Next Chapter

Obviously it has been a while since an update here... I am sad to report my tiny house dreams as detailed in this blog have diminished. The house I was so excited about in the last post was a mess upon inspection, I have left my previous career, and now have a new goal I've been focusing on.

Last fall I began working towards a masters degree. I hope to find a career that is more financially supportive, while still making a positive impact. This has lead me to sustainability and environmental education/activism.

So while someday I do hope to have my own home that is smaller than average size and more environmentally friendly than the horrid McMansions that litter our country- first step is getting that degree.

I will leave my past posts up for the time, they may prove useful to someone somewhere whether for guidance or a good laugh at my naivete.

If wishes were horses, we'd all be eating steak

Here is where things currently stand; there is a little pie shaped lot nestled in an older housing plan for $11,000. There used to be a house on the property but it was demolished a few years back- which means utility hook ups already in place! There is the ever present issue of legality and money. The township this pie piece is located in does not allow any RVs to park anywhere. Slowly there has been progress in different areas of the country to legally allow tiny homes, so I am not discouraged by the current zoning laws. The money is another battle.

Even with diligent saving, I am not even halfway to purchasing just the land. Then I'd need funds for the actual house. Loans for land, I'm learning, are not as easily granted as for homes. Factor in my limited credit history, student loans, and meager income- few banks are likely to be supportive.

When I left my apartment to move back with family, I believed it would be a temporary situation. One or two years tops before I'd be living in my tiny home. It will be three years in the fall, and despite small steps- moving into my house is still years away. Time to reevaluate my strategy.

At first it felt as though moving into an apartment would be giving up on my tiny house. But if I am going to invest such a large amount of time and money into a project, I want to do it right. I don't want to rush construction, buy subpar materials, and I really don't want another loan over my head. Not having my own place has made me anxious to jump into the water head first without checking the depth. One piece of advice from multiple tiny home builders is to take the time to research and plan before building.

So that is where things stand. My goal of living tiny before I'm 30 is no longer feasible, a realization that lifted a weight. The stress of bringing this large project together in a short amount of time has dissipated, just leaving the stress of finding an apartment, trying to find freelance work, getting some semblance of a social life, being aware of current events but not overwhelmed by the news, learning how to meal plan, planting the right flowers so bees don't die out....

Back in the Burgh

I have returned from my adventures in the Rockies in one piece, though burned in some places. But I climbed a friggin' mountain and now feel determined to fight just as hard to get my tiny home completed. Hopefully it be quite as physically painful... Here are some snapshots from the trip!

5th generation cowgirl lead us through the mountains.

Why am I smirking? Just conquered a friggin' mountain!

Even in the beginning of spring, it is magical here.

While I was away, my wonderful brother, his energetic wife, my supportive father, and a reliable friend from church picked up the science cabinets I hope to use in my kitchen. Even if they think I'm crazy (which I'm sure they did before I ever started this tiny house adventure!), my family has been wonderful through this journey. I don't think I would have ever attempted this without such open minded and supportive people in my life. :) My cabinets are now added to my accumulated inventory and await the construction phase.

Anyone else ever travel halfway across the country to avoid heavy lifting?

On the subject of land, I may have mentioned before there were two properties I was excited about possibly purchasing. They were in neighborhoods I liked (close to work and good dog walking roads) and under $20,000. Before my trip I had driven past them both and was very disappointed to find the land very uneven and wooded- making them practical for my home would likely be out of my budget. My aunt is in reality and was able to talk with the representing agents, but I haven't touched base with her since returning from Colorado. Fingers crossed she has encouraging news!

Another big purchase I made recently was for a tiny house bundle from Ok Tiny that included blueprints for multiple houses from multiple designers, books about downsizing, personal tiny house stories, classes on Sketch Up, etc. It was $99, and I cringed making the payment but think the plethora of resources will be worth it.

I'll leave you with an image of the creepiest motel sign in Colorado, possibly the nation.

Miss Lippert Goes to Washington

A little break from the tiny house journey to share about a different adventure.

Yesterday was an amazing day, the magnitude of which I was not aware of until today. I attended the Women's March on Washington with half a million other women and men.

The day was amazing in a multitude of ways; the sheer number of people that attended filled the streets we were supposed to march down. While in the thick of the event, we did not understand how momentous our gathering was- no one could get on the internet to figure out why we weren't moving after the planned march time. It was a sea of black, white, brown, young, old, men, women, gays, trans, straight people wearing pink hats. There were people playing drums, response chants being shouted, humorous and serious signs.

What there wasn't? A single arrest. A single moment I felt unsafe. No one was rude or aggressive. We were packed like sardines and everyone was smiling and laughing. I met people who had been on a bus for 11 hours from Vermont who were crammed in a metro car with us- they were joyful to be there.

Today I was giddy reading the news stories of all the sister protests world wide (even in Antarctica!). My steel city also joined in with a sister march, so proud! This is the most hopeful I have felt since November. I feel encouraged, invigorated, to make a positive change! There were many different causes represented; women's rights, environmental protection, health care, etc but they all have the same roots in something very simple- love. Sounds cheesy but it is true. I think the event was truly blessed and it wasn't a coincidence the weather was so nice, the crowd were never agitated, the police were respected.

Land of the something...

The focus of this journal is to catalog my journey to tiny house ownership; that also includes some personal aspects. I do not indent to delve into politics but will be honest that the recent presidential election left me devastated, ashamed, and afraid. I have spent more energy trying to educate myself on being more educated and active in politics (which we should have learned about in school, right? because I have never needed to use calculus but voting seems like something everyone would need when you live in a republic). ANYWAYS, this topic has sucked my time and then sucked my motivation for a time with such a horrific turn of events.

With that out of the way TINY HOUSE STUFF!

It has been very slow, almost stagnant trying to get information about the legality of parking my house. Only two local officials actually replied and answered my questions, though their answers were almost less than helpful. There was a back and forth similarly to when your mom says "go ask your dad" and your dad replies "go ask your mom". No one seems to know a solid answer since tiny homes are such a grey area.
I am thinking of presenting the local government with a few places I want to park and asking "what would I have to do to live here?".  That means actually finding land, three options I've found for that.

1. Trailer park: my house would likely be very permissible in a trailer park. They would also be already set up for water and electric hook ups. Unfortunately there are not any parks in the area I want to live (and many have lots close together and poor management).

2. Buy land: This would offer the most freedom but being short on money anyways, not very practical. Plus the area I want to live in can be price because it is in a popular school district (I just like it because it is the perfect distance between the city and country, close to work, friends and fam).

3. Rent land: This is likely the route I will end up going but the most awkward by far. I don't know anyone personally that has land I could rent space from, so this means going up to strangers and asking if i can be their neighbor. There are some places Jack and I pass on our daily walks that I picture my house sitting on.

So now I'm drafting up letters to give to a few neighbors and browsing Zillow. To keep my spirits up, I am also doing more shopping! Last weekend I purchased two large windows for the living area. Brand new and only $150 for both! I don't have a photo of them (they are just simple white windows anyways) but here is a photo of tape on my wall so I could get an idea of the window sizes.

Outer square is 42x36, the size I bought

Just one more segway from the normal topic, all day Wednesday I was in a horribly dark mood. While walking Jack, we found a scared kitten hiding under a porch. After assuring the neighbors I wasn't a prowler, we caught the little guy. Once inside with food and warmth, he quickly started purring and giving nose boops! Can't help but think God sent this little guy for me to find to help lift my spirit. How can you not feel happy looking at this face, and those adorable piggies!

So cute, I just want to squeeze him!

Из России с любовью

When I started this journey, I honestly thought I would take a year to plan and a year to build my tiny house. Looking back, there isn't one big thing that screwed up my timeline; I had to move out of my apartment, was assigned new responsibilities at work, had to find a new car, was diagnosed with Lyme disease then un-diagnosed with Lyme disease. Most recently a family member struggling with depression was hospitalized. It is amazing how you can so easily get caught up in surviving the day, weeks and months quickly pass.
People in my life keep getting pregnant as well, which means baby showers, which means presents, which means paintings for me. Cost effective but time consuming.

I am determined to begin my build before this year is up and have been researching trailers. There are so many options to choose, it is almost paralyzing. Thankfully there are quite a few online resources available that weren't around even a few years ago, but it still requires research.
To break up the stress of trailer shopping, I've been shopping for other house parts. Mostly trivial but still cool. Example one: this sweet mail slot.

Courtesy BolshevismLand on Etsy, I found this slot that says "Pochta"- the name of the Russian postal service. Most of the slots I found were either so bland they ruined the aesthetics or yelled "LOOK AT ME, I AM A FANCY OLD TIMEY WAY TO DELIVER MAIL!" This one is the perfect combination of character, simplicity, and will hopefully be helpful if Red Dawn ever comes to fruition.

Since I cannot expect you to be waiting by your computers for my next update, may I recommend my newest favorite podcast: Mystery Show. As stated on their site, Myster Show is "A podcast where Starlee Kine solves mysteries." Simple but charming, much like my sweet mail slot. Only it isn't in Russian.

Construction Junction, what's your function?

 A unique situation has fallen into my lap. One of the trailer makers I contacted has a 24" low-utility trailer already made to sell. Pros of this development is my build could start by the end of this month. Cons are two of man's greatest enemies: time and money. I had hoped to save enough money to avoid taking a loan out and I am not close at this point. I was also expecting to have a few weeks while waiting for the trailer to be built to finalize my design. Besides my front door, I have no other materials or even the exact plans for the house.

Not helping this decision is the rollercoaster life has been in just the past week. I learned that I don't actually have lyme disease; someone had misread my initial blood work. While there are still some tests the doc wanted to run, it seems most likely all the health issues I've been having the past few months were all from stress. STRESS! Sure, it is a relief to not have a serious disease but it is slightly embarrassing that my body was just flipping out on itself from living life. Also, there isn't a pill to take and fix stress (well, any legal ones that don't cause lifelong ramifications or death).


