do we have ? You just deal with it and move on. We sometimes talk about the problems afterwards to others & laugh about it. But it has been a huge struggle and it feels pretty darn lonely sometimes. It's just the two of us and we sometimes just get weary. So when my Dad called, I passed the message on to C and then called Dad back to tell him that he was headed home and to see what the caller had said. I spoke with him for a few minutes just briefly touching on the weekend's trials. I said goodbye and hung up. I was on the verge of tears. I try so hard not to do that - my family has enough to deal with and I don't like to add to it - but sometimes it just sneaks up and the wave washes over. A few minutes later my Dad arrived ... he knew . It was the first time in so many years that someone had given us a hug and some sympathy and encouragement. I can't tell you how much that hug & visit meant. ♥
Instead we were reminded of why we are doing this. Honestly, we are sure about our decision. The universe can stop driving home the point. WE GET IT !!
* Saturday after work, we installed a propane stove at my place of work because the pellet option was just getting too messy, too difficult, and tying us to work every.single.day. Seemed to work just fine. Happy dance.
* Cue the coldest night of the winter ( thanks for that) and we burned through an entire tank of propane in less than 16 hours. Luckily we got up early to come check it and caught it as it was drawing it's last puffs.
* Mad scramble ... 15 minute drive to buy gas jugs for the back up furnace. 45 minute drive in the other direction to get them filled, then another 20+ minutes back to pour them in the furnace.
* Debate begins ... after much debate ( "that is way too expensive !!" "could it really use that much" "well I guess it was super cold" ) we decided to allow for the extreme cold and give it a week trial. After all, the other stove had been disconnected and this one had been put in. We had purchased the stove and the vent kit. C and his friend had spent the entire afternoon getting it moved in, the other moved out, and then hooking it up. And I had already let myself believe that I wasn't going to be cleaning up greasy black residue off everything every 2 days. We needed to try.
* Now propane ... we need a large tank obviously. I called all over and finally found one in New Minas ... another 35 minute drive. BUT, they can't fill it. They tell me another spot that can. So I call them. Nope, they can't either. The only place that can isn't open weekends. AND the next day is a holiday so it would be Tuesday - and they aren't open in the evenings so we can't do it anyway.
* Start the truck. We are now making the 2 hour drive to Costco for propane and a tank. Luckily their propane is less than half the price. Not so luckily, we can't take the filled tank because we have a cap on the truck. Lies are told, and the tank is placed on a cart and wheeled away to the capped truck.
* We drive 2 more hours home and put the tank in the warehouse for the night so it can re-stabilize from being placed on it's side.and we head home. The oil will last for the night.
* We get home to find our house very cold. Very cold. The water is frozen. The pump is frozen. The furnace is having issues. C works on the furnace and tries to get it going better. I start the pellet stove. We have to close off the upstairs and confine the heat to a few rooms in order to keep the house at all warm.
* We sleep fully clothed with extra layers and comforters in our chairs and on a wee love seat . Very uncomfortable. Very cold. I get up at 4am because my neck cannot take it anymore. (that's it !!) I have just started physio for disc damage in my neck and the loveseat is killing me. I head upstairs for my pillows. It is 23F degrees in our bedroom, the bathroom is 33F degrees. The cats' water bowls upstairs are frozen solid, the water in the toilet is frozen solid, the taps won't even turn. Frozen. FROZEN.
* I check downstairs and the temp is only 49F. I wake poor C who heads out again. The furnace has taken a turn for the worse. He pokes, scoops, finds better wood, I'm not sure what else and gets it going better. We go back to sleep. Or whatever that painful twisted repose should be called.
* We get up early and C goes out to put more wood in the furnace. In the daylight he can now see that a window in the back of the house, in a back hallway that we don't use, has been blown out by the terrific wind. Towels and plywood are used to fill the hole.
* Then we come in to work to check that the oil is still working. It is. (thank god, that might have been the last straw, lol) We use some of the lovely flowing warm water to wash up and we go grab a warm breakfast and then come back to hook up the propane tank. The phone rings. It is my Dad and the neighbours have called him - something bad is happening to the furnace. Smoke is pouring out of it everywhere - except from the chimney. C heads back home.
* The smoke was actually steam and there is a leak somewhere in the fittings. But again, it is a holiday and there is nothing we can do until tomorrow. C patches it the best he can.
* He comes back to hook up the propane tank ... and the regulator won't fit the larger tank. No propane until the holiday is over. So we lower the oil thermostat and limp along until Tuesday.
A friend asked me a few days prior to this if I was excited. I said yes but in my mind I was thinking that actually, we're not excited. We're exhausted and discouraged and the only thing that keeps us hanging on is this plan. It has become our light at the end of the tunnel. Our life line that we cling to. And that only became even more apparent after this weekend.
So ... we didn't get our plans drawn up. But we did survive the Valentine's day massacre.
EDIT : I think I need to tell what happened after the phone call about the furnace. We do not call anyone when we have troubles. We deal with it ourselves and we are a strong team. This has been a 30 year (mis)adventure and we have kept a pretty stiff upper lip about it all. Really what choice do we have ? You just deal with it and move on. We sometimes talk about the problems afterwards to others & laugh about it. But it has been a huge struggle and it feels pretty darn lonely sometimes. It's just the two of us and we sometimes just get weary. So when my Dad called, I passed the message on to C and then called Dad back to tell him that he was headed home and to see what the caller had said. I spoke with him for a few minutes just briefly touching on the weekend's trials. I said goodbye and hung up. I was on the verge of tears. I try so hard not to do that - my family has enough to deal with and I don't like to add to it - but sometimes it just sneaks up and the wave washes over. A few minutes later my Dad arrived ... he knew . It was the first time in so many years that someone had given us a hug and some sympathy and encouragement. I can't tell you how much that hug & visit meant. ♥
Thursday, January 14, 2016
It's a Process ...
