So we are now ensconsed in a mother in law apartment at a friend’s house for the duration of the construction mess. We are in a 500 sf place, which was already over-furnished. But we have carefully determined what we need to have and places for it. It is a bit odd what we have saved:
My kaliedoscope with its 100+ wheels
Our game sets of cards and 5 tops (so much fun for kitty)
Our books
The 2 feet of clothes for me (5 work outfits, 2 sweat day outfits)
4 days of clothes for MaJe
Tea, spices, food
4 cups (we’ve lost one already–a major tragedy)
3 bowls
2 plates
our spring tulips
books (only a few!) and journals.
It is amazing how much more we are actually *using* our stuff now. We haven’t played cards for so long–and now we enjoy that. We are actually reading the books we brought–instead of looking and promising.
Of course, it also helps/hinders that our temporary digs have intermittant to no internet access…
Ok we are having construction difficulties that we will go into in large detail with lessons learned after the fact.
But for now we are keeping mum about all this–except to say:
If you get a contractor, make sure they are licensed. Then call their last 4 customers and see how the job went. Then talk to the city board and make sure that they are in good standing. Then ask their suppliers if they pay on time.
Obviously, we didn’t do that.
We are in temporary digs and the project will cost a great deal more than we had anticiapted. Ouch.
We have run into some snafus and are cleaning those up and are learning things about construction and the potential issues.
However, people have been telling us this is crazy and impossible. It isn’t, really. YES, we probably still have too much stuff. Yes, we will have to cut down on our stuff–even more than we have. But stuff is stuff. We can do this.
I think the issue boils down to cultural expectations. We expect that we have to have two double boilers and three couches and space and a living room and a dining room and a gift wrapping room. And therefore, we do. But look at how most of the world lives. They don’t expect this kind of life–and they are still living…
So I should say something pro-found for 01/11/10.
Hooray.
We had fun with critters in the attic. The building inspector said there was “some damage”, but we found their leavings from the attic.
And chewed up wood.
Every year, we do a tiny flower garden in winter. It helps us both survive as we watch the bulbs get a sharp shoot of green, and then the green swells, and then a hint of color and then… a flower in winter. These are precious–and will fit well into our tiny house scheme.
You can see the kimono we are building the house around in the back-reflection.
We have 35 inches wide, 44 inches deep, and 8 feet high closet to put a washer/dryer (and all our clothes) in.
Here is an option that is 2 feet by 2 feet by 14 inches or so (220 V), $170, … the translation is quite interesting:
Haier Ventless Washer/Dryer Combo HWD1000 is on sale for $100
These have had bad reviews, and our research says go with an LG–but these are $1600 with dimensions of 23 5/8″ x 33 1/4″ x 23 13/16″
There is a hand cranked counter top one for $42… http://www.shopwiki.com/_Portable%2C+Mini+Washing+Machine?o=311816067&s=125014&
Or the avanti portable which does 12 pounds. Reviews are at http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000ZIKWWI?&tag=shopwiki-us-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325
Width: 21 1/4″
Depth: 22″
Height: 37″
Specs are at http://www.ajmadison.com/cgi-bin/ajmadison/W798SS.html?mv_pc=amzcpc
$332
There is also an Avanti dryer http://www.avantiproducts.com/index.php?page=products&cat=58 • 9 Lbs. Drying Capacity
• White
• 27.5″ H x 23.5″ W x 17.5″ D
$240
http://www.thetwistergroup.com/product/avanti-d110-white-clothes-dryer-110v/D110%20C01218.html
Opinions on stores that sell avanti: http://www0.epinions.com/prices/Avanti_12_Lb_Portable_Automatic_Washer_Platinum
The post below this one summarizes our journey so far. And now is a good time to think about the problems we’ve encountered–above and beyond the usual tiny home issues of planning space, getting zoning, and “dropping out” of the stuff culture to live with what we truly need–and truly cherish what we have. So here goes:
Lofts. Most tiny tiny houses have the bed as a loft. This makes sense, as you need more floor space and less head space to sleep. But we can’t get up to a loft. The house we ended up buying does have a nice, sturdy attic. And we do need heated storage for my macs (which play my oldest elit work). So we are cutting the attic in two, leaving part for storage and vaulting the ceiling so my tall tall love does not feel boxed in.
Bed space. That leaves the problem of where the beds go. Right now, it looks like they will take up about half the floor space. We are going to move in with temporary air beds (even though the contraption dumped me out last night and I couldn’t move). And then figure it out. But we have three potential floor plans (one with the beds in an L shape and two with the beds together).
Bathroom. We have a head start on this one–our current bathroom has no door because we had to take it off early on so I could get into it. So we are used to the idea of no bathroom door. We will have a full length shower curtain all the way around the bathroom. We are also knocking out the bathroom wall so we can have a roll in shower with a downward drain.
Doors. The current door is 32 inches–which gives me one inch on either side of my tiny wheelchair. (I am in a 15 inch chair–which is smaller than an adult’s, but bigger than a child’s). So we are going to solve two problems at once (maximizing light and flow through). We are knocking out 9 feeet of a 15 foot wall to give me a patio sliding glass door. This can have a lever on it that a dog can pull–so when I can’t do it, the future service dog can.
Oxygen compressor. The noise of that thing drives us batty from three rooms away. So we are going to build a cabinet with sound proofing andput it by MaJe’s bed. She can use the front of the cabinet to be a desk side bed (or a bed side eating tray) and the space above it we will turn into her shelves so she can reach her books and her stuff in bed.
Chairs and indoor access. Not sure yet. However, I am thinking: outdoor/lawn chair/wheelchair to go between the house and the car. Inside, a tiny wheeled office chair (if both of my legs are out, I can grab onto stuff and pull me along as there won’t be that much room). Then keep my regular chair in the car–parked in our gated compound. ‘
Litter box. Have absolutely no clue whatsoever. Maybe under the sink with a cat door?