On a more uplifting note, I took my first trip to Construction Junction! This store boasts a huge warehouse of materials from hardware to toilets in every color. I had hoped to find my windows, but there was nothing that grabbed my attention. What I did find was a box old key hole covers for $1 each (and while it wouldn't break my budget, my dad was sweet and insisted on buying them for me). They are perfect additions to my type drawer display.

One of the few decorations that will definitely be in the tiny house.

So there is a big decision to be made in the next few days that could possibly jump start my build. At this point I have no idea which way I am leaning. Until next time...

When it rains, it pours

Last post I shared my struggles with the influx of work at the shelter and the horrible adventure with my transportation. I had hoped my year would only go up from there, honestly what else could happen? Well, I could get horribly sick for almost two months.
Little back story, I am terrified of vomiting. It is just one of those phobias that I would rather shoot myself in the foot if it would mean I would never be sick again. Weird thing is I wasn't a sickly kid, and until the beginning of this year I hadn't thrown up since elementary school (in February I got a stomach bug, in March I got food poisoning). Come fall, I am all the sudden having episodes of feeling possibly nauseous that send me into a panic. Panics that escalated to the point I needed medication to calm myself down. I start having stomach cramps and bad intestinal issues, I shall spare you the details. I bring this up at a routine doctor's visit, she diagnosed me with IBS. And while depression runs in my family and I am on a low dose of anti-depressants, I have had a digestive tract of steel most of my life. They up my normal meds and say to check back in a month. Month later, still having stomach issues but the panic attacks are slightly better. They want to put me on an elimination diet, cutting out almost everything you would identify as edible to figure out what causes my intestines to act up. I burst into tears in my car. Food is a real struggle for me; I was never taught how to cook for myself but I love to eat. I am now trying to learn as an adult how to plan, shop, and cook healthy. The idea that even things like fresh fruits, cheeses, and grains are off limits- I was going to starve. (and I know I am being dramatic, there are plenty of people that have to be on limited diets and make delicious meals, but I struggle when something doesn't come in a box). I promptly devoured a large chocolate bar with the thought "if my IBS is caused by stress, and this diet stresses me out- ergo, screw the diet".
A few days after the second doctor visit, I received a call about my bloodwork. I was positive for Lyme disease. I had requested the test with my routine blood work given my line of work, though I had never seen a tick bite me. The doctors and nurse told me Lyme would not cause my symptoms, it causes "fatigue like the flu, muscle ache, and a bull's eye rash at the bite". It was basically straight from a text book and differed greatly from every first hand account of being infected I heard. My one coworker discovered she had it for years, she developed muscle ticks and would get random high fevers. A friend had a relative become extremely paranoid, to the point he was hospitalized. Once given an antibiotic though, he returned to normal. My vet at work even said that Lyme affects the muscles and what is your intestine made of? One large muscle!
It has been roughly two weeks I've been on antibiotics and most of my symptoms have subsided if not dissolved completely. My intestines are still wonky at times, but antibiotics can throw that out of whack too. My anxiety of being sick has dropped drastically, though not disappeared entirely.
Now I am telling everyone about how I have Lyme, because I never would have guessed that I had it and it was the cause of my problems. While I work with animals, I have never pulled a tick of myself (and I have no issues dancing in front of a mirror before hopping in the shower every night) and I live in a populated suburb. I have been telling everyone I know to get tested. It is a serious issue, especially in this part of the country, and unfortunately the (human) medical field isn't being as proactive as they should.

On the topic of tiny houses, the subject of this blog, I recently purchased the book Tiny House Decisions. I shall post my thoughts on it soon, along with other tiny house news.

Now go get tested for Lyme!

I'm not dead yet...

When I originally decided to embark on this project, my timeline was to raise money for the trailer by February 2015 (hasn't not happened...), and be building by the spring (ha!).
My day job was through into full chaos at the new year when we lost two employees in our already tiny department. I got a promotion (yay!) that sucked up way more time (boo!), and even though we have gotten two new employees (yay!) new employees means training (boo!). Add getting the flu twice, TWICE in a month, my ambitious tiny house plans were put on hold.
While my original goals were probably laughably optimistic, I am still working toward purchasing my trailer and beginning some building before this year's end.
While I am busy with tasks other than this blog, I suggest you pick up Dee Williams "The Big Tiny" if you need a tiny house fix. Dee's story is inspirational and applicable to people residing in houses of all sizes, and very well written (which cannot be said for many blogs *cough cough*).

Winter is not my friend

These recent months I have learned some things do not help when planning a tiny house:

1. Working multiple jobs

2. Sliding on black ice into three cars

3. Catching a violent flu bug

On another note, how would you like a cute little house drawing? For everyone that helps by donating to my trailer fund, they get a one of a kind drawing.