I think downsizing is a process. We were going from a huge 2 storey house with 20+ rooms to a 7 room house that included a half loft. A big difference !! The plans were drawn up and we were ready. Excited and ready.
But time ticks by ... you ponder that house ... you start mentally disposing of your belongings ... you choose what matters to you and what doesn't.
And all of a sudden, you know. You know that you can go smaller.
I think the jump from huge to small is too big a leap ... it takes time. You need to whittle the space down. You give some up . Then you give a little more. It can't be done quickly without feeling a little panic. But over time, you begin to completely detach from your belongings and it becomes very simple.
Now we could stick with the plans we have had done and save the cost of altering them. Sure we could. But we also know now that we could live in a smaller space and that small investment for alterations will have a big payoff. One storey means one complete level less of gyproc, flooring, painting, studs, no special load bearing posts, no special trusses, fewer windows, fewer light fixtures, less wiring, less plumbing, no stairs, no open concept areas to figure out lighting for, less siding, one less toilet & vanity ... and the list goes on. That means significant savings. It also means money to make our mudroom a hair bigger and to add a porch on the front so we can watch the amazing tides and sunsets. Maybe a new but smaller furnace.
It also means no extra hide-y holes to squirrel away extra "stuff" - and that's good. If there is space, we will fill it. No stairs - and that's good. It means no lugging a vacuum up the stairs or carrying laundry down. It means no stairs if, in time, we were to find them too difficult. It means less space to heat.
It means less. Just less. And that's what it's all about.
But time ticks by ... you ponder that house ... you start mentally disposing of your belongings ... you choose what matters to you and what doesn't.
And all of a sudden, you know. You know that you can go smaller.
I think the jump from huge to small is too big a leap ... it takes time. You need to whittle the space down. You give some up . Then you give a little more. It can't be done quickly without feeling a little panic. But over time, you begin to completely detach from your belongings and it becomes very simple.
Now we could stick with the plans we have had done and save the cost of altering them. Sure we could. But we also know now that we could live in a smaller space and that small investment for alterations will have a big payoff. One storey means one complete level less of gyproc, flooring, painting, studs, no special load bearing posts, no special trusses, fewer windows, fewer light fixtures, less wiring, less plumbing, no stairs, no open concept areas to figure out lighting for, less siding, one less toilet & vanity ... and the list goes on. That means significant savings. It also means money to make our mudroom a hair bigger and to add a porch on the front so we can watch the amazing tides and sunsets. Maybe a new but smaller furnace.
It also means no extra hide-y holes to squirrel away extra "stuff" - and that's good. If there is space, we will fill it. No stairs - and that's good. It means no lugging a vacuum up the stairs or carrying laundry down. It means no stairs if, in time, we were to find them too difficult. It means less space to heat.
It means less. Just less. And that's what it's all about.
Thursday, September 17, 2015
It's a GO !!
Plans approved ... check.
Cost ... better than we expected.
Materials list ... in hand.
Excitement level ... barely contained.
Cost ... better than we expected.
Materials list ... in hand.
Excitement level ... barely contained.
Tuesday, August 25, 2015
Purge & Plod Along ...
Not much happening on the Tiny House Front, aside from the usual. We are continuing the Great Purge of 2015 although the sweltering heat is keeping us out of the upstairs spare rooms - and they are the good ones, lol. Full of potential Kijiji & yardsale loot ! But each week we gather, we photograph, I list, and we sell. Five things picked up so far this week with several more to go. It's very satisfying to be getting rid of "stuff" - and that's all it is at this point - and actually getting money for that very stuff. Cool concept !!
I have started a magazine purge ... I'm sure we could almost construct a house out of magazines ... yikes ! I sit down every night with a stack and pull out any articles I might "need". I have just one binder so far and it isn't even full ! I have 6 bags of magazines done so far ... I'll pass them on to some otherhoarder reader and they can get some enjoyment out of them. It is a bit disturbing to think that many of these magazines were in the $10 to $15 range EACH. I could have paid for a foundation with the money. I guess I only thought of each magazine and never really thought of the cumulative total. But, I am happy to say that I haven't bought a magazine since we started this process ... I just can't bring myself to do it. That's not to say that I never will, but I certainly will be sure there are multiple ... and I mean multiple multiple ... articles of interest before I do. It is amazing how this process changes your perspective on spending. So 2 full shelves done so far ... and many more shelves to go , but very satisfying. It's at least something that I can wade through until the heat breaks and I can start plowing through boxes. So, with that, I'm off to read & tear !
I have started a magazine purge ... I'm sure we could almost construct a house out of magazines ... yikes ! I sit down every night with a stack and pull out any articles I might "need". I have just one binder so far and it isn't even full ! I have 6 bags of magazines done so far ... I'll pass them on to some other
Saturday, August 15, 2015
Construction Starting Early ??
We came home the other night to find some strange work had been done on our house ... the electrical wires up to the house just under the second floor roof had been wrapped in wadded up plastic and electrical tape. A long yellow protective sleeve went from taped up wires out towards the pole. Hmmm ? Strange ... was there some sort of renovation or repair that we were unaware of ? Finally curiosity got the best of us and C. called the power company. Oops. They apologized. It was supposed to be done to the lighthouse across the street in anticipation of painting and repairs. The same lighthouse that has no civic number so ours was given as a reference. But the computer doesn't understand reference and simply posts it to the work order. We had a good laugh and assured them that it was no big deal. It will just add more mystery to "what the heck are they doing over there ??". lol.
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