Starting the Downsizing

I know I haven't posted in a while, but another person at work quit and a second got very ill and my hours went crazy; I was busy, hiring and training the new person, covering for the one that was out ill and I was hoping that this summer I would finally, get to work on the vardo.

But with the death of a family member, I am having to move cross country, to be closer to my mother.

This family emergency has actually been a kick in the butt to start the downsizing processes.  


All the furniture that I have gathered over the last 11 year is gone. I sold it to a used furniture store this morning, saving me the hassle of trying to have a moving sale to deal with it.

All the wood is gone too, I can't take it with me, and will have to restart stockpiling it there. 

I took the door back to Habitat for Humanity, so they could sell it again. I'm keeping the half circle windows, I still want those in the vardo and I'll never get them for such great price.

Then I looked at the rest of my material possessions and started to choose what gets packed and what gets pitched. More pitched than packed, which is really a freeing sensation actually.

I went through my books and took a huge stack into Half Price Books, keeping only those I could not bare to part with. I bought a 288 disc holder and spent an hour moving all my CD's from their individual cases to the new holder. Lost 20 pounds of plastic and save myself another Uhaul box to pack.

If I haven't worn something in a year, it's been purged, and gave away all but two of my towels to the local area Kitten Rescue. I'm looking at all my kitchen wares with the view of, what is the level of kitchen I want in the vardo, or a camping kitchen.

Before I started the purge I created a list of 10 items that won't fit in a box, (My quilting frame, and my bike, the ladder, that sort of thing.) If an item isn't on that list, the item will get taking to Goodwill in the next week or two.  I can't decide on my futon bed, which is on the list...it's a queen and I'll only need a full for the vardo, but I will need it at my Mom's, but I could get another there and not worry about packing it... 

I keep thinking to myself as I look at each item that I'm about to pack, 'Do I want that in the vardo?' 'Do I have room for it in the vardo?' Without the furniture weighing down the house, looking at the rest of the materials that I have, has become much easier. Paperwork for the last couple of years seems to be taking up so much space, so many boxes, more than my books. And there are a few things that I will be giving away to family and mailing off, creating still more freedom from stuff.

Now I'm glad I haven't been able to start on the vardo, because I need the trailer to move.

Now I'm sad I haven't been able to start on the vardo, because I wouldn't need to move in with family when I get there.

Catch 22..

But hopefully, once I am there, I will finally have the time to start working on the vardo. No job that I love, but that I was clocking a 55 hr a week working at.

I've kept all my tools, and I've packed the welding helmet. :)

Now a to find a job even a part time job when I get there to pay for materials.  

Problem for the future solved!

Happy Halloween!

There has not been much to report for the last few months, as I am working on saving all the money I can for the build. I've decided to hold on to the trailer I have, until I am firmly committed to the build, when I'll change it out for the car hauler without dovetail from my local supplier, or buy one from Tumbleweed. (Expensive but an option...) 

But what really has made me happy is Catherine Zola's post about bathrooms. She has found a solution that I didn't know existed and I want to share the information.

Just Because You Can Build A House Doesn’t Mean You Can Tile!

This is a solution that I have been looking for. Weight is a consideration and I hated the thought of a bathroom with bare metal walls, I didn't want to put in a plastic unit, most are to large and would have to be put in at the start of the build due to their vast size. I wanted something that I could customize for my needs and space. Tile or if I can find some on Craigslist Corian.

This waterproofing system maybe just the ticket that some of us are looking for.

(Schluter.com)

Thank you, Thank you, Thank you Ms. Zora!

Vocabulary, Vocabulary, Vocabulary

Ok,

The miter saw is up and running and the temps are now too hot to work outside except really Really early in the morning, which would annoy the neighbors.  But that's not the problem.

After working and reworking and reworking the plans for the vardo and I've come to the inescapable conclusion that I can't keep working on the Vardo with the trailer I have.

The rails are mucking up everything and it is too much work to do what I want with them there.

It all comes down to what I told the trailer folks :

When I ordered it I asked for a UTILITY TRAILER. 

Which is, in their minds, a trailer with rails.

So even though I explained what I wanted to the trailer guys, personally faxed a copy of my plans to the manufacturer, called and tried to explain what I wanted on the phone what I still got a was "Utility Trailer".

ATTENTION: What you really want to say is:

CAR HAULER WITH OUT DOVE TAIL* and * AND WITHOUT BOARDS*

CAR HAULER WITH A DOVE TAIL*

The pinked circled bit the photo above:

You don't want one of those.... It would mean that you would have to build the vardo floor up from the slant that is there. Annoying.


*AND WITHOUT BOARDS*

 

Yeah, the other pink circle; and the reason you don't want them, boards, i.e. wood;  is that at the front and the back of the of the trailer floor, when they install the boards, there will be a upside down 'L' iron that will hold the wood down, and thus make the trailer safer for wheeling a car onto it.

And thus the 'L' brackets which then have to be cut off with a welding torch.
(Which is also why you don't want the rails on a utility trailer, because they have to be cut off as well. As well as the 'L' brackets that are on the trailer at the front and the back.) Plus, the trailer will be slightly cheaper and easier to work with if you don't have the board there to begin with.

So if you are going to go looking for a trailer or talking to a manufacturer to make one for you; you might want to take a look at the trailers you can get from Tumbleweed Tiny Houses Tumbleweed Trailers   print out a copy the image so you can show them what you are looking for or need constructed.

And understand the VOCABULARY!!!

So with the realization that I might have to scrap the current trailer and get one that will work, and now understanding the VOCABULARY... I went back to trailer guys this week;  to find out if getting what I really need was possible.

"Hey, look it's the yellow trailer lady... How ya' doing.." (We're friendly here in TEXAS)

I explain the problem:

"Oh, yeah we can do that for you, no problem... pity you weren't here a week a go, we had one exactly like that on the lot."

Sigh. 

Now before anyone asks:
Yes, I have person already interested in purchasing the utility trailer 'as is'.
Plus the trailer guys say that if that doesn't pan out, I can take the utility trailer back to the trailer shop. For some reason the trailer I currently have is very 'hot' in this area, for hauling hay, cattle and scrap.


I think I'll get the next one in John Deere Green.

More as the situation develops.

Helping out a Friend I've never met: Kim Langston

Kim Langston's Tiny House:

Ms. Kim had almost finished her tiny house.

It was water tight and ready for the interior work to make it a home. 

BEFORE: 

And then the barn, which you can see in the picture here, caught fire and...





AFTER:

Currently, there is a fund raising campaign to help rebuild Kim's Tiny House.

You can learn all about Kim and her Tiny House,  @

 Tiny House, Big Heart

I've already donated and I'm hoping anyone can, will do so too.

There isn't any insurance for a Tiny House, we're going to have to rely on other members of the Tiny House community in these situations.

I've done what I can this month, payday is this Tuesday so I'll be able to give a little more then. 

MSATOZ

Birthday Presents

I went out to Home Depot and bought a Ryobi miter saw; a Black and Decker folding stand, and a Diablo medium cutting blade, good for ripping 2x4's.

I'm going to spend the weekend reading the owners manual and figuring out where not to put my hands, as I have kinda gotten use to having fingers.  Pictures soon.

See what happens when I get a four day weekend?

Friday: Black and Decker Workbench put together.

Nothing is going on...

Ok, I got an A in my welding class. :)

And was already to sign up for the next one, when two things happened simultaneously:

First: The next class for the welding sequence did not 'make' i.e. have enough people sign up for the class to be listed, hence it was cancelled.  So, I considered signing up for the class held at our branch an hour away...

When

Second: I lost two employees in the same week.  Half my staff! The first got very ill and we are all keeping this person in our thoughts and prayers, with a hope to have them back at work on March 18th after spring break. The Second person just earned a Masters in Library Science and quickly found a job paying WAY more then here, so that's employee #two out the door. 

Result: A six day work week with hours ranging between 50 to 60 hours; I haven't been able to work on anything but paying bills and keeping the house half clean.

Good news: The new person starts tomorrow!

The bad news, I'm still on the long shifts until I have the new person trained up, sometime in April.

Shivering in the Cold

I am currently in a rent house.

It’s a nice rent house and I have a great landlord.

But I am shivering.

The house is a 1930’s cottage: With little or no insulation in the floors, walls or ceiling/attic space. 

This is one area I am now firmly convinced that I will be spending enough money on so that I will have a warm in the winter and cool in the summer vardo. 

Spray Foam will be in my future!

With good windows too.

Happy New Year everyone